Does anybody know how cold hardy a Raspberry Latte Fig is?  Sorry to bother everybody with this but I couldn't find information on this and hoped someone here might know.

We are in zone 7b so would the Raspberry Latte survive in ground like our other figs or should we try a pot?

We got three scions from Encanto Farms and all three are growing like weeds already. 

Is this vigorous leaf growth a decent indicator of root growth too?  They have been leafed out for a good month now and are going strong.

Thanks friends, and best wishes to all.

I find that when a cutting has secondary growth off of the scion, ie second branch, or if it has a second flush of leaves on single branch, you are probably doing ok down below.
However, you can have lots of leaf and no roots, or lots of roots and not one leaf.  I have both happening this year. Fico Nero BC-healthy roots, no leaf. St. Jerome, 3 branches, no roots.

I would ask Jon about the Raspberry Latte.  Im thinking it will probably do better in a container (that is what I plan to do with it).  However, I grow everything in a container.

And yes, I have found it very vigorous.

good  luck

Thank you for the quick reply my friend.

This is very helpful.  I am rooting these in good quality potting soil outside and so far I am getting very good results.  But since I can't see the roots, I was getting nervous even though the tops look great.

Your comments were very helpful and greatly appreciated.

Hope you have great success and a great season this year.

Best wishes.

John
Georgia Piedmont
Zone 7b

Georgiafig
If it has leafed out a month go and has a lot of leaves as you mentioned then there is high probability that there are roots because that many roots for so long cannot be sustained from cutting reserves only.
So, yes this vigorous leaf growth a decent indicator of root growth.

I am breathing a big sigh of relief!

They look so good, it would be heartbreaking to lose them now.

But I have been an organic gardener and orchardist for over 20 years now, so I know that nothing is ever certain, and it's always do your best and take your chances.

We are relatively new to figs though, but really enjoying this new and rewarding hobby.

I greatly appreciate the advice and quick reply my friend, and hope you will have a great season and continued success.

Best wishes.

John
Georgia Piedmont
Zone 7b

Hi John,
R.Latte was originally a seedling growing on Jons property i might add a wonderful name the plant has , he lives in California as he often refers to as paradise !
I had a few peter out (nothing against anyone named Peter) on me and now have one potted up with roots in a gallon pot and another in cup not showing roots yet.
Course not all scion even from same plant as it been said will react the same.
Anyways if mine makes it it will be fun to compare what the leaves and fruit look like in our different climates one day.
Best Health

RL has hardiness demonstrated to 38F. Very vigorous grower. Original plant is 3" or more in diameter after 3-1/2 years growth and has branches nearly 20' in the air. Therre are two leaf forms on the same plant, single lobe and 5 lobe.

Thank you Martin and Jon.

I will keep you posted on the progress here in the North Georgia Piemont.

All three of the RL scions look great and seem to be really digging in for a solid start.

We get down to the teens here in the winter though, so I will definately try a pot for one RL, but maybe be bold and test another one in ground in a protected area with covering, and the third just in ground.

RL could prove to be a lot tougher than currently known, and even if not, there's still the one in the pot in the garage!  ;-)

Thank you friends.

Best wishes for good health and a great growing season.

John
Georgia Piedmont
Zone 7b

Oh yes!
Raspberry Latte is a very good rooter indeed, I just have one
(thanks Jon) with roots going out at the bottom foam cup (drain holes)
up to the gazoo!

Pictures show it as a fabulous fig [fruit]. Now the big question; will it perform
good here up-north (aka. does it need the fig wasp?). My understanding
it that it was "chance" fig-seedling on Jon's CA fig-heaven property...

[E1:] As for hardiness, I have come to a solid conclusion that
more-or-less (mostly more) , ALL figs are the same hardy.
Beyond (colder) USDA zone 8, it depends very much how
they are winter-protected.

RL is definately a winner as a rooter, and otherwise shows great promise, but if we need that wasp, I'm guessing they are going to have a heck of a time finding my yard from where they are now!  ;-)

Best wishes Gorgi

John
Georgia Piedmont
Zone 7b

Every indication is that RL is a common fig, NOT a Smyrna type.

Thank you very much.  I greatly appreciate your sharing this helpful information.

We can't wait to try the RL figs, and flying those little guys in from out of state would have been pretty expensive!  ;-)

I greatly appreciate all the information, the terrific fig scions, and the wonderful forum here.

Best wishes to all.

UPDATE: March 2011

The RL trees grew to nearly 3 feet last summer, even with taking off the tips to encourage side branching.

They also made it through what was a very cold and snowy winter by North Georgia Piedmont standards.  We got about a foot of snow in total, and temperatures were down in the teens often.  I covered all the new figs with a light layer of straw, but otherwise they were in ground with no other protection.  Nonetheless, I just uncovered the figs Sunday, and the RL is green on the wood except for the highest tips.  This seems to be good evidence that RL is hardy here in Zone 7b and has a good future.

p.s. I started this thread almost a year ago when I was very new to growing figs.

I have learned a lot since then (thanks to everyone here), but mostly what I have learned is that there is still a lot to learn!

I'm up here in MA and rooting RL right now. I'm curious like yourself to see how cold hardy it may be. It is a vigorous rooter and already 2 of 4 have roots wrapping around and shooting three inches out of the top of the cup. Started in water for 10 days and then put in cups. Had roots almost immediately.

My gut tells me that it would survive up here in-ground based on its vigorous growth pattern. May lose breba crop but the main would come back fast.
______________
Dominick
Zone 6a-MA

My Raspberry Latte seen -12 celcius in the garage as did all my other plants seems perfectly fine noticed the buds were  starting to swell and looked nice and red no signs of damage.

Nelson
Procrastination in fall made me leave half of my plants in garage (some last year rooted). I had a heater on and did not water during the winter (& will water now). The stems seem alive but a bit dehydrated. They will be slow to green up and some of the cuttings I promised may not be plump wither.

I have one RL that made through the fumblings of my first year of rooting cuttings last season.

It has one branch only about 1 1/2" long with another about 5". It's beginning to leaf out now and is looking good so far. I'm going to give it the royal treatment with hopes of it putting on some good growth this season.

It will be nice to compare notes on how it does in our various climates. If Jon's parent tree & the vigor some of you have observed is any indictor, it should do well in our hot summers here in W KY.    

Hi Dominick.  The only cuttings that had any figlets in their first season that I recall late last summer was the Hardy Chicago.  But they came far too late and the plants were still too young to support fruit.

I will bet the new CHs and RLs will both have a few main crop figs this year though.

With some winter protection, the RL looks like it might do well many places.

Best wishes to all.

John
North Georgia Piedmont
Zone 7b

Hello,

 Can anyone on the eastern half of the us actually describe the taste and growth of fruit or is this just a new fig,because the pics make my mouth water

Geo

Hi Geo.  It does look like a fantastic fig, but so far, I've just got about a three foot one year old tree.  No figs yet.

Jon can tell you though.  As I recall, he found it growing under a coffee tree there in Southern California.  And it must be good, or he would not have propogated it, as he has many to choose from so he can only choose the best for propogation.

So far, I am very happy to see that it is surviving and thriving here in Zone 7b, in ground.

Best wishes.

John

Geo

I doubt that anyone other the me has tasted it. The original tree is only 4 years old, and I doubt anyone else has one that has fruited, even though it is a fast, vigorous grower, and fruited in its second season, here. It is still being evaluated, here, and will probably have some more data in another year or two. It does taste as good as it looks. It does have a large eye, and some fruits are irregularly shaped. So, it is still experimental, but the taste makes further dissemination and trial worth doing.

As a comparison, citrus crosses done in the early 50s have only come to market in the past 5-10 years, after half a century of testing. I don't expect to live long enough to see what this plant does after 50 years.

I have one .... but it's going on its second year in a 2gal pot.  I can only hope for a fig or two later this year.

Thanks all for the input, I look foward to watching my 2 two year olds grow and hopefully eat this delicious looking fig,you guys are all great.

thank you

Hey Jon, what is the "FU" accession?  "Found Under"?

"Fixated upon"