I would like clarification on Madeleine des Deux Saisons. On the Thompson & Morgan website it says. "Literally translated as Madeleine of Two Seasons, this productive variety produces two crops per season during hot UK summers and if protected over winter the second crop will ripen early during the following summer."

Does this mean the breba crop is the first or the main crop? Will this cultivar need to be protected from freezing in order to produce both crops? (The way King does)

Is this a recommended cultivar for cold-hardy and short-seasoned growing?

I had a long conversation with the botanist of raintree nursery. She informed me that this was a great variety for the NW, but they did not have it for sale. I see that this year they have them.  I look at all the pictures and description of this fig and surely is the description of my "unknown". the pictures of the fruits also resemble mine a lot.  What is mine is a MdS?

Milehigh, check out these two threads. May not answer your questions though.

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/madeleine-des-deux-6453798

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/update-madeleine-des-deux-saisons-6475532

Mike,

I'm guessing that since you are in Georgia you don't have to worry about too much freezing. The T&M quote is what is confusing to me. I'm just wondering if I will have to protect it more than my other figs in order to get two crops. (I was just outbid on Ebay so bummer, I'll have to try to find it elsewhere)

LOL @milehighgirl   it was 25 yesterday morning and 23 this morning and we are not into the winter yet.


We had two days below zero in 1985 which has been quiet a while but it can get cold here.

I bought one from Blackmore nursery and the brebas are really nice, I had a few main crop on but they didn't ripen.
Not sure what to do next year, to cut the brebas off and have only main crop or be greedy again. Mine also looks different to other picture I have seen on F4F

Luke,

Looks good. Do they reach full ripeness and still have a green collar?

My main and brebas started green then yellow then slowly turned red.
I think I could of waited a few more days maybe even a week or two, but you know what it's like.
It was a new tree this spring so can't give you much info, here is a pic of main crop in the yellow stage,(it was white and not properly formed inside when I finally removed it from the tree.)

Milehighgirl, you've asked a good question because nurseries should state what zone they recommend growing certain fig trees; but they don't.  I think MD2S can grow fine in your area only if you winterize it very well.  I don't have too much faith in what the Nat Arg fellows are saying these days.  I do believe we are in a climate shift but that's just my thinking based on how my fig have grown in my orchard over the years. 

Nat Arg says I'm in zone 8a, but if you ask me, I'd say I'm really in 7b!  It gets very cold in my area, CHarlotte, NC every year about 4 times a year.  Sometimes it gets cold and says cold for days.  We did not use to get cold weather until Januaruy YEARS ago!  Today, the weather here changes and get cold in November.  Just 2 days ago the cold front hit my area.  My readings showed 22 degrees outside and 28 inside my greenhouse.   But 2009 and 2010 was my best years for growing figs.  We had short sleeve weather in November and December back then!  Not so today! 

 I have Madeleine des Deux Saisons growing in my orchard and backup in a pot.  I winterized all of my orchard trees 2 years ago.  But last year was the first year that I did not and I did not this year.  Md2S is an excellent tasting fig IMHO.  I love it and its one of those rare figs to get.  Although we had a very mild winter last year, my tree was not harmed by the 25 degree temps last year in November.  December and January was mild and temps never got that low in my area.

If I was in zone 5, I would winterize every one of my trees, period!  I talked to a nursery owner in the moutains of NC last year.  He said the only fig that they can grow up there is Brown Turkey without winterization and he's in zone 5.  I wanted him to try some others but he said no way.  He says it stay cold too long and its just not worth the risk.

I bought a whole bunch of fig plants this past winter from different nurseries. I ended up with two plants of Madeleine des deux saisons by accident. They both died before the winter was over. Actually they never woke up. Perhaps they were not as hardy as my other new figs. If you get this one be careful with it . I've learned my lesson. I'm waiting for a replacement.

I ended up getting some cuttings from a member here off of Ebay (why is rooting cuttings so addictive?). I know all of my trees will need to be protected. I garage them and also have a heater attached to a thermostat controlled outlet so they don't go below freezing. I am quite sure nothing would survive here unprotected but I'd like to get hardier cultivars that mature quickly. Maybe in a few years I will be able to give some good and yummy feedback. 

Sas, that's sad about your trees. I wonder if they were not protected well enough last winter. You are in a much warmer climate than I am so I hope it's a fluke kinda thing.

milehigh: I received my plants and kept them outside unprotected in 5 gallon containers. I lost some but the majority survived. They were all treated the same way. It must be natural selection. That's the only way I could explain it.
Survival of the fittest. Something else I've noticed this past summer which is fascinating. As an example, I took three cuttings from the same tree and rooted them the same way. Two did well while the third never made it or is still struggling.
I am learning to accept a loss of a plant as part of gardening. It just gets too emotional if you pay $200 for it.

I was wondering if your garage has natural light. I am rooting some cuttings in my garage too, but I have no light. It worked very nicely for me last winter. All my plants developed leaves but I lost 2 out of 10 when I took them outside and it wasn't warm enough perhaps.

Sas,

My garage has little light but I do not start cuttings in the garage, only holding them there until spring comes. The rule of thumb here is to wait until Mother's day to plant, and until this year that has always been fine. This year I put out my figs just after Mother's day and we had 6 inches of snow. It melted by the afternoon so I was spared and all my trees survived. There is no way a fig would survive here outdoors without massive protection. I am beginning to realize also that since our winters are also dry, as in not humid, the trees can easily desiccate as well. I bought some wilt-pruf and this may help some.

I'm going to take my cuttings outside when warm enough and store them inside when temperatures dip.