I would like to ship a few caprifigs with the wasps to the East coast .
As you can see from the photos, the figs on the tree at the different stages of ripeness.

When should I collect them?
When they are fully ripe and soft or still hard?
Is it better to keep the figs only or with a part of the branch?
How many days I have to do the picking?

When shipping, how to pack them? Is a plastic jar is fine or a cloth bag is better?

Thank you!

igor i am guessing that you need the capri to sync with the common they need to pollinate.
so they would need to be in the same zone as you are or have the figs started in a greenhouse.

Thanks, Andreas! Yes, they are approximately in sync and the commons/Smyrna figs are waiting for the pollen. I just do not know when it is best to pick up the caprifigs

Igor,
IMO figs on first and sec pictures seem OK for pick-up and dispatch
Check the eye .. It should be showing a tiny slot or even a very small hole indicating that the male wasps are finalizing the 'tunnel' opening through the male flower bush..a few wasps may already have abandoned the fig.
Pick up late afternoon and pack on a hard carton in between plastic bubbles gently tight to avoid 'jumping around'... Dispatch early morning. The pack must be sealed and dark inside..
it could eventually be UPS'd as a fragile pack ?

Hope this helps

Francisco
Portugal

Francisco,

Thank you, very helpful!
Should I ship overnight if packed like you suggested or 3 day delivery would work too?
It is mainly a big price difference. 

For how long the wasps can be outside the figs (let’s say some escape through the tunnel)?
I assume that sealing the eye is a bad idea, right? 

What is I seal the eye but punch a hole with a needle on the arrival?
Or slice the figs in half, would that work?

Igor you might want to tape the eye.
the person that will receive them will just remove the tape...
i dont think they should slice the figs...
if you cut some with the wood cuttings on them they will have some energy to feed the capri for the trip.
a damp towel might help... but just on the cutting not the fruit.

My understanding is that the male wasps make the exit tunnel for the females . Will the eye taping interfere with making the hole and trap all the wasps inside?

Those caprifigs look beautiful! Nice fruits and very nice leaf pattern. If you don't mind me asking, is it your tree or is it growing in the wild?

Dan, Not at all. I have 2 caprifigs but they are still young as a 1 and 2 year old trees. This particular one was found growing around a store parking lot, I noticed many dark figs on the ground. Seeing the fig trees near the stores and gas stations is a very common occurance. Some are better and some are planted . It looks like it was planted as edging quite a long time ago. There is another one 15 ft away but that one is an edible fig with many cherry size figlets.

Igor,

I wouldn't close the eye   -danger of suffocating emerging wasps-   and shipping overnight should be better.
One may retard the process bringing temp down. Have on some instances kept 'ready' figs in the fridge for over a week. Believe the insect if given the right conditions will survive several days.
Have used Tupperware type box to package , wrapped in newspaper, for road transport.

 

See what I mean by 'tiny slots' .. small holes  ???

Francisco
Portugal

Francisco,

Once transported to an area that is conducive to the wasp, (and assuming that there is a caprifig tree present) will that caprifig tree now become a host for the wasp?

Mike,

The answer to your question is YES-but! .
The Caprifig you intend to 'up-fit' with a new colony of wasps must be already sporting the next crop - The Mammoni - and this because the mammonis are built with a number of galls ready to accept the eggs from the incoming wasps, thus keeping the family moving on until the Mammes appear

According to the variety and the ongoing climate you may have receptive mammonis overlapping the Profichis (probably the late Profichis)
Last year I had such a set up with my potted Odel Caprifigs  issuing wasps entering Smyrnas, Common and San Pedro ... as well as half a dozen of young already receptive mammonis.
This season I do have several fat Profichis but so far no mammoni at sight.

In the Nature in these Caprifig regions this process  goes on automatically
Caprifigs rooted in pots must be given Caprification and partially pruned/pinched to generate a few mammonis

Francisco
Portugal

I see, thank you for the info.

Right now my tree has fat soft caprifigs all the way down to little buttons, and it did hold figs over winter. so I have high hopes I can make this work.

Thanks again,

-Mike

Mike

I see.. this is good news!
Can you show us some pictures ? I love to see them apart from being very curious of these matters.
On any Caprifig, at this time of the season,

-Figs appearing on last year's growth are PROFICHI and should have wasps and pollen, otherwise they should have already collapsed. As a reference Profichis will ripen and issue wasps and pollen mid June.
-Figlets on current season growth shooting from the leaf axils are MAMMONI which in theory, will be sufficiently developed and receptive when the insect leaves the Profichi


Igor,

Your black 'male' fig on the above pictures of your first post did ring some bells..
From old notes and info it looks that you are near a Caprifig of the controversial species 'Ficus Pseudocarica'.
see this page:
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/arbimg10.htm#pseudocarica

Francisco
Portugal

Francisco,

I took some pictures of the fat caprifigs on the tree...

 

and then I went out an hour later, and lo and behold, you were indeed correct, wasps!

 

I couldn't get the iPad to focus on the figs wasps but if you look closely you can see them on the outside of the fig. So I don't need to introduce them they are already there.

-Mike

Mike,

Great ! Congratulations!

These seem to be good quality Caprifigs (Profichi) and will provide many wasps.
I am confident that there must be other Caprifigs in your living area.
How many Profichis you have on your tree ?

Check your tree for small shoots on the new fig growth to try and locate the next crop (Mammoni)

Are there any Smyrna figs on your yard ? If yes, those wasps will find them (just like all other) and you
could evaluate the efficiency of the insects and pollen.

Good luck

Francisco
Portugal

I have a small Purple Smyrna but no figs on it yet, and a small Dauphine (San Pedro type). So next year I expect they should be good to go!

This carping was a seedling that sprouted on it's own in the yard, and is about five or so years old, growing in a 25 or 30 gallon planter. I also have another seedling that popped up last year that has red leaf stems that I potted up and am going to keep an eye on.

-Mike

Bump.

Greenfig, were you successful?

Fransisco, as always, thanks for the info. 

I have not shipped the figs, we decided to wait for the tree in a pot to caprifigs and ship the whole thing. I still may try the figs only, in a few months.

Will Caprifigs produce reliable crops in pots similar to common figs? How large do common figs need to be before caprification?

1. They might but you have to take of 3 crops instead 1.
2. Between a half and 1 cherry sized depending on a variety.