I believe they are grown from cuttings, they are fairly good-sized trees that are branched out.

Harvey,
The posted pictures of Burnt Ridge Olympian trees seem to be from cuttings, but the small "1 gallon" tree that I received in April seemed to be a dormant Tissue Culture plant.
  .

Wow, I'd guess they ordered some TC plants when they saw they were going to run out of their regular inventory.  Mine was ordered February 9th.

Mine are 2'+ tall.  I got 6 of them.  Ordered them last year.

The 2 trees I purchased from Burnt Ridge are definitely cuttings and were about 18 inches tall with just a main trunk. They are now branching out nicely.

My TC plant which I received in April has grown very vigorously in the ground for me.  It has grown just about twice as fast as the VDB ordered at the same time.  I just noticed some baby figlets on mine this morning!

Yeehova,
  Can you tell for sure if they're baby figlets or baby branches?
If they're figlets, that's great!  The talk about tissue culture plants not maturing and producing fruit after a certain number of years and a minimum height had me worried.
Jim

Jim,
They are definitely figlets, but just at the very beginning stages.  I am amazed at the growth which is outpacing some of my cuttings.  I only had it in a pot for a week or so and then planted it directly into the ground where it gets sunshine about 11 hours a day this time of year.  I have also been watering it very generously almost everyday and gave it some 10-10-10 about a month ago.  It seems to love heat and water.  I will take a picture tonight after I get home if I remember.
Brian

Here are the pics.

Yeehova,
  That's really great.  I got an Olympian from Wellsping in April but I am sorry to say that I didn't pot it up right away, ignored it, and generally just kept it alive but not thriving.  So right now it is worse off than when I got it, but now it's potted, fertilized and all set to take off.  It is wonderful to see how well yours did in such a short time, and it is good to see those figlets.  I have to admit that all the talk about not getting figs for years contributed to my neglecting it the way I did.
Jim

So......Yeehova's tree has set some figlets.  That's good to know, and the photos dispel some of the speculation that these tissue-cultured trees would remain in a juvenile stage and not produce figs.  Seeing is believing.  Hopefully in 70 + days, we will get to see some 'Olympian' figs.

Good luck with this fig tree. Thanks for the very informative photos.


Frank

Updated pics

Yeehova-

Thanks for posting updated photos of the Olympian figs.  I wish you well with your trees.  Can't wait to see more photos as the figs begin to ripen.

My Olympian trees are growing at an astonishing rate, but because of the very cold spring season we just had, I will pinch any figlets that will form this year.  They will not have enough time to ripen.  I will bet that next season, I will have some figs...and this from trees that started out 6" tall with stems about 1/8" in diameter.

If you can, will you post some photos of mature leaves to show the typical shape and size?

Many thanks.


Frank

I also got an Olympian TC plant from Wellspring April 10th. It is now in a 2 gallon pot, about 1'- 1 1/2' tall, and is just starting to show figlets. I will pinch them and let the plant get bigger, and look forward to tasting next year.

Gary, I'd leave one fig on, at least.  Your tree is big enough and your climate warm enough that you could probably ripen a few.

You are probably right, Bob. It would be nice to try it. I'll leave a couple.

Here are some leaf photos. I am pretty sure they will get larger in the future. My hand is medium~small.

Yeehova-

Thanks for the pictures.  Yep.  I got me some Olympian fig trees...now verified, by your leaf photos.

So far this newly discovered variety is meeting our expectations.  I haven't read any complaints yet.  So far with this kind of documented performance, how bad can the figs possibly be?  I'm anticipating good things.  The figs would have to taste like real dreck for me to dump this variety....keeping in mind that for the first few seasons, the figs will not be in their prime.

@ Gary-  I do hope you will at least get to see a few of your Olympian figs ripen, especially since you have such a long, (I'm envious) growing season.  It would be nice to get some of your opinions.


Frank

Mine here in 5B in upstate NY have a few figlets on them. I am really hoping they ripen this season. I thought I had read somewhere that this strain was slow to develop but mine are growing and producing at a great rate.

Hi Johnnie B-

Conjecture has it that Tissue-Cultured trees (not the strain), may be slow to reach the fig production stage, but so far, especially after reading all of these above, postings, I have doubts that this speculation is even remotely true.

My Olympian trees are already starting to show small figlets, and the trees are just a few months old!  I bought them last April....  However, I will pull off the figs.  I'd rather have a stronger root system and branch structure instead of letting figs draw away limited energy reserves.  The cold weather will once again be here in a few months and I want these trees going into the stressful, winter storage, with a good dose of "Umph".  Next season, I'm sure I will get some figs off of my trees.

Good luck with your Olympian.


Frank

Frank

       I am only planning on letting a few figs stay on the trees just to get an idea of what's to come. My trees will never be stored in my shed again as I lost about 30 trees this past winter. They shall live in my attached garage that rarely goes below 35 degrees.

Johnnie B-

Thanks for the latest update, and I think you are wise to stick your figs into the garage area, when winter comes again....especially in Zone 5b....which is not exactly fig territory. 

I have just nipped off all the little figlets that were forming on my Olympian trees.  As my trees continue to grow taller each day, and I am thinking about braiding the stems on all five of my Olympians, so I can continue growing them in one pot, to save space.  I'll probably give this same treatment to my tissue-cultured "Black Mission", also because of space-saving considerations.

Actually, I am looking forward to next season.  I'll be having, I'm sure, some figs off the Olympians, as will you, and other growers.  For this, I'm happy.  Thanks, Wellspring Gdns!  (I guess these t-c Olympian trees have definitely, by-passed stalling in some juvenile, "fig limbo"....and, went right into the production-phase of their growth cycle).

Continued good luck with your trees, and happy growing.


Frank

Any idea of the ripening time for the Olympian?  Getting mine from WellSpring as well.

Thanks.

Very nice, thanks for sharing.

Best,
Tam

Malcom-

Descriptions suggest that this is a "short-season" fig that will do well in cooler climates.  Once the tree reaches maturity, after a few seasons, I'm sure you will be able to get properly ripened figs in Zone-6B.  Pinching also helps trees to set and ripen main-crop figs, earlier.

Honestly, I think only a few members have grown this newer variety for very long, so most of the posted information is scant.  My guess is that it will be next year when photos and critiques will start to be posted on the forum, and ripening will probably start in early August.

As posted, I had to nip off main-crop figs which started to form on trees that were purchased earlier this past spring....and since my spring was very cold,  I got my trees out onto my back deck, later than usual.  I'm very sure I will have some figs by next season.

Good luck with your trees.


Frank