Figs of Fall and Cultivar Ripening Span

[mountainfigs]

Today marks 4 months and 1 day of fresh home orchard figs here in zone 6b, northern West Virginia, elevation 1,000 feet / 305 meters.

Picked and ate over a dozen figs today from trees that lost their leaves nearly 3 weeks ago. Half were very good: 3 Battaglia Green and 3 Brooklyn White, pics attached. Not at full sweetness but citrus sweet, or field strawberry sweet, with a citric edge, more like a quality breba fig, though somewhat less juicy.

Most of the other figs today were Mt Etnas, also a couple Almas, and Janice Kadota but these had little or no sweetness. They defined bland, mainly.

Looks like I might be able to continue picking a few more figs over the next couple weeks. However, the flavor dropped way off for the most part a few days after the leaf drop (due to two hard frosts). A few figs of a wide variety remained flavorful (sweet) for a week or so, slowly finishing ripening. Since then, mainly only Brooklyn White and the "Adriatic" types have retained good sweet flavor, along with the occasional Mt Etna.

Single cultivars with the longest spans of ripening fruit this year include:

• Late Bordeauxs: July 10 to ~October 25 (3.5 months)
• Brooklyn White: July 23 to ongoing (3.5 months)
• Palermo Red (Aldo): July 21 to ~October 25 (3 months) (minimally productive)
• Improved Celeste: August 3 to ~October 25 (2.8 months)
• Ronde de Bordeaux: August 4 to ~October 25 (2.8 months) (apart from a few very early figs due to an early start inside)
• Mt Etnas: August 18 to ~Nov 1 (2.5 months)

All above were productive, apart from Palermo Red. The bulk of the production came more or less through August and September to mid October, 2.5 months, with the overall production range surpassing 4 months.

[newnandawg]

Tony, that is great. If I could figure out how to keep them ALL from splitting
and the SWD, I would have them by the dozens every day. Unlike any year I can remember.

[newnandawg]

No, my in ground trees are in in good amended soil

[mountainfigs]

I remember a conversation on this earlier, but did you post pics of the splitting? Maybe someone would see something tell-tale or related to a past experience of some particular type of splitting issue. Just guessing.

[newnandawg]

I may have posted a few here and there. Maybe I can take some pics tomorrow and post

[Clyde]

Are those potted or in ground?

[mountainfigs]

The figs pictured are potted. And in general: potted, for the most part.

That said, Mt Etnas ripened in ground. Of these, Hardy Chicago was earliest this year: August 21. Several other in ground Mt Etnas ripened first fruit 10 days after that and then they all continued to ripen as late as any of the potted ones. Dozens of purple Mt Etna fruits hanging on limbs currently both in pots and in ground but almost every one that I try now is bland, almost 3 weeks after leaf drop. All in all, in ground Mt Etnas here have nearly the same ripening span as potted Mt Etnas but are not as productive since the in ground fruit seems to take longer to ripen and therefore many never make it.

Also, Brooklyn White began ripening in ground on August 26 and finished in-ground ripening a few days after leaf fall. So, not quite 2 months of in ground ripening for Brooklyn White but again not as productive as Brooklyn Whites in pot.

[AscPete]

Thanks for sharing the photos and info.

When did the cultivars bud out in spring? Thanks.

When the bud break date is used along with the ripening span the total season length can be calculated, this info is helpful for selecting cultivars to grow in any zone with any cultural practice (potted, in-ground, in greenhouses, etc).

[mountainfigs]

Pete, below are the records I kept. The photo was taken April 20th, about two weeks after I moved the figs out of the garage.

2015 FIG BUDDING AND FIG RIPENING

• brebas appeared between April 1 and April 25
• main crop appeared on Champagne April 24 (started inside)
• main crop appeared on RDB April 27 (started inside)
• some Mt Etnas budded out from ground around April 25
• low limbs protected by mulch budded out around April 20
• one breba on low limb protected under thick layer of leaves (Natalina) later fell
• predict brebas will ripen very late June through September
• first main crop figlet appeared on Celeste by May 27
• IC came out of ground about June 1st, a few days earlier than previous year
• between May 27 and June 6, figlets or fig nubs appeared on IC, O'R, NGR, VST, PN, VDB, NTL, MB, MEU, DP, GB, GNSO, TV, Sal's Etna, Spanish Unknown, Sicilian Black, LSUP, RDB, Conadria, Calvert, Black Greek, Tiger, Uknown 1 (short neck breba tree), Grantham's Royal, Papa John, Latarolla, LW (moreso), Lattarula, Preto, Alma, Zingarella, DK, BT, Paradiso GM-9, Martin's U, Sal's Corleone, Brooklyn White, Violet Sepor, Brunswick, Lemon, Malta Black ... maybe others
• figlets appearing June 8-9: Hardy Chicago, Unknown 2 (long neck breba tree), White Triana, Lemon, Emerald Strawberry, Kadota, Stella
• fig nubs by June 6 appearing on IN-GROUND: Natalina (with low limb) and Marseille Black (w/ll) and Mount Etna Unknown (no low limb).
• figlet on Nero Barnisotte and Janice on June 10
• figlet on Scott's Black June 11
• figlet on Malta Purple Red June 12
• figlet on Brooklyn White June 14
• figlets on Black Madeira June 17
• figlet on Aldo, Florea, Texas BA-1, Battaglia Green June 18 ------- 59 varieties with figs by mid June
• figlet on LSU Gold June 21
• figlets/nubs by June 8 appearing on IN-GROUND: Hardy Chicago (with low limb), Keddie (pinched big bush)

[AscPete]

Tony,
Thanks for the reply.

I was only looking for the bud break dates for the listed cultivars in the OP ie;

- Late Bordeauxs: April 1 bud break... Figs July 10 to ~October 25 (3.5 months)
- Brooklyn White: April 1 bud break... Figs July 23 to ongoing (3.5 months)
- Palermo Red (Aldo): April 1 bud break... Figs July 21 to ~October 25 (3 months) (1)
- Improved Celeste: April 1 bud break... Figs August 3 to ~October 25 (2.8 months)
- Ronde de Bordeaux: April 1 bud break... Figs August 4 to ~October 25 (2.8 months) (2)
- Mt Etnas: April 1 bud break... Figs August 18 to ~Nov 1 (2.5 months)

Notes:
1. minimally productive.
2. apart from a few very early figs due to an early start inside.

[mountainfigs]

More evidence here that "Adriatic" types are among the kings of post-leaf-drop ripeners. These Paradiso GM-9 figs were hard at time of leaf drop about 3 weeks ago. Now they have softened up with a number remaining on the tree still to soften. They are far from intensely sweet as they would be when ripened with leaves but they are fresh and mildly sweet.

Also picked a mildly sweet Janice Kadota today (honey type: gold outside, amber inside). No pic as I wasn't expecting it to be edible. Am learning when Janice are sweet enough to pick after leaf drop. First the fruit must soften, then the skin begin to collapse, indicating a concentrating of sugars I suppose. I picked up three of the Janice that had fallen to ground; two were flavorful enough to eat. Close but not as flavorful as the one that had hung on the tree and began to collapse in on itself.

Last year on November 12 I found an overlooked Calverte fig hanging on a tree in garage (another "Adriatic" type). It was very sweet, I assume because it had begun to dry somewhat though looking and tasting fresh. Also found a Hardy Chicago outside on bush last year that was sweet on the same day. I'm guessing that these Paradisos would have sweetened up more if I had let them hang longer. They are fragile though on bush as some are finally dropping. A few more Janice Kadotas have dropped than these, while others cling on still.

Also noticed that today Figo Preto is just beginning to darken. Hadn't thought it would happen this late after leaf drop.

Picked the final Brooklyn White today. Sweeter than it looked. Citrusy. This is one robust fig. I had thought that if I were to try to grow and take care of one especially large productive fig tree it would be Ronde de Bordeaux due to the digitate leaves, the appealing round red shape and color of the fig, plus the great flavor. Now I am thinking Brooklyn White due to the large size and bright color of the fig plus the great flavor. Remains to be seen whether or not a large potted Brooklyn White tree can ripen most or all of its figs before frost the way a Ronde de Bordeaux can.

Pics of all the above here plus most of the remaining Janice and Paradisos on their trees. Last two photos are Janice (unlabeled).

[mountainfigs]

April 15 is your estimate, right? I would guess that's somewhat late. I just didn't keep track of bud break on potted figs, only fig appearance, which began at the start of April. Here are more photos all taken April 20 about two weeks after removing figs from garage. I recall that buds were beginning to break while in garage, right along with or just after the earliest brebas in the first week of April. I don't know if any of the "listed cultivars" buds were breaking that early though I imagine some were, even if I can't say for certain.

[AscPete]

Yes, just a guesstimate based on your post.
It should be changed to at least 2 weeks earlier.

The majority of my bud break was in early May.