Here are some pictures of a few branches showing young VdB figs.

Nice Photos Martin, your VDB is way ahead of mine. My Main crop figs have just started to form.

Nelson, I have about 12 plants sitting on concrete driveway and I notice they tend to be slightly ahead than others. It could be the heat reflecting from the concrete that gives them this edge.

I just ate my first to vdb brebas the other day and they were excellent!!!!

Paully you could not be more right.
I do the fig shuffle every season onto a blacktop driveway to help them get an early start even if by 1-3 weeks it pays off at end of season here .

When weather permit they finally go in yard for season, smaller ones on the patio which is 20x30 cement slab.
The bigger trees go on the landscaping rocks which also radiate heat to them.

All in full sun.
Been in high 80s and some 90s as of late and they are loving it and drinking well.

Course i serenate them as well in song.  ; )

Hey Paul I do have the VDB on concrete slabs but its close to neighbours fence so it does not get as much sun as some of the others this could be the problem.

so is it a good idea to place pots on hot surfaces like the driveway, mine is asphalt concrete?

I have all my pots on asphalt ( including white, clay, black and orange colored containers). No problems but the roots certainly can become too warm if the pot becomes  root bound or tight. I believe in the roots having ample room to grow with little restriction.

i'm really thinking about getting a copper pipe cut diagnally to check for root growth every other month. it seems the balance between root mass in the pot and how the tree will do is very important. too much root towards the edge of the pot, time to up pot or root prune.

pete

dominic - its no problem you say but is it better for the plants rather then just being in a sunny spot on grass?

Oh yeah absolutely!

LOL

I prefer to eat my tomtoes lol

Hi, Martin!
I do have a question.. VDB and Beer's Black the same varieties or different?
On Durio web site I see they saying Beer's Black ( see Bordeaux)..
Why I asking? I got this year Beer's Black from Durio and figs look very similar..
Leaves don't look too good after 2 weeks rain ..But fruits look similar.

Im sorry Olga i do not know if there the same i do not grow beers black.
Maybe someone see's this and can help answer.

I check Durion now and they saying:
negronne [bordeaux / petite negri /violette de bordeaux]..
Very interesting...
For some reason my Negronne don't doing too good same with VDB..
But this Beer's Black they saying Bordeaux doing better..
I think I will order me another VDB ..
I may have a wrong one..I don't know.. I got this one from this guy..
So, I don't sure about any I got from him..
Thank you Martin, for respond!

VdB and Negronne are two different figs, but similar.  I thought they were the same fig, and wound up giving away my only two rooted VdB trees, now I'm having to re-root again.  The leaf shape is slightly different and I've heard numerous accounts from figxperts (fig experts) that they taste different and fruit is slightly different. 

I have VdB, PN, and large Negronne. Negronne is about a year behind the other 2. All three leaves are almost identical but the Negronne leaves are huge. The PN and VDB have put out main crop and look close. But the PN fruit are much larger at  this point even though they formed at the same time.

Here is my air layered fig plant from my mother VDB, I lost the mother tree last winter (in-ground)

I had 2 VdBs of the same age and size that I got from Burnt Ridge (one was supposed to be a Panache). I gave one of them to a friend who lives near the ocean (read colder climate). Mine is in the hot inland valley. My figs, like Jon's are just forming. My friend ate his first fig today. He said it was delicious. Go figure...
Sue

sue,

that picture looks good enough to eat.

i can't wait to see what my VdB will look like when ripe. maybe i'll take one off today and cut in half to see what's inside.

pete

Makes you wonder if a tree in the heat is struggling between a balance of survival and production.

My VDB has slender branches and is heavily infected with FMV.  I got it from UCD, but it keeps growing, just small leaves, so I will probably pot it up and give it very strong feedings, anyone have any advice to beef him up and get the FMV a little bit less?

Chivas,

My Madelien De Deux held the crown for FMV!
I chopped it up earlier in the season and gave it an extra dose of fertilizer.

Still has the FMV but to a lighter degree. I think next year I will do it again.
I will sacrifice another year or two to get it at a manageable stage if I can.