This little guy planted itself. I don't know the type, but I suspect it was born when my son tossed a half eaten fig from the neighbor's tree (brown turkey I THINK, but I know nothing about figs - am just learning..and am learning brown turkey isn't so amazing). Anyhow, it's under a big sweeping palm tree. It does get sun, enough that the hollyhocks nearby grow and bloom, and will get more as the palm grows and we trim back some fronds....though I know it probably needs more. We've had such bad luck with figs in ground that we just left it, thinking it knew what it was doing, but should we move it? And if we should, should we do it now or wait till it's a bit bigger?  

Gosh!  Wish I had that problem!  I have palms sprouting up under my figs!!  Seriously!  Palms are so prolific!  I'd leave that seedling alone.  It seems happy where it is, and might turn out to be a new variety.  I'd let it grow where it's planted itself and wait until figs appear to see if you even want it.  You can always take cuttings from it if it turns out to be a good fig.  Seedlings don't come true, so even if it came from a Brown Turkey, it might be better!!

Suzi

Oh wow! Okay, good advice! I didn't know that about seedlings! And I guess in terms of water it seems to want the same amount as the abutilon and it's neighbors, otherwise it wouldn't be so happy, right? I'm new to watering figs, so have to do some research to figure out their needs, especially in containers. (And now I can't wait to raid my dad's house, as he has seedlings sprouting up everywhere...I must might go there for dinner one night equipped with a shovel)

Didn't take you long to catch the fever!  LOL!  Many of us here have some unknowns that were cuttings from seedlings growing in the wild.  Some fig trees need the wasp (which is in California) to pollinate their fruit.  Others self pollinate. 

It's fun to experiment with seedlings.  like a box of chocolate!  You never know what you are going to get!

Have fun!

leave it for the time being, let it develop.  As to the Brown Turkey, it is amazing to me how many people dislike it and have never tasted it.  In areas suited to the Brown Turkey, it is a good fig, performing well, and is extremely forgiving in maintenance requirements.  In the southern states there are more Brown Turkeys and Celeste than all the others combined.  There is a reason for this, it works down here.  In another regard, it is a great "gateway fig" starting a lot of people in our hobby at a reasonable price.  I have killed a lot of cuttings in my fig career and I have gotten a lot better at it but I practiced and learned on Celeste and Brown Turkey, not RDB,or some of the other higher priced figs.

Cut some Brown Turkey cuttings and kill them and learn before moving to the more expensive figs.

I love the little guy, great picture, that is a "Charlie Brown" tree.

Forgive the rant, senior citizens rights, LOL

Thanks!!! I honestly have never had a fig that I didn't like...maybe just some that didn't WOW me as much. You're right, I need to give Brown Turkey a break. :) Whatever tree is growing in my neighbor's yard is doing very well, so that's good. And yes, this little is definitely my little Charlie Brown fig. Oooh, maybe it'll be some variant of Brown Turkey and we can call it Charlie Brown! haha.

jujigirl,

Welcome to the forum
Great piece of news ! Now you starting from the very beginning.. a seedling

I would let it grow there, healthy and strong as it looks... you may need it in the near future.
If it's a seedling it has to be there at least for the past couple of years or more . It also looks as it had not felt any winter. it could also be a shoot from an old fig , chopped time ago but sill with live roots under.
do not water excessively..just keep the soil slightly moist.
Good figging

Francisco

Thank you! Yes, I need to watch how much I water the area, as there are flowers there and I tend to forget that the little fig doesn't need as much. It popped up last summer, so at least I know I didn't kill it for an entire summer. :)

jujigirl,

The seedlings are bit different from my experience. They have a different root system and can tolerate much more water that the cutting starts.
I have about 60 seedlings started this year, the tallest one is about 1 ft. The more water I give them, the faster they grow! And they all love the sun!

Btw, if you want more seedlings, let me know!

oh good!!! That's good to know. How tall are they when they're no longer seedlings? And I think I'm going to try rooting a cutting! Any website suggestions where I can learn about it? I can just do a search of course, but you guys all have great resources. :)

You should start here:
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/start-here-the-basics-faq-recommendations-links-6111601

Also, the search link at the top right corner + from google
"Nice red fig" site:http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/

Hi jujigirl,
At birth, Did you see the cotyledons on that tree ? Photos?

If yes, then I hope you like playing poker .
That's how it is if you grow a seedling.
Go cuttings from known trees (productive ones ), and you'll have a tree true to its type - which with fig trees is the convenient way to go.
If you can, try to plant cuttings from different strains so that you can extend your fig season, and fig pleasure.

Jdsfrance - No, I never saw them. Literally I was watering one day and said Oh look, fig leaves. Do you mean it's like playing poker b/c you have no idea which kind it is? Whatever it is it's fine, b/c I'm watering there anyhow and haven't gone out of my way for it, so it's kind of exciting. I'm fairly certain it's related do the neighbor's tree, as they've brought figs over and I remember my son not finishing all of them and throwing it into the flower garden. We actually had a volunteer cucumber last year right near there, and have a volunteer grapevine a few feet away. We love the gamble in finding out what it is when it pops out. :)

a seedling has a 50% chance of being a male caprifig (non-editable) and 25% of being a common fig (not requiring polination).  the other 25% will (may) need pollination from a caprifig.   You won't know until it bares some fruit for observation.

Oh wow! Okay, i have some reading to do about figs. Thanks for that. So even the male caprifigs produce fruit too, they're just not really good? Or do they not produce anything? I have another one that my dad gave me, another mystery fig, that's not far from it too. Eeek, I guess I'm in the same boat with that one too! I actually just took a picture of that one (helps me later to see how it's grown) - here's that guy (or gal!). I'm just happy it's alive (for the time being). Do you think this is big enough to get fruit this year? So I can tell?

It looks big enough to me!  It even appears to have bumps that could turn into figlets!  To get more figs, and to get the fig to branch pinch the top baby leaf after 5 leaves.  This will force side branches and thus more area for figs!  I pinched many of my new figs as soon as I saw 5-6 leaves, and they produced quickly and made lots of new branches.  Depends on the shape of tree you want.

Suzi

Your neighbor's Brown Turkey might be a perfectly good fig!  California Brown Turkey in a hot, dry climate is a good fig, they have more complex flavors than Black Mission or Kadota, etc (Same issues as Panache).  As for the comments about the US South, Brown Turkeys are also grown because they are a very productive fig.  Moreover, the strain of California Brown Turkey usually available here is not very good at all.  As you'll find out, most figs are capable of good fruits, or having a good day.  Brown Turkeys are ridiculed because most of us grow them in not so hot and not so dry climates, and since it's a mild fig, the complex appeal is washed out, and becomes bland sweetness.  In any event, you can grow a still better fig than Brown Turkey.  I'd hope that seedling to be male and pollinating a Smyrna fig or two.

jujigirl, great photography!