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New member... Needs fig advice

Hi everyone Just found this awesome website.. Anyways I am college student and I love gardening I especially find figs very interesting.. I would like some tips on figs as I live in Miami Florida. does anyone know which variety is best to grown in warm climates and where I could purchase figs online ? Thanks everyone have a bless day.

I'm sure just about every fig will grow well in Florida's warm weather. So I'm sure you will have a lot to chose from.

Hi
Just go to a local nursery and see what they sell. Lowes or Home Depot would do well also. In your climate you can grow just about any fig you can find
Good luck

Florida has one of the best nurseries in the US for figs, Just Fruits & Exotics up north near Tallahassee. Look 'em up.

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  • levar
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Hey, I'm in Miami too. I'm growing many varieties now and I'm also trying to figure out the best ones for our climate. I'm about to make a post in a few days about some varieties that have already given me fruit from the main crop. 

I have a few suggestions:

1.Figs are very susceptible to root knot nematode damage and South Florida soil is infested. You might want to stick with growing the figs in containers. If you don't already know about up-potting, do some reading to learn how to up-pot to the largest pots possible. I strongly recommend getting a garden dolly or some wheels for your pots so you can move them indoors during a hurricane.

However, if you want to plant them in ground, plan on digging deep. Apparently, root knot nematodes only live in something like the top 20 inches of the soil. You can google more about other suggestions for site preparation (solarization, marigolds, whatever) and upkeep for nematode reduction. Also, there are some varieties like LSU Purple, Golden Celeste, and Hollier which are said to be nematode resistant but I have no experience testing this.

2. Adriatic JH, Col de Dame Grise, Smith, and Ronde de Bordeaux hold up very well against rust fungus. Meanwhile, Violette de Bordeaux, Texas Blue Giant, and Hollier are among the worst affected by rust in my garden. Regularly scheduled foliar sprays of Copper Fungicide and Neem Oil seem to keep things under control, but I don't think there's any real fix.

3. As for pests, the worst offenders in my garden are the tomato hornworm and scale. Raccoons, birds, and possums may also pose a problem. Ants will crawl into the eyes of figs and ruin your fruit, so ant prevention is necessary. I use tanglefoot and organza bags and I'm doing alright. 

4. Research the ripening times of different varieties so you can stagger your harvest throughout from about May - November. My Smith, Brown Turkey, Texas Blue Giant, Ronde de Bordeaux, and this unknown variety have all given me fruit from their main crop, starting on May 13. Last year, I picked my last TBG right around Thanksgiving.

5. Figs that tend to split in heavy rains might be an issue... lol. I'm trying to figure out some potting mix "recipes" that retain less water so more sensitive figs like Black Madeira and Peter's Honey have a chance down here. More on that in a few years, though.

6. Pine Island Nursery down south has some good varieties. I think right now they're selling LSU Purple, TBG, Black Mission, and Texas Everbearing. They cost about $30 for a 3-gallon pot. JustFruitsandExotics.com is another reputable dealer.

If I think of anything else, I'll post it here but I think that's all for now. Any other information about fertilizers, pruning info, etc. you can find throughout the forums and on Google. 

Take care. 

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