Last year, I let my container Black Jack fig get really ripe. Why? Because of the birds! Out of all the birds in the world, a Mockingbird, is the only bird that will almost knock on your door if it sees a ripe fig! To ensure I would be the one to taste it, I moved the tree close to my back door. Well, it did get ripe and it was excellent tasting. About an 8 out of 10.

I like Black Jack figs. Mist folks say it's a brown turkey....like brown turkey figs are nasty of something. But it is not. Two days ago, I found 3 large ones at a store in north Charlotte. By the look, I could tell they were root bound and needed water. They were in 5 gallon containers. The manager sold them to me just to get them off his inventory. I got them for a good price. Yesterday they were dipped in liquid hormone and repotted. Today, you can't tell if they were ever stressed. Here are a few pics of my additional three Black Jack fig trees.

They look great.  Good save

Mockingbirds are pretty smart critters. Amazing the way they can imitate other birds' calls. But as fig thieves they leave little to be desired....I don't have them in the neighborhood, but I do see them about 1/2 mile away on the farms.

Looks like a nice bunch of trees, though!

Ditto on that Mockingbird snag. I tried the very same thing putting my plant close by my door but if you turn your back a little they seems to know it and take a dive for them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by snaglpus
Last year, I let my container Black Jack fig get really ripe. Why? Because of the birds! Out of all the birds in the world, a Mockingbird, is the only bird that will almost knock on your door if it sees a ripe fig! To ensure I would be the one to taste it, I moved the tree close to my back door. Well, it did get ripe and it was excellent tasting. About an 8 out of 10. I like Black Jack figs. Mist folks say it's a brown turkey....like brown turkey figs are nasty of something. But it is not. Two days ago, I found 3 large ones at a store in north Charlotte. By the look, I could tell they were root bound and needed water. They were in 5 gallon containers. The manager sold them to me just to get them off his inventory. I got them for a good price. Yesterday they were dipped in liquid hormone and repotted. Today, you can't tell if they were ever stressed. Here are a few pics of my additional three Black Jack fig trees.

It was one of the three trees I lost this winter. : (   Yup, even in Houston.

yeah, Black Jack is NOT hardy at all. It must be winterized very good or the tree will suffer. But it does taste like Black mission. Know to be a heavy bearer of figs though.

Black Jack figs are supposed to be pretty good sized, aren't they?

yes, BJ figs are very large.

I might reconsider my plan to grow one. I really don't have a good place to overwinter one except in an unheated shed. But I do have a friend in south TX who wants a young fig, maybe I will send him my BJ. They have almost no winter on the border and LOTS of summer heat. My young BJ might love it there.

I agree that Blackjack is a wonderful fig, Dennis.This is the 2nd year that I've had mine, and it produced 20-30 large, sweet, mission-like figs last year. It is setting a lot of fruit now, and is a vigorous plant. I can't attest to hardiness though, as 20 degrees was as low as the temps went here this winter.      

I kept a small Black Jack in the shed this winter, it looks really nice and healthy. If the fruit is as good as people say it is I might try growing it in a 5 gal and bring it in the shed each winter. I mainly want to grow only cold hardy figs, but I don't mind if there is one I have to bring in and out each year.

I have never done the container fig thing. But if I understand correctly you cut several holes around the container and set it into a pile of mulch. That will let the roots go out and spread but make it easy to trim them off when I move it in the winter. Will a 5 gal bucket be big enough to grow a Black Jack in this fashion?

Beautiful Fig Trees,  Dennis! : ).....I have a BJ in a small pot and ate 3 Figs off of it last year and they was Delicious! : )

Pretty trees Dennis.  Where did you get containers like that.  I have never seen them anywhere in the Tampa area

Those BJ's will be happy for sure they went to an SIP.

Dennis hi , They are that good , or you want to give them to friends?

Nice find, Dennis.  They look great!

Deck looks good, too!

Alan is correct. Those pots can be found at Walmart. They are self watering pots. And they come in 4 sizes. The main thing I like about them is they will tell you when it's time to up-pot your tree. If you pour water in the bottom resevouir in the morning and by the afternoon the tree is sagging, then it's time to repot.

Dennis, how is your new fig deck/patio working out?

It's working out great Gina. Thanks for asking! It's my hold area for a few trees that will be planted in my orchard in a few weeks.

The BJs look great Dennis, good find.
Gary thanks for sharing ,the tree and baby black jacks look awesome too. Did you get to take a couple of pics of them ripe? I bet they tasted great.
I got mine from Groworganic in early December and arrived in great shape and very well packaged the second week of January . It was kept in the house since then and broke dormancy a couple of weeks ago with a Breba fig that is about the size of a Lima bean as of today. A couple of days ago the first bud broke also. It Sean's to be two weeks behind in growth than the Panache and DKing, in the same conditions. Is iBlack Jack known for its Breba crop?
Dennis I saw those pots at Walmart and will probably pick a couple of them up today. They look really nice.