well, while looking through craigslist i found someone selling some very large trees for $50 bucks a pop. these were potted in either 25 g pots or 15 (?) g pots. the trees were all over 6' tall and all had ripe figs. I couldn't get a pic of all the ripe figs before my wife, mother, sister in law and aunt got to them. they were picking them off as i was carrying the trees off the uhaul.

really nice older Italian guy, very nice garden and super fig collection...at least in number and size of trees. he had over 40 and said he had already sold a bunch because he didn't have the time to deal with so many trees. he wasn't very sure about the varieties but i tasted ripe figs off every tree and they are definitely worth it!!

here are some pics

Really nice looking trees. Well worth the asking price from the looks of them!


Chris

more pics to come in the next few days with the help of daylight and a fully charged camera...

I'm a total newbie so i have no clue about specific figs, the gentleman did tell me one was Celeste, another was Pingo De Mal, He said another was a portugese dwarf fig, Mission and the last was Marseilles

thanks Chris!!

one question, I think I already know the answer, do deer eat figs/trees?

According to my cousin.... yes/yes. 

But her soon to be hubby uses this to his advantage, i.e. dinner deer with fig glaze. 


Chris

Great catch!

You really scored. Congrats!

Boy did you ever score.  Congrats!

I think so too!! thanks!! the bad part is I couldn't convince my wife to let me buy ten more!!

I should listen to her now, take my fix and slow down...don't know how well that'll work out

My daughter lives in Hartford.  I check the CL up there from time to time.  I saw the Pingo the Mel and was really tempted to have her go pick it up for me. I just wasn't sure how to get it back to Texas...

Congratulations!

~james

Great buy !! You scored big time !

Now comes the fun part!  We get to help you ID them.  Do you think they are all different? 

That was an amazing score!  Everytime I check Craigslist here, the same dude is selling plants from his nursery on his own time.  I might get some from him, but I'll probably go down to Encanto for mine.

Glad there was enough for you and your family to enjoy!

Suzi

Jose....

So happy that you were able to buy trees at bearing age.  You have just eliminated years of waiting for the first figs.  You must be happier than a pig in _ _ _ _!  CONGRATULATIONS!!!

You will eventually need to learn how to become a much better sneak when figs begin to ripen if you want to taste those higos!  : )  Lose the skirts...and taste your figs!

Took a look at your profile.  Wife and kids are beautiful....but I'd still ration the figs.  Connecticut has stores that sell figs if they want more. : )

Frank


EDIT:  Search this forum for some information about "Pingo de Mel" fig.  Also, now you will need to learn how to root-prune, and re-pot those trees for  Spring- '13.

How and where will you overwinter your new orchard?

Boy did you just jump start your collection. Congratulations.

On the deer scene I wouldn't put it past deer to eat anything. However, I have not seen noticeable browsing on figs. I would think that deer would more likely cause problems by rubbing their antlers in the fall?

Thank you all!!

James, it would be a good score for you too if your daughter can hold some trees for you. I picked them up at Rocky Hill which is only 8 miles south of the center of Hartford.

Suzi, the pics are coming. I definitely want to get as close to a correct ID as possible. I'm almost 100% sure they are all different. two are green or yellow figs, each different on the inside with different flavors. three are darker figs of different shades of brown varying in size and flavor from small and very sweet to bigger and milder.

Frank, thank you for making me feel welcome on the forum and the good advice on getting fruit bearing trees up front, it will definitely help soothe the addiction. Apparently I'm also competing against my neighbors for figs. my wife said some stopped by to see the trees and she gave them a few and she is saving 10 from today's harvest for another neighbor of ours. On the wife and kids, they don't fool me with beauty or cuteness , I'll be weighing them before I go to work and when I get back home, hahaha.

I plan on overwintering the trees in a shed that doubles as a chicken coop on one side(16x16, we can still fit a ton more in there) but I'm hoping that I can eventually get some varieties to plant in ground. I'll probably try that with the cuttings I got from the in ground plants in Bronx, NY.

That is a yes on the root pruning, and pruning overall for that matter. I want to make the trees a tad shorter and bushier, like the picture of a Kadota I've seen on the forum (if possible).

Here is a picture story of what happened to five figs when I came home, you fill in the blanks...

some additional pics
not all figs were perfectly ripe but they were all good!!

took care of the girls, the wife gets handcuffed to a pipe in the basement, she's a sneaky one.

That was like "instant orchard". That was a very nice finding! Good for you! 

I can't believe how large the trunks are, considering the pot size!

Do you know what types they are?

Jack, I believe they are Mission, Celeste, Portugal Dwarf, Pingo de Mel and Marseilles (that is what the man that sold them to me told me). I didn't label them before putting them in the uhaul truck, so now I don't know which is which. I have labeled them 1-5 now, so by next season I hope to get some help here with I.D.

Grasa, My plans for a fig orchard in the yard are grand (I don't like growing or mowing grass)...five trees doesn't put a dent in it, lol.

Chome, I think I will fence off another area of the yard just to play it safe, the are will also double up as housing for other fruit trees and shrubs... I will experiment with in-ground and unprotected fig trees once I manage to propagate these trees. BTW, they didn't touch them while they were out on the deck (Aug-Nov) but that was probably more because of the proximity to the house...maybe.

good size trees and fine looking figs.

One word.........JEALOUS
Ok two words Congrats. No really that's a great find good luck with them