Fmv?

[Shep]

Just received this Ronde de Bordeaux from a well known nursery. I emailed them asking if it had the fig mosaic virus, which they confirmed that it did. They said to plant it and hopefully it will out grow the virus.

Wondering if I should just trash the plant so it does not infect any of my other fig trees, and cut my losses?

[oat]

RdB is a very vigorous grower and will most likely grow out of it. I think it’s tough to get a completely fmv-free tree without getting a tissue culture tree.

[PacNorWreck]

For what it’s worth, I received RdB from a very well known member here off of Figbid. It shows some FMV and is still growing really, really well - I don’t think you can really avoid FMV, but most plants aren’t really troubled by it overmuch.

[ginamcd]

If there is no active mite infestation, there is no threat to your other trees. Give it proper care and feeding and the symptoms will regress.

[ieatfigs]

If you plan on growing just your local fig varieties and local unknowns, then throw this away.

If you plan on expanding your collection to the varieties documented/collected/spread in this community, then you should accept FMV and keep it.

These figs have been passed around so much they're all starting to get FMV.

FMV is supposedly spread by fig bud mites - they suck juices from your infected tree, hop over to your healthy tree (by wind/touching/etc.) and infect your healthy tree. But I rarely hear somebody having fig bud mites, yet almost every fig tree has FMV. So either spider mites and/or leafhoppers also spread it, in which case FMV is impossible to stop. Or people aren't cleaning/disinfecting their pruners properly between trees. Or grafting - grafting is another means of spreading the virus.

I guess one thing you can do is ask your seller before you buy if their tree has ever shown any symptoms. But even then it's not a guarantee the tree doesn't have it. It's already hard enough to acquire these cuttings/trees at a reasonable price. So beggars can't necessarily be choosers. Most of us are concerned with whether we're fast enough to click the checkout button when winter cutting sales begin as everyone is competing for them.

With that being said, if I somehow end up with two sources for the same variety, then I get rid of the one that's less healthy.

[Shep]

Thank you everyone for your advice and encouragement. Really nice to have a forum that you can ask questions to real experts. I think I’ll plant the tree in the ground but isolate it from my other trees.