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Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > Hardy Chicago and Other Figs Orchard
 
 


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Charlie

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 
This will be an ongoing story I hope will find future success. Today it began.  This Hardy Chicago tree was located during this past year and the owner recently agreed to let me have the prunings for a portion of them back as rooted cuttings.

Hardy_Chicago_fig_0.jpg 

Hardy_Chicago_fig_5.jpg 

Hardy Chicago was chosen for several reasons.  #1 I really love eating it.  The rest are bonuses, it's cold hardy, has beautiful foliage, fast grower and prolific producer. Plus I get all the cuttings for a little effort and no expense.

He wanted all the limbs pruned off at two nodes above the main limbs.  That's a five gallon pail next to the trunk for size reference.  This tree is about 15-20 years old and is growing on the East side of this home so it's shaded after noon and has still done fairly well.

Hardy_Chicago_fig_8.jpg 

They all fit in the back of the car for the ride home.

Hardy_Chicago_fig_9.jpg 

Then it was five hours of cleaning, cutting and wax dipping ends, daubing side cuts.  Ended up with three, five gallon pails worth, sorted by small, meduim and large.

Hardy_Chicago_fig_10.jpg 

A very few of these will fulfill trades, the rest are either going into one of two-hundred-fifty, 1 gallon root pouch grow bags and buried out back under compost or those not making the pot cut will be buried horizontally under a few inches of compost as was Unk Lake Spur last winter and air layered out next year.

There will be other figs going into the orchard and we'll post about those as they come.

 

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Smungung

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
Omg you are lucky good luck rooting.
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Matthew Mei Age:15 Zone 6A Secaucus, New Jersey

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Frankallen

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
Hey Charlie, good job on the pruning! I guess I need to trim my Hardy Chicago, but mine is a whole lot smaller than that one. Keep up the good work, Charlie! : )
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Frank from Bama-  Zone 7-b Alabama

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
That is a huge amount of wood Charlie, looks like you will have a very busy winter.  I can't wait to see how things go!!
figpig_66

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
Nice work on shaping that tree. That is alot of cuttings. How much land you have for the orchard. And do you have pictures of it.
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RICHIE BONI
HICKORY LOUISIANA ZONE 8B WARM HUMID
WINRERS ARE VERY MILD LOW 20'S BUT WARMS RIGHT UP DURING THE DAY. SUMMER IS EXTREMELY HOT & HUMID 100 degrees 100% humidity fig tree grow like crazy but some split from rain & humidity
Wish list. Col de dame blanc
Col de rimada
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Charlie

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Quote:
Originally Posted by figpig_66
Nice work on shaping that tree. That is alot of cuttings. How much land you have for the orchard. And do you have pictures of it.


Thanks for the nice comments all.  No land yet Richie, going on faith at this point. :)
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figpig_66

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
It will come. I have faith in you that our lord will bless you for all the good you do.
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RICHIE BONI
HICKORY LOUISIANA ZONE 8B WARM HUMID
WINRERS ARE VERY MILD LOW 20'S BUT WARMS RIGHT UP DURING THE DAY. SUMMER IS EXTREMELY HOT & HUMID 100 degrees 100% humidity fig tree grow like crazy but some split from rain & humidity
Wish list. Col de dame blanc
Col de rimada
Lsu numbered figs
joann1536

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
Nice job!  The tree looks good, and you have a load of cuttings!
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GreenFin

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Posted Reply with quote  #9 
I love the pachyderm look of pruned fig trees. 

Hope you have great success, Charlie!
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coop951

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
Good luck my friend. I am also a big fan of Hardy Chicago. It is very hardy for us Northerners and absolutely delicious.
You can't go wrong with that guy
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Coop  
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Smyfigs

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Posted Reply with quote  #11 
Charlie: very nice job on the prune! I am with you....faith is the way to go.

Yes, Figpig, our Lord blesses all those who have faith in Him.


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SuperMario1

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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
Great project. Good luck.  Everyone needs a HC in their garden, an excellent fig indeed.
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Wish list:  Galicia Negra, Violetta, Violette de Sollies, Dan_la's Black Beauty 10, Craven's Craving, Most important: YOUR FAVORITE FIG. A lot of people put emphasis on popular/exotic cultivars, which is great because it highlights some of the better fig varieties; however, I am most interested in the figs our members love regardless of pedigree. 
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figgiepudding

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Posted Reply with quote  #13 
Great idea! If my fig trees ever get big enough, I now know that I can barter work for cuttings!! Thanks, and good luck with the rooting.
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Sas

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Posted Reply with quote  #14 
I guess this tree is left unprotected. Would love to hear about your progress. Good Luck.
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Charlie

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Posted Reply with quote  #15 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sas
I guess this tree is left unprotected. Would love to hear about your progress. Good Luck.


Highly likely I will always at least protect the main trunk(s) until they get woody. Probably a wire cylinder filled with some wood chips, hay, leaves, whatever.

Have a couple of varieties being added.  

Unk Jim Dandy was located by a co-worker by talking with Jim, a guy who sold his home and the new owner wanted to cut down the fig tree to get vehicle access to the back yard.  I left a note on the door several weeks ago and kind of gave up but he called and so I went and got enough cuttings early in the week to hopefully get a few going.  
 
Jim brought the tree here from Brooklyn, NY about 40 years ago and doesn't know the variety.  All I have seen was a couple of figs that weren't completely ripe, dark sort of violette, still about 1/4 green near the stem with a reddish interior, but they were pretty dandy tasting, berry category, so I'm calling it Unk Jim Dandy until a positive ID might be made.  Could be HC and if it is that's ok with me.

Today I pruned Sister Madeline's Green Greek Fig and ended up with enough to fill some trade deals and get several started.  Learned a bit more history on this variety. The original family who owned it in Greece was named Kumpuris. Some of the ancestors of them live in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The lady from Little Rock who originally gave the cuttings to Sister Madeline was there today as they were having a big bake sale and was delighted to meet and get an armful of cuttings.  She was very happy to see the tree being spread around.  The original tree brought over from Greece no longer exists as the home place was sold and it was removed.  

 

 
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Zone 7A ~ Fort Smith area Arkansas 
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Posted Reply with quote  #16 
You have been very, very busy Charlie.  I really am looking forward to seeing how everything turns out for you.
Charlie

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Posted Reply with quote  #17 
Quote:
Originally Posted by COGardener
You have been very, very busy Charlie.  I really am looking forward to seeing how everything turns out for you.


Yes and with inventory going on at work kinda makes it hard to do what I want.

There's still five more trees to prune for Sister Madeline.  I just didn't have the energy today.  Then really soon there's the monster Durbrow Unk Seedless.  That thing is about 12ft out from the wall and 35ft long.
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Posted Reply with quote  #18 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie
Quote:
Originally Posted by COGardener
You have been very, very busy Charlie.  I really am looking forward to seeing how everything turns out for you.


Yes and with inventory going on at work kinda makes it hard to do what I want.

There's still five more trees to prune for Sister Madeline.  I just didn't have the energy today.  Then really soon there's the monster Durbrow Unk Seedless.  That thing is about 12ft out from the wall and 35ft long.





Wow!!!

Sound amazing.  I look forward to seeing the pics!
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