Best fig of the year for me - BMjon/BT bark graft

[American Infigdel]

This is the best tasting one so far this year! A Black Madeira (jon) bark graft on Brown Turkey. Its just a small two year old tree but it holds great promise. Last year the figs it put out were leathery, dry and pithy. This year they are melt in your mouth berry sweet. Its causing me to rethink my next tree. Might have to try a CC!

[TNJed]

That skin! 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼

[American Infigdel]

It came as a surprise, that the skin was so thin and delicate, because everyone says it gets thick and leathery in hot climates. We've already had a couple of weeks of 115 degree days. Maybe the brown turkey roots keep it tender???? Is that even possible?

[fruitnut]

Enough water could keep the skin tender. The BT roots are probably doing that. Black Madeira on it's own roots can't compete with other figs for water. As a result the fruit ends up small, dry, and thick skin. So BM on it's own roots needs more water. I've got BM, BMKK, MIB, and Black Tuscan in ground that have small figs because they can't compete with vigorous figs for water. The fruit is much bigger and better if they get more water. But I'm trying to slow down the vigorous varieties by withholding water.

[PacNorWreck]

It seems like there’s a whole world of rootstock studying that could be done for figs. Dwarfing rootstocks for containers, rootstocks to provide more water to shaker plants, or rootstocks to slow down vigor and impart precocity. Who knows, maybe some rootstocks even affect the sugar content and flavor as with citrus!

[fruitnut]

Yes I think Black Madeira would be a candidate as a dwarfing rootstock for figs. I've got some grafted now but don't know if I'll have time to really test the resulting plants.

[Bellefleurs]

I grafted BMKK (along with 9 others) onto Purple Passion rootstock. Purple Passion is a dwarf fig but it’s vigorous and takes grafts beautifully.
The first year grafted figs last year were excellent and the tree is loaded this year. Bordisotte B/N, BMKK, CdDN, and Paretjal Rimada are beginning to ripen. This is much earlier than my in ground trees and with higher production and fruit quality.

[TNJed]

Bellefleurs Do you have an ungrafted PP in the ground to see how dwarf it is? I was planning to create some in ground frankenfigs on dwarf RS but changed my mind after last winter. I may still create some longer term potted RS using something like a PP in the future.

[Bellefleurs]

My entire tree is now grafted. In fact, I allowed only one branch to form and that small branch is currently ripening a fig. All Summer I have been rubbing off the mother tree's attempts to push rootstock, and it is still pushing growth from the roots. The tree's trunk is about the size of a man's bicep and before I grafted it (last year) the tree was around 6' tall.
I know that I shared cuttings with Bry last year.

[Ktrain]

That's a beauty, Still hoping for mine this year!

[JT1923]

Those colors are really lovely

[Realtorbyday]

That's an awesome fig. Your tree is really looking good.