UC Davis Black Ischia

[WillsC]

After 3 times getting cuttings of this variety and having them not root or root then die as small plants I gave up but Harvey was nice enough to send me a grafted UCDavis BI on BT. The plant was just a little thing when I got it about a year ago but it grew well and had up potted it 3 times to finally a 15 gallon pot. It was growing as just a tall stem so in the spring I put two tree pot airlayers directly on the main stem. Then I got hurt and when I finally returned to active duty the top had grown WAY too much for the tree pot roots to support it.






So I decided I would take the tree pot off the top airlayer and the soil just hung there, it was that well rooted so placed a 2 gallon pot around the roots of the airlayer and supported it with a couple pieces of conduit. The pot itself is staked down to the ground.






A week or so ago a couple of the figs started to ripen and while I was not expecting much from a January fig in the GH it absolutely blew me away with just how good it was





The 2 gallon airlayer is now ready to be removed so will see how it does on its own roots and the tree pot under it should now push a bud.

It is not nearly as black as it would be in the summer but the fruit should be even better.

[ross]

So.. you'll be sending that 2 gallon tree my way free of charge?? That's really nice of you, Wills. What a nice guy our leader is. Isn't he?!

[Fygmalion]

Ross... the line forms immediately behind me.... :-)

[ross]

Lol, Tony.

[danw]

Awesome! I love the two gallon Air layer. also you answered a question about multiple air layers on the same branch. Do you think the lower air layer set as many roots as the upper one?

[WillsC]

The bottom one seemed just as rooted as the top one.

[Dbills]

I would be fine with just the tree pot

[mountainfigs]

Hey, Wills, your greenhouse looks a little messy. There's a pot on the left that fell over. Would you please pick that up. Maybe reshoot the photo. Thanks.

Seriously, great looking set up. Very interesting to hear about the high quality flavor of that fruit in a greenhouse. Some cultivars just have an edge, one way or another.

For some reason, a look at your setup makes me think about building 1 foot tall narrow long "greenhouses" (tunnels? frames?) here in the north to protect long low cordons through winter.

[WillsC]

The turned over pot is empty I leave it there as a threat to the other potted figs.

The plants on top of the tilapia tanks are plants that are or will be for sale. Those on the ground along the tanks have layers on them, some are new varieties and some are duplicates of in ground varieties. Having them in the GH alows me to do airlayers over the winter. The entire center section is all new varieties that will be planted in the spring.

[ross]

Wills,

You should show us some pictures of your trees. Do you have them in rows?

[Harborseal]

Congratulations!

[npolaske]

Has anyone tried grafting a slow-growing variety with heavy FMV (UCD Black Madeira or Black Ischia) to BT, and then airlayering it back onto its own roots? Is the thought here that the BT rootstock might "kick-start" the growth and lessen the effect of the FMV? Or is the objective just to get as many airlayers and cuttings as possible?

[WillsC]

Oh I think it does kickstart it. Those with heavy infections just grow like crap. It seems that those varieties that grow fast and strong stay that way and the weak ones stay weak at least for a LONG time. My thought is since the top is growing healthy and fast it will stay that way once on its own roots.

[Zuny]

Congrats, WillsC. What is the big tree in the middle towards the back?

[WillsC]

Mango, it is actually two mango trees planted 30" apart. Behind them a ways is two lychee trees. The mango trees are just starting to bloom.

[Rafaelissimmo]

Congrats Wills,looking forward to tasting these myself this season.

[cis4elk]

Looks good , it's always fun to have pictures with a lot of stuff to look at. I keep going back to the OP to look at new things that are brought up.

[Gina]

I have never tasted a fig better than the real UCD Black Ischia.

[Bluemalibu]

Tony, a little bird has let it slip that there are several interesting plants in route to Carmel this spring.

Everyone's growing conditions vary so widely that any given cultivar may rise up some years to better the performance of the latest must-have 'Fig du Jour'. Here where 108* summers provide the heat to produce high sugar content and intensely concentrate the flavors in fruit, Black Ischia was rated as being pretty good and rich tasting, but it was overshadowed by the likes of CdD-Blanc, Soccoro Black, Emalyn's Purple, Bourjassote Gris, Black Madeira, Fico Preto and Zidi. This was experienced both at figgary's get-together and at Wolfskill (UCD's fig tasting).

[Fygmalion]

Bluemalibu many thanks to both the little bird and the benefactor that is the source of that information... I am not worthy of such generosity... I think those fig gatherings must really be something special and I suspect the figs being presented for tasting are the least of it....

[figgary]

Gina, I might have to agree with you. I've had several varieties, ( Blue mentioned many of them ), that are right there with it, but it would be difficult to say any was better.

[Altadena Mara]

I’ve never bought Ischia Black as cuttings for the very reason you mentioned. Didn’t Harvey post somewhere that it’s the second most difficult fig to root from cuttings in his experience? Congratulations on getting one to grow and even fruit as a graft.

[WillsC]

Mara,

I really have no problem getting them to root.......now getting them to survive and get to one gallon stage, problem. On the one and only one I got to 1 gallon and planted it something came along and ate the leaves off of it and that was it....did not even try to put out new leaves. Grafting this one turns it from a nightmare into a dream.

[Gina]

I also did not have trouble getting it to root. I got 5 out of 6 to do so. But slowly they have died off, leaving only one alive after 2-3 years. I'm thinking I should graft some of it to something else while I still have one.

[Fygmalion]

Wills.... what is your favorite / recommended grafting method for the IB? Is there any one method that you have had greater success with or that you think is much better than the others or does it come down familiarity / confidence in the method regardless of variety?

Thanks....

[WillsC]

Tony,

You are seeking advice from the wrong person I have never grafted the IB, I will but not yet. Ask Hershell, he is as pro as they come on this board for grafting, or Harvey. I'm just a newb at grafting, but I have had good luck with side veneer, cleft and saddle. I know Hershell prefers whip and tongue.

[Fygmalion]

I have watched Harvey's youtube video's on grafting... excellent and I am planning on trying them with the new grafting knife my son forged me for Christmas.... Hershell What do you think is the best method for grafting a hard to root variety such as Ischia Black?

[Hershell]

Tony, probably Cleft is first choice and then Whip.

[Taverna78]

You've got to Whip it... whip it real good....

[figgary]

Just thought I would add a couple pics of a ripe one. Great setup, Wills.

[Fygmalion]

Beautiful, Gary! Wow!

[WillsC]

Gorgeous. How big is the plant? I took about 30 green figs off it today in preparation to remove that top airlayer, sad but needed done.

[figgary]

It's only 2 feet tall. I planted it in the ground last spring, and it's healthy, but slow. On its own roots.

[HouFig]

wow Gary that is a beautiful Fig you have there!

Thank you for posting photos and sharing your experience with the plant.

[WillsC]

Gary,

It is funny how on that IB the fruit is longish until right at ripening then it rounds out.

[figgary]

I noticed that also, Wills. When I was watching them ripen on the plant, they reminded me of my Abebereira.

[quackmaster]

Soooo jealous, lol. I've been trying to get a ucd black ischia for years with no luck, lol

[Fygmalion]

The list of "have-nots" is far longer than the list of "haves"....

[WillsC]

Ok the airlayer was severed...a very nervous time. The plant when removed did twist a bit which showed it may not have been as well rooted in to the larger pot as I had hoped. The die had been cast though and I watched it all day to see if it would start to wilt but was relieved and a bit surprised that it did not. I did remove a dozen leaves or so. The airlayer below it, a tree pot was not as well rooted as I had hoped it would be but I did remove the treepot and replaced it with a gallon pot, now the waiting to see it push new buds, the main plant now has no leaves at all and I hope it now pops buds all down the trunk. I had weeks ago applied BAP to a number of the nodes but had no effect at all.

[Taverna78]

First to comment on first a.l. Photo I win it!

you left the pot on its side on purpose in photo also didn't you 😉

[WillsC]

Yes it is a threat to the other plants

[lilfiggy]

hmm thinking of moving a cot into greenhouse so i could be first to get anything but remembered that Wills in Florida also and I would probably die from heat exhaustion.