I would like to get a few different types of figs from uc davis. I have set up an account with fed ex but uc davis says they don't ship to people growing for pleasure. What should I say that my purpose is and is there anything else I need to know about the ordering process? Thanks

first, if i'm not wrong.. the order taking for sping of 2013 should be closed by now. so if you order it will be not till spring of 2014 that you will get the cuttings. second, if you hang around here for a bit, you might get some great cuttings without waiting that long.

UCD does have few that everyone wants like Black Madeira, and so on.. but even that can be obtained in this forum. also, jon will be opening his scion order in Feb.

as to the purpose, write down the truth. "will be testing different fig cultivars in my location".

Not so sure it's closed, but they might have changed their policy along with the new order form.  Last I checked, last day to order was prior to Dec. 1st.  You may be able to get your order in.

Suzi

I sent them an email last week, the reply was they will still accept orders although it did close 1 Nov. When I placed my order, the reply was they will start shipping in Jan and Feb

Research Purposes for establishing vitality in ' state your area'.

Thank you everyone. The main type I wanted from them was calvert.

Well damn, once again, I miss another year.  for some reason I always think the cutoff is mid-December.  I never see reminder posts here indicating time is almost up!

Jason!!  Get your order in May!  Just do that and forget it!  I always order early, and there are things that come up that I wished I ordered, and I will, next year!!

Suzi

Easy to fire and forget, but last time I did that, I regretted it and wanted to put in a second order!!

You can always add to your order - they alow that.  What did you want?  If I get some I can share  :)

They changed the cutoff this year to Nov 1st from last year's Dec 1st.  But I emailed the orders team last week and they said they are still taking orders and just be aware that it's Nov 1st now.

Question?  I e-mailed my fig order to UC davis on 9/12/12.  As of yet I have not received a confirmation notice.  When I talked to UC Davis they said my name was on record, but did not have a number attached to it yet.??  Anybody else on the Forun run into this situation? And if so, did you ever eventually receive a confirmation notice?

Calvert is iffy. what i mean is.. i got ton of Calvert cuttings from UCD this spring. i cut them into something like 9 Calvert cuttings. some grow amazingly well, some are just not doing much of anything but putting out misshaped leaves. others grow like weed and filling up the 1 gal pot with 1/8" roots. very random. even the ones that's been growing well will put out weird looking leaves now and then. of all the things i started this spring, Calvert and Ischia Green from UCD are the most unsuccessful cuttings.

on the other hand, Black Madeira, Col de Dame Blanche, and Ischia White from UCD are doing amazingly well. they all show FMV, but not as bad as Calvert or IG.

Pete, that's nice to know about Black Madeira and Col de Dame Blanche.  They are on my order for this year, and I did get a confirmation, but it took a couple months.

UC Davis does a great job and this is just an amazing service that they provide.  I hope they keep it up!

Suzi

i order some others this year. i think that covers all i want to try from UCD. i really wanted to try their Ischia Black. but if the Ischia Black grows like their Ischia Green, i think that might be just waste of time.

i was rather surprised with Black Madeira. i heard all the horror stories about them not rooting well, not growing well.. it's done fine for me this season. grew well and all of them put out little figs. CdDB is also doing well. as far as growth was concerned, Ischia White was the best. beautiful trees.

we'll see what they send me and what will work out. if i don't get Ischia Black this year, i might try again next year. just Ischia Black.

Hi Pete,
    Read in your previous post about your reservation about growing the Ischia Green figs, eg. "waste of time".  Could you please clarify.    Thanks.

We'll just see what happens!  I have on order for spring:  Black Madeira, Col de Dame, Mission, Rattlesnake Island, Barnisotte, Santa Cruz Dark, Excel, St Jean and Ischia Black.  It's more fun to just trade or purchase cuttings/plants from members, but what a wonderful service they provide!

I usually end up cutting my cuttings in half or 1/3 - 2/3 because they are so very long.  I put the little ones horizontal in the dirt outside, and they surprise me when one day I see these huge leaves pop up!!  Figs!!  I do the same with my grape and olive cuttings.

Suzi

Olive trees!  The joy of being in Southern CA !  Do you brine your own olives?

vince,

Ischia Green from UCD doesn't grow well. they are just not responding. the tips are not swelling like the other figs and they are putting out very strange looking leaves. the leaves show heavy sign of FMV. i decided to get Ischia Green from more reliable source. i'll keep the IG from UCD next year and will pump fertilizer on it to see if they improve.

Ok Pete...Thanks for the clarification.....Thought you were opposed to IG figs in general....Have one growing in my backyard for five years now....very prolific tree....pulled 350 ripe, edible, processable figs from that tree this year......wanted to send you some cuttings from that tree last month, but you said you already had received some cuttings from elsewhere.  Good luck with all your fig growing projects.

Jack, absolutely we brine our own olives!  We salt the water enough that a fresh egg will float, and change it every few days.  Then we jar them up with some garlic, lemon slices, herbs, red wine vinegar, and they last forever!!  They are the best!  They do have the dreaded pits, but that's part of the fun!!

We do them green and turning red.  Not the black ones.  They require Lye, and not into that!

Suzi

You are in an ideal place to grow them contrary to most of us:

Climate

Olive trees are a Mediterranean native, and require a fairly balmy climate. In particular, they will not tolerate cold winters; if you experience temperatures below 15° Fahrenheit (-7° Celsius), plan on planting something else!

Olives are shallow-rooted, so windy areas are problematic. You won't notice a problem at first, but when a mature tree, carrying a heavy crop, is exposed to high winds, they're extremely vulnerable. If you're in a windy area, plan on planting something else!

[NOTE: Thomas Jefferson learned the hard way that olives also won't make it in areas that are humid. This rules out most of the US, with the exception of California, Arizona, and Texas. If you're interested in growing olives in Texas, please check with the Texas Olive Oil Council for useful information.]

Jack, I think "what you don't know, can't hurt you," applies.  Winds!  We live wind!!  Gusts regularly up to 80 MPH, but they don't bother the olives.  They will take down a palm or a California Pepper tree.  We golf, and see damage, but the olives just stay!  They might be shallow rooted, but those roots hold!

I got a lot of my pool floaties from wind blowing them from someplace I know not where, down the golf course in my back yard!  We get snowbirds here, and they don't know to put things away.  Winds rage, but the Olives hold!

The worst wind damage I get is in the vineyard.  It will snap a cane faster than I can blink!  So now after the bleeding is done, try grafting to balance the vine!  Thanks to Grasa, I'm pretty confident next time this happens!!

Suzi