I am heartbroken. :-(

I went to the home of the mother Preto in Point Loma to speak to the new owners about pruning the fig trees and the Mother Preto has been chopped down, roots removed and all. The Beberia Branca and Abebereria are still there but the Preto is no more. I'm so happy to have found this tree and to have spread cuttings to many fig friends so at least it still survives. If you have one, treasure it.

Sue

  Wow...  so sad.

   It makes me thankful that I gave my first shot at grafting yesterday, using a Preto cutting that I thought was a bit too small to survive a rooting attempt.

   The Preto roots hesitantly, and grows slowly once they do root, so I thought that I'd graft it to a survivor.  (Literally...    I chose the only cutting that didn't rot in my cloner disaster, the Desert King that grew the great roots, only to have Clorox turn them into tiny brown hairs.  I pulled it out and threw it into a 3 gal pot.  I figured that it was doomed in the cloner anyway, so it could live or die... its choice.  LOL!!)  It survived the last month, and put out two branches...  one of which matched the diameter of the Preto.  Here it is prepped to graft to:

       



  The Preto scion is behind it.  I used the micrometer to find matching areas on each.

Here is the two with matching saddle cuts...  sorry for the blurry pic, it just wouldn't focus on the graft (14 tries)


      




   I then wrapped it tightly in grafting tape and rubber-banded it.


        


  We'll see if it works...  I think the Desert King will survive anyway.  I put the cut off portions of the Desert King and Preto both into the cloner. 
 (I'm thinking that green cuttings will do better there, as the Happy-Smoke folks root their green cuttings much easier, with less rot than our dormant wood)   Even still, I swear that I heard those scion screaming:  Noooooo!!!!!  as I approached the torture chamber. 

God job, Bluemalibu.

I would remove some of the leaves on the other Desert King branch leaving only the small one. Otherwise the plant may redirect all the sap flow to that branch and the graft will not get enough.

______

That's terrible news, Sue.
Unfortunately, the people that cut down the tree don't have a clue of it's meaning to the fig community, so we have to forgive them. It's very sad, nonetheless.

Thanks for the good job of spreading this excellent variety - that curiously, has it's origin in my country (probably the Algarve variety Violeta, according to Francisco and that was later sent to Madeira Island). This variety has almost disappeared in the continent, to the point that almost no one knows about it.
I still have to get my hands on a few cuttings of Preto and Black Madeira - it's almost absurd, living in Portugal, and having now more than 50 varieties in my collection and not have these two (probably the same variety) of portuguese origin.

Sue:

Thank you for finding and sharing!! My Figo Preto grows like a weed. I'm very pleased with new cuttings stated in Nov. They are setting fruit already.

Good save, Sue. 

Sue, good work for sharing this variety.  So sad that the new owners didn't see any value in the mother tree.  It makes you wonder how many excellent varieties have been lost this way.

By the way, my Preto loves Maryland - at least when grown in a container in a sunny spot.

Thanks for sharing this variety with us.

Figo preto is a very fast growing and productive variety. I'm hoping to have 200 growing in 20 gal pots in greenhouses by next year. Figo preto will have a strong presence in Hawaii.

Just as a "for fun," has anyone tried this in ground anywhere?  It's kind of precious to just leave in ground during the winter....but surely someone has done it.  

Just wondering what kind of cold hardiness, if any, Preto has.

Also, thank you for saving the variety.  I'm excited to try to grow this one.

Oh my goodness this is the saddest thing ever.  I can not even imagine the shock of the tree being gone.  I am new to the fig world and do not know the full story of this tree.  I gather it was found in Point Loma by Sue?  It really amazes me that someone would chop down such an amazing and valuable tree.  I wonder how the owners would not have known, to at least let someone try to move or save most of it.  I really am in shock.  Sad sad sad.  ;-(

I stopped by last August and the tree was still there but no one answered the door. I left a note asking to prune the trees in Jan but never had a call back. I went by again over the Christmas holiday and discovered it was gone. Again no answer at the door. When I got home I looked the home up on Zillow and saw it had sold in October. I'm not sure if the tree was removed before the sale and the fake grass installed to make the yard look bigger or if the new owners took it out. But it really doesn't matter as the tree which was around 60-70 years old, is gone. I didn't bother to knock again. I would have paid big money to have that tree moved to my place. :-)

Wow Sue! It has been awhile since I've made much of a post on here but I just have to comment on this one. I am very sad/disappointed to hear that tree is now gone. I was just looking at some of those older pictures you had taken of that thing. What an awesome tree it was! So sorry to hear that they completely extracted it!

Ahh! I just can't believe they cut it down AND dug up the roots. But I guess that's just the way it goes with folks who don't appreciate them the way we do.

I guess I'm reacting this way because this is absolutely in my top three favorite figs. It may even be my favorite.

Sue, I am very thankful that you found this variety and manage to preserve it in the way that you have. There are many of us who have this one and have determined to give it the best of care.

Hey Brett (post #10). I have been growing this one in-ground since my second season having it. Each fall, after taking some cuttings from it, I cover it with mulch to protect it during winter. Has worked well for me in even the coldest winters here in KY, zone 6. I always put a couple cuttings in the fridge for back-up just in case I lose the two small ones I have in-ground.

Now that the truly awesome mother tree is gone, I will give this one even higher priority.

For those of you who have Preto, we now have even greater reason to preserve it. It is one of the great figs! 

Long live Fico Preto ;-)! 

Sue, it's a common thing here in Charlotte too. You did a very good thing and I applaud you and others who have found fig trees across the US and distributed them out. Preto is a great fig and we would not know anything about this fig without you! Thank you for my mother tree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sue, you are this tree's hero.  She lives on in hundred's of yards thanks to you.

Let's just say it was the first fig I planted in ground when I moved to my new house.  Thank you Sue for sharing this variety with me.  Without your searching and sharing, nobody in the fig community would enjoy the delicious fruits from this tree!

Thanks Sue for getting this great fig out there!

Preto is my absolute favorite, a 10/10 here, the one I judge all others by.  I have 3 in ground, several in pots, with more to come, she gets the best spots in my yard. Slower and smaller growers than say than Col de Dames, but more productive in my first year plants, Preto graciously wants to share her figs.

I could not discern a taste difference between Black Madeira and Preto, but my Pretos grow much healthier.

I'm happy so many value this fig, it is a treasure. The Preto is a prolific producer once she's old enough, that is for sure.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Sadness.  

Sorry to hear that Sue,thanks for finding it.For those that have not seen the mother tree see below link.

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/portuguese-trees-5091607?highlight=abebereira&pid=1278114639

Paul, thanks for the link.  I had not seen a picture of it.  My gosh, what a majestic tree!  I got chills!  How unfortunate.  Now I'm MORE sad....

Me too! The pictures make me even more sad and confused So glad it is living on with so many appreciative fig lovers here! I look forward to having this beauty myself one day.

What a magnificent tree that was! I'm glad its offspring live on with many fig lovers.

I just saw this thread, I would make it a point to let them know that the tree has generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales. That is was a gold mine, they just threw a winning lotto ticket away. We have another from Pt Loma that has spread very little and that is Craven's Craving. It will eventually make the rounds.