I have two plants, started this April. While both plants grew nicely, neither one made figs this year. now there are signs of tiny figs forming, only about the size of a B-B. Could those be next years' breba forming? or just late figs on a young plant that would best be removed?
thanks
 
Grant
Kitchener
Z 5-b

Grant
In your zone these are not breba figs but the plant is trying late main crop figs on the current year wood. I am having the same situation and am taking off the new figs to divert plant efforts to the growth of the plant.

thanks Ottawan,
that about what I thought.
I am still wondering though, since this years wood will be next years older wood, and from what I have read brebas form before dormancy sets in, what exactly do they look like? do they form on this years wood for next years production?
Grant
z5b

I have read that in warm climate the breba can be seen/detected after the main crop if there is enough time before the dormancy sets. However, in my Zone 5 I have never detected any embryos before the next year spring time. That is my observation.

Thanks for the input.
I'm thinking to leave a few, if they stay small, just to see what happens with them over winter and next year. I'm not too concerned about the plants growth. Both have grown between 12 and 18 inches on main stem as well as on multiple branches, leaf nodes 1 to 2 inches apart. I'v pinched them back numerous times, and the branchs have branches.....


Grant
Z5b

I know this is an old post, but the question is the exact one I have in Post #3: "...since this years wood will be next years older wood, and from what I have read brebas form before dormancy sets in... do they (brebas) form on this years wood for next years production?"

Can anyone elaborate?

Thanks

The few breba I've had were not noticeable at all before spring. They seemed to spring up from bare flat wood.

I too am new to figs. A lot of my plants have tiny figs forming, much smaller than a pea, but I am in a zone where they will not be able to get any bigger. Some people say to remove them, others to leave them on to help lignify the wood before winter. The more hardened off the stems are the better they will survive the cold, so this late in the year I do not want to encourage new growth.

Some good info for the colder area growers like myself.

I also have tiny figs that have emerged that will not mature before dormancy. So it is best to remove them.

Hi,
It all depends on the strain of figs that you have.
This is what I've seen:
1. figs left on the stems during the winter that would ripen the next year ... At the very same time as the brebas unfortunately. But those figs got cold damage, and did not ripen perfectly.
    Some turned into nests for insects ... So my thinking is : NOT a good idea to keep those on as they can be insects hides and don't ripen any earlier than the normal brebas.
2. Some strains will form brebas low down on the old (previous year wood ...) wood.
3. Some strains will grow expand nodes without leaves and then nodes with leaves. The brebas will appear on those leafless nodes and on the first nodes with leaves - not low down on the older wood.
    The first nodes appear to be leafless because those leaves got turned/mutated into the caps that protect the buds during the winter ...

Last year I had 2 fig trees producing their first figs in fall.  One was a Chicago Hardy with marble sized figs and the other is an unknown Brown Turkey with figs 3X the size of a marble.  Being the first figs I have grown, I left them over the winter.  The smaller figs on the Chicago Hardy fell off by themselves while the very large Brown Turkey figs went dormant and ripened this spring.  There were 3 and they tasted very good; sweet and juicy.

This year, the Brown Turkey did not produce any figs except for those 3 breba, while the Chicago Hardy exploded.  Unfortunately, it was late in the season and I don't think there will be time for them to ripen.

Do people find that allowing trees to produce breba's hinder the main crop or affect it in any way?  Do you have to grow extra trees and designate them as breba?

I came home from work and I removed all the tiny little figs from my small plants.

Aporto: good question! Im wondering the same thing! Its hard to make a decision on which trees to prune! Maybe having two of each tree is a solution?!

Picture is worth 1,000 words!

Some times in warmer years here in Seattle next year's Brebas already show as tiny bumps on this year's wood but in cooler years those bumps may not be visible until next Spring.  We are having a much warmer than normal year in 2016 so we are getting some Main Crop Figs starting to ripen.

Desert King double buds above leaf petiole on current wood.  One bud may be for vegetative growth rather than next year's Brebas.
 

Desert King Main Crop Fig (won't ripen due to no Fig Wasps here, and wouldn't ripen even if we had the Fig Wasps due to lack of heat so I pick them off when the tree goes dormant as they will mummify and get moldy over Winter), and bump for next year's Breba above next leaf petiole.
 

Gillette caprifig with extremely rare late Fig that won't ripen due to lack of heat (so I will remove it during dormancy this Winter), and bump that should be for next year's Profichi Crop at lower leaf petiole.
 


Happy Growing,   kiwibob, Seattle

That's amazing!

Georgia pics guys! Man those wasps are going to town

Wow, that is crazy to see a wasp nest in a pom!!