A trip to Antwerp for Baud's trees.

[Rob Ster 010]

Made a trip today to Jaeken Nursery near Antwerp/Belgium.

They're specialized in anything mediteranean but most importantly, they sell Baud's trees!

Although i live in the Netherlands my self Antwerp is just an hour drive from Rotterdam.

I think everyone is familiar with his A-B-C- series, basically the well known varieties Baud sells but he also has a "Hors" serie, the more rare stuff and that's what i'm after.

So after 1 hr and 20 minutes ride because we got stuck in a traffic jam we made it to the nursery.
They had plenty of choice and some very interesting cultivars.



Outside they had the bigger potted trees, and when i say big, i mean big!





Rows and rows of our beloved trees...



But those huge ones didn't fit in my station(lol) so i had to go for 1 year old trees.

I finally got to score a Cavaliere, that has been on my wish list for years.
Second choice was a La Bourgeoise that i have never seen listed anywhere before.
Third choice was an Asfar.

So here's my new babies uppotted and back in the Netherlands...



It's been a successful trip!

Rob

[WillsC]

Rob,

I am jealous.......

[Rafaelissimmo]

Rob I don't understand how a tree with a trunk like that could survive in such a small pot

[Rob Ster 010]

I think they feed them pure miracle gro Raf lol

[Gina]

Great pictures. Thanks. Looks like a fun place to spend time looking around.

Those large trees in pots look like bonsais on steroids.

[cis4elk]

Very cool, thanks for sharing the pictures.

[eboone]

Thanks for sharing the pics and info! Can you tell us anything about these rare varieties?

[FMD]

Sensory overload !!!
I think I would be smacking my head in disbelief.

Good score, Rob!

[drphil69]

Congrats, and thanks for sharing!

[COGardener]

After seeing pic 2 and 3, I've decided I'm going to buy a forklift!!!!

I wish there was nursery like that near me. looks like a great place, thank you for the pics!

Congrats on the new acquisitions.

[Hershell]

You can't grow trees that big in pots, I thought.

[Coop]

Hi Rob,
Thanks for taking the time to take those great photos and posting them. I love seeing stuff like that.

[pppldj]

Those pics rock! Thanks for the tour.

[zone5figger]

Nice pics and best of luck with your new plants!
They must grow those big ones in-ground and then do some serious root-pruning to get them into those pots. Imagine how much water they would need in the heat of summer...

[andreas-patras]

great pictures and awesome score Rob.
you are making it hard for us to stop collecting new figs
if you keep this up you will run out of space in that new land you got.

[Sas]

Thank You for posting those very impressive photos.
Congratulations on your new acquisition:
“La Bourgeoise” is a local French variety that traces its origin to the Lac du Salagou area in France. Its golden fruit is pear-shaped and very sweet.
Asfar means Yellow in Arabic.
Cavaliere Traces its origin to Toscana Italy. It bears some medium sized black figs that are late, ripening in November.

[F. Bennett]

Wow, great pictures! I am amazed at the size of the two trees in pots.

[Rob Ster 010]

Thanks Sas , I could not find anything on the net regarding the "La Bourgeoise."
Asfar is from Syria by the way.
Cavaliere has been on my wishlist for some time so happy to finally own one.

Rob

[Bijan]

I would be willing to bet the larger trees were grown in ground then transferred to containers.

[Harborseal]

The larger trees may have rooted from the pot into the ground.

[hoosierbanana]

That is one durable pot

[m5allen]

That is fig bonsai on a massive scale. Wait.....that might be an oxymoron....