We had a recent fungus gnat invasion, and I hit them all with the mosquito drench, and covered each container with 1" of sand and a moth ball to kill any adults.  I had two growing Negretta's and I'm not sure if they will make it.  I no longer see gnats, and when I pull on the cuttings, they hold firm, so there are some roots.  The leaves all shriveled and fell off.  I am praying that they both survive.

I have so many cupped up babies that survived the invasion, but while doing research for some new cuttings I just acquired, I came across this description of Negretta: 

Suzi, Why would you spray your plants with mosquito spray? As far as I know gnats won't hurt your plants. I certainly wouldn't use Naphthalene (moth balls) around any plant. A little late for that info though huh :-/ ?

I hope they make it for you.

Bill, it's not mosquito spray.  It's dunk!  BT.  It kills the larvae.  Then to smother any that make it through the dunk, and prevent new adults from laying, an inch of sand.

I've lived through this horror about 3 times in my fig career, and I have it down good now.  Just the new property took my attention, and I didn't see the signs.  Any plant with fungus gnats will live if you encase it in plastic and a moth ball.  The moth ball kills any known survivors. 

I just hate this happened to any of my figs, but it did.  So, now I'm crossing my fingers the Negretta comes back.  Tip is very green.  And also on the hunt for extras!  It's a big hill!

Suzi

Thanks to one of our members, Rewton, for offering cuttings and a fresh start!    I will probably grow these in 3 gallon pots so they can get really established while we rid that land of voles, gophers, etc. prior to putting them in-ground with grow tubes around their trunks for protection.

Suzi

Suzi,

This fig sounds like a interesting one to grow. I like collecting the drought tolerant fruits, tell me if you have extras to trade sometime soon. Btw, will keep you updated on the Opuntia soon. Once they start pushing growth, I am going to give them a nice bi weekly organic fertilizer to push them alone and harden the pads off.

It is interesting to grow, I had Negretta on my wishlist for a while. When I received it, the rooting process failed. I had bad luck, the cuttings were healthy but for some reason not even my green thumb wasn't able to push a root. I got semi-green wood scions. They were pretty, i wont give up. Good luck with Negretta Suzi! Grow them big! You have a huge property and it is gorgeous.

Jennifer