Hello -

I have some questions for the fig experts here, though any comments are welcome... I have three fig trees: Panache Tiger, VDB and an Unknown variety that i found growing wild.  All three trees have been in the ground for two years now.  I live in coastal San Diego, CA.


Panache Tiger

Healthy looking tree that is over 10 feet tall and has a trunk almost 4 inches thick.  It's loaded with figs (like last year), but is just dropping them (like last year).  Why am I not getting any ripe figs from this tree?


VDB

Healthy looking, yet very small tree compared to the other two.  It's about 4 feet tall with a 1.5 inch diameter trunk.  It produces a good amount of figs that ripen fine and taste great.  Is this the right size for a VDB tree that has been in the ground for two years?


Unknown Variety

Very healthy looking tree that is over 12 feet tall with a 4 inch thick trunk.  I posted pics of it somewhere before (here?) and some thought that it could be an offspring of Brown Turkey and most likely not self-fertile.  It produces a lot of figs, all of which do not ripen and drop off. --- Except for one fig this year!  This year, one fig has ripened to a large deep blue/purple fig.  It was sweet and flavorful, though not as much as VDB.  Why did I get one ripe fig this year from this tree?  A lost fig wasp?


Below is a link to some pictures of the figs and fig trees:

https://picasaweb.google.com/JeroldRBurrow/FigsSeptember2011?authuser=0&feat=directlink


Thanks!


Jerold Burrow

Jerold,

1) How much fertilizer are you giving that Panachee? How old are the trees. It looks like it is grew very rapidly the year those pics were taken.

2) VdB is a natural dwarf

3) It is likely that the unknown requires caprification. Have you shared cuttings with anyone living in an area without the fig wasp? If so, are they getting any fruit? If not, that may be a good idea to see if that is the problem. Otherwise you may waste a alot of years waiting for a few fruit.

Nice looking trees though!

Jerold,

I've heard Panachee likes a lot of heat units and fruits best east of La Mesa. Being on the coast, Panachee may not do as well for you.

VdB does handle a cooler climate and will do well on the coast but like Ruben said, it is a natural dwarf.

Your wild fig has a 50% chance of being a caprifig and 25% chance of being a smyrna (needing caprification). Wild figs are a big gamble. Yours looks like it might be a smyrna needing the wasp as Ruben mentioned as well. If the figs don't get caprified (pollinated) they will drop.

Sue

Thanks Ruben & Sue --

Ok so my VdB is normal, that's good to know.

I fertilized the Panache with some organic fruit tree fert and compost at the start of the year and that's it.  Maybe the soil is really rich on that side of the yard -- now that I think about it, the grass growth would suggest that.  I'll stick with just compost from now on to see what happens.  Hopefully my climate will be hot enough for it to give some fruit.

As far as I know, no one else has cuttings of my Unknown variety.  So the ripened fig on this tree must have been due to a fig wasp?  No other way it could have ripened?

Thanks!

Jerold Burrow