So I've been driving past a few large fig trees right around the corner from my house for a year now.  I finally got up the courage to go talk to the owner and she's very nice.  What I originally thought was two large fig trees is actually 3 large fig trees.  The lady received them from her Aunt as three small plants from Italy.  They've been outside and unprotected (zone 6b) for approximately 30 years.  A few branches died back a few feet this winter but it seems to come bounding back.

No help on identification, but please let me know what you plan on calling these, because my "I love interesting leaf shapes" alarm is going off...bells and whistles.   LOL            Great find, and good luck with your rooting!

I love that kind of story and I think that those are the best plants!

I agree, these are the fig trees that have not been seen. Plus there is a story behind who brought it here and from where. Hopefully you will be able to get them to root and in time produce enough plant material to share.

                             luke

cool story

Since I'm not yet very accomplished at rooting, I'm going to be taking some cuttings for folks on the forum from these trees on Monday (10/31).  I imagine with the pending northeast snowstorm the trees will go dormant.

Very interesting find.

Take a look around the base of the plant, and it is very likely that you can find a few rooted suckers growing there that could be easily removed with no harm to the mother plant at all.  So even if you aren't good are rooting cuttings, you can't fail with one that is already rooted.

Best wishes.

John

Very true.  Any harm in digging up a sucker after it has gone dormant then overwintering indoors?  I didn't see any small suckers but did see some rather large ones.

All of my figs are in ground, so I don't know about bringing figs indoors in pots.

But I would think that if you potted up the rooted sucker in some good quality potting soil, kept it in a place where it could get some chilling but no heavy freeze, watered it occasionally, it would do just fine and take off in the spring.

Nothing ventured nothing gained though.

Best wishes.

John

It is too early to take cuttings. On the tree they can stay better than in refrigerator. To be on the safety side, you can take them from the tree when you will know that there is coming a freeze below 12F.

Really?  I thought that pretty much any time after the tree has gone dormant it's okay to take cuttings.

Cuttings taken in early spring, before bud break, have the highest chance of success. But, if the tree suffers winter damage it is best to take them in the fall.

Good to know.  I'm thinking that fall or early winter may be the best time to take cuttings on this one due to the fact that it seems to have a bit of dieback on the tallest branches.

Even for you... take that cutting in April, right around Spring flush of leaves, stick in dirt. Keep well watered and it should take.

I found some root suckers and have a couple dug up and in pots with moist potting soil.  I imagine the fall, after they've gone dormant, is a good time to dig up suckers, right?  I'm thinking of simply overwintering them in pots in a cold cellar then taking them out and planting them in the spring.  Any drawbacks to digging up these suckers now?

Not really but it is better to wait for full dormancy- less stress on roots and plant.

What's the difference between dormancy (when the leaves die and fall off) and "full dormancy"?

Sorry I just say 'full' just to make sure they are hibernating. Dormancy is fine as a word. I'm too literal sometimes. LOL

Makes sense.  We had our first really good frost about a week and a half ago, and several since then.  The leaves on the trees are dead but we've had some warm days (high 50s, low 60s) so I suppose the sap could still be flowing.  

I'm not really an expert and I won't pretend to be one.

Tim
Here are some pictures of the unknowns from Italy. They are doing pretty good. #3 is the only one giving me any problem. It is the fourth photo.

Nice!  Those are all looking really healthy, especially the second one!  I take it you must have started them soon after I sent them?

Tim
I started them on 17 Nov 11 inside the house. The following weekend I started some in the garage and some in the yard. With some of the #3's giving me a problem, two weeks ago I started more of them using the improved baggie method. Today I took the inside gang outside for the first time. I BBQ'd ribs while they sat under the oak tree. It was 77F here today. I'll post more photos in a couple of weeks.

Great to hear Charles!

Thank you again for the cuttings. I have several that are already into one gallon pots. I would love to see some pictures of the parent trees when they have leaves and fruit on them.