My dad has some land and I told him to expect some fig trees to make it up to his property. I've been reading about pleaching and I think I have three trees I'd like to braid together. They are all about the same size and age and still pliable but probably not for long so I'd want to get moving with this.

My question is about the varieties. I live in a marginal area, heat wise. All three of these trees I got from local nurseries but that doesn't mean much as far as productivity goes.

The three I am thinking about are: Italian Honey, Osborne Prolific, and Texas Everbearing.

My dad's property is in Bellingham/Deming WA area (zip codes 98226/98244 if that helps). This tree will be in ground. Not against any walls but it will be in an open orchard setting where it'll get sun all hours of the day. Will my varieties work, you think?

Is his property on the farming/sunny side of Washington, or the Coastal/rainy side? They do get snow in some areas. 

I love to research climate friendly plants because I like to try to grow what shouldn't just to see if I can.  Lots of research can be done on the web, and I'm sure there are members here from Washington State, and places with similar climates world-wide.  I found UC Davis to be my best friend in researching wine grape vines that crave heat, wind, and tough conditions, but most figs they offer have "unknown" origins.

Look for countries with similar climates and see which figs are best, then you should be fine. 

I know I got off topic.  What you want to know is if those 3 figs will make it in Washington because your dad probably doesn't want to worry about die-back in winter.

Good luck Nichole!

Suzi

YIKES!  What if one of those is climate friendly, and the other two die back in winter.  That will be some weird looking braid!

Jealous of your dad's acreage for sure :-))

I know this is not what you want to hear, but he has the acreage, so, don't braid!  Just plant 9 trees, and see what happens.  You can do the magic later!! 

Suzi

Most of his acreage is in Forrest. I may help him clear some land in the future to gain more orchard space. Don't worry eventually he will have more figs ;)