Encanto Farms Nursery > Categories > Will the figs ever ripen?

Author Comment
ahajmano

Registered:
Posts: 12

Hi all,

I have several white genoa's just sitting on the tree doing nothing for months. 

1) will they over-winter and ripen in spring?

2) are they a lost cause, and I might as well take them off the tree to free-up some energy. 

pitangadiego

Registered:
Posts: 5,447

Remove them.

barnhardt9999

Registered:
Posts: 183

Hard to argue with the post before me... but here is a source that says thay may ripen in early spring. See page 129. http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/15714/PDF 

If it was me, I'd leave one or two of them on just to be sure.

bullet08

Registered:
Posts: 6,920

if it's young tree. definitely take it off. the older tree, i don't think it makes any differenc. last year i left few on. they all turned nasty and i took them off before full winter kicked in.

pitangadiego

Registered:
Posts: 5,447

Haven't seen any literature, but leaving them to ripen in the spring may delay the following crop, much as the breba crop pushes back the main crop.

rcantor

Registered:
Posts: 5,727

Is the tree dormant?  If not and you have the lighting to support the tree indoors they may ripen if you bring them in.  I've ripened some that way.  Then I let the tree store energy for a month before letting it go dormant.

ahajmano

Registered:
Posts: 12

Thanks guys, and the moderator. I will remove all the unripe figs. 

Southern California here, so tree has not gone completely dormant, and may never do so. Some leaves seem to be still growing.

I don't have enough experience with figs, but so far every baby fig tree I have encountered has unripened figs on it going into winter. This includes the 4 I have waiting to be planted, the White Genoa I planted 2 months ago, and all the plants at the nurseries. 

Its great information to have, that I should just remove them altogether.

garden_whisperer

Registered:
Posts: 1,613

I would

pitangadiego

Registered:
Posts: 5,447

The weather this week should help communicate to your trees that dormancy is an option.

ahajmano

Registered:
Posts: 12

Good point, it sure is cold! I had some light frost and my apple banana got fried :'(

twobrothersgarden

Registered:
Posts: 332

I have two fig trees that still have ripening and unripened figs on them...I just pulled a sweet and very ripe fig off of my black mission on sunday... None of my fig trees are going dormant...I'm just going to let nature do its thing...If they ripen they ripen.