What's your results on Hative d'Argenteuil?

[Tonycm]

Looking for some info on this variety whether potted or planted in ground;

Has anyone had good luck with winter survival in zone 6a protected or not?
Does it still ripen a crop if froze to ground?
Are the figs able to take a humid environment?
Is it a poor, average or very good producer?

What experience have you had? Good or bad.

[Altadena Mara]

I was only able to get one of two cuttings of HA to root in March of 2015 and here in Zone 9b it's a very slow grower. Not as slow as Figo Preto, but it’s still only two feet tall after a year. It was pushing roots out of a five gallon pot in January, so I moved it up to a fifteen gallon pot, hoping the larger size pot would encourage more growth. It’s sending out one branch now, finally. There are no signs of little figs yet.
Several experienced fig people reported their HA trees dying on them, even with the best of care, so it's certainly one for pots and pampering in Zone 6A. The "shockingly good" taste of the figs (JD) is said to be worth it. If you do some searches on fig boards, you'll find that Herman had some meaningful comments about trying to grow HA in cold climates.

[Jamie0507]

I've currently got 2 HA cuttings in the rooting box that I received from a good friend here on the forum and so far I haven't seen any roots, but then again its only been a little over 2 weeks. Mara it seems from your post that this variety may be a difficult one as far as rooting is concerned? And maybe growing in general too it seems? Do you have any tips that may increase my chances for success on rooting these babies? They sound as though they are definitely worth the effort with the description given of their taste being "shockingly good!" I've had this variety on my mind wanting to learn more about it, so thank you Tony for making this post. I will be following with great interest

[Altadena Mara]

I've found a fresh rooting hormone "Rootech" from my local hydroponics store helpful with some cuttings and useless with others. Now, if I have two cuttings, I put it on one and not the other to cover both possibilities. Usually at least one will root. The hormone seems to be deadly once it expires. Nursing lazy or sick cuttings along is a skill that improves with practice. You'll find lots of helpful info on the fig boards but it the end it just takes a lot of practice to find out what works for you. Best of luck with your cuttings.

[Tonycm]

Sounds like it's a tough one to root and a bit slow on growing, but anything good isn't always easy. "Shockingly Good" will keep me in suspense. I'm in the process of getting an air layer of this fig and probably best that I did with it being hard to root. I'll keep it potted in my zone, too harsh of winters.
I wonder what is killing others' trees? Were they recently rooted or transplanted and it's just too sensitive to having it's roots disturbed?
Thanks for the info Mara.
Jamie I'll sent some good vibes your way for your cuttings.

[Jamie0507]

Thanks a bunch Tony! I could sure use those good vibes because this sounds like a really good one! definitely sounds to be well worth the trouble (just as you said) most things worth it in life are not easy! 😉

[Bluemalibu]

Harvey, our propagator extraordinaire, rates HdA as second only to Galicia Negra at the degree of difficulty involved in prompting it to set roots. It is one that he recommends developing your grafting abilities in order to propagate.

[Jamie0507]

Ugh.. This means the death of many more innocent Celeste fig trees for sure lol!

[HarveyC]

This is a tough one to get started, that's for sure. My tree finally grew quite well in 2015, its third season in the ground, and produce a good crop of excellent figs. Well worth the wait and effort, IMO, though I have no experience with those crazy cold winters or humid growing condtions!

[HarveyC]

I think Ischia Black might be tougher to root than HdA, so maybe I'd rate HdA #3. Nothing scientific in this rating system, just a gut reaction.

[Jamie0507]

Harvey your "gut reaction" ratings (which is probably based off your experience & most definitely good enough for me👍) are really appreciated.. Perhaps I will create a thread on everyone's top 5 most difficult to root varieties now.. Hmmmm.. First I better do a search and see if there is a similar thread already here somewhere before starting a new one lol 😉

[figgary]

Now you tell me, Harvey.

[Brian M]

Gary how did you do that? I'm asking because I finally got my hands on a genuine cutting of UC Davis Black Ischia.The generous member warned me if the difficulty rooting this variety and advised bottom heat. It's a really nice tip cutting.

[quackmaster]

Better luck then me, my last two cuttings are drying up as we speak, I can just about count them out.

[Bluemalibu]

Don't let Gary put one over on you, Brian and Jamie... he's been nursing that tree for twelve years to get that growth out of it!

[figgary]

Brian, I sealed the top cut with paraffin, wrapped the upper portion with parafilm, and planted in Pro-Mix. Watered well and put it out on my covered porch. It took 2-3 weeks to start sprouting, and I moved it out to the sun. The cutting is from my very healthy plant (Thank you, Neil!), which I planted in the ground a few months ago.
Thanks Jamie. Sorry, Ryan.

[quackmaster]

Don't be sorry Gary, I'm happy you got it! Now grow it quick and well so I can get an air layer, lol. I got my cutting right before my grafting kick started.

[figgary]

When it is big enough, you'll get one Ryan.

[figgary]

Sorry for getting off track here, Tony. I have a Hative d' Argenteuil, which I just planted in the ground. It is 2 years old and I'm hoping to try the first fruit this Summer/Autumn.

[Tonycm]

When you get some ripe I would be interested on what you think of their taste.
If it's what Harvey and JD describe then that would be definitely a must have fig on everyone's list, good taste and early.

[Taverna78]

I root cutting and is grown like crazy!

[Tonycm]

Mike, how does crazy grow?? lol
Can you show some pics?

[Taverna78]

Tis was leafless cutting 3 day ago with small 2 in spike roots....

[Tonycm]

Looks good Mike. I hope we get some warm temps so you can put it in the sun to really grow crazy!

[Taverna78]

Oh yes.... I am going crazy tis weather. One day hot summer next day freeze winter

[Jamie0507]

Hallelujah we have roots!! Lol! One down one to go!

[Tonycm]

Jamie, congrats on your success. Give it lots of tlc.

[Jamie0507]

Thank you Tony! It's been quite a wait for these lil nubs to show face! Lol sure am glad to see them though Although I think my biggest prob with figs is giving too much tlc! Lol they seem to like it better when I ignore them (which is next to impossible for me! Lol) 😉 Hopefully things will keep heading in this positive direction though

[quackmaster]

I rooted one cutting of HA and it made it about a year and died over the winter.

[Jamie0507]

Ouch! Oh no that stinks Ryan! What kind of grower was it during the year that you had it? I'm basically trying to find out if it was finicky from the start or if something happened specifically that caused the loss?

[quackmaster]

Mine wasn't much of a grower, it was only about a foot and half tall.

[Altadena Mara]

My HdA has grown a foot in its larger pot, is branching out and is covered in figs. The first one was ripe yesterday and was delicious. The mouth feel of the fruit was surprisingly different from other figs this year so far: dense, firm, and still juicy and moderately sweet. The flavor was more of a strong berry flavor to me with subtleties of taste which I'm not able to describe. Sorry, I was too hungry to wait for a picture. Next time.

[Sarahkt]

My HdA has been a moderately slow grower in a 15-gal pot but has a good crop and the first few that have ripened over the last week have lived up to the hype. Nice fairy tale color with slightly tough but very tasty skin, and the interior has been deep, dark red berry jam-like with a complex flavor. It's been my favorite of the ones that have ripened so far, though the season is young and many trees haven't ripened fruit.

Noir de Caromb and LSU Hollier have also been producing good to great figs, though I think I need to water the LSU Hollier a bit less because richness of the fruit flavor goes down quite a lot.

[Fygmalion]

BlueMalibu has given this variety the seal of approval and I have at least 2 rooted cuttings going in the GH.... They were extremely difficult to root, taking from December to March to get going. That said since March, they have been climbing out of the 1 gallons and 1 has been up potted to 3 gallons to give it running room. Lots of vegetative growth and next year forecasts lots of promise...

[FigoTheCarpathian]

Just wondering if shade is the only factor that keeps HdA green at mature stage? I prefer them green or mostly green, so might graft on northern side of a tree.

[oat]

Extremely hard to root even when the cutting is from a mature in-ground tree. I got one that rooted out a lot but never grow shoots and just died on me.

[Sod]

Out of 3 or 4 I had 1 take. I may pull a little cut off and try grafting it to a bigger tree and see what happens.

[RosyPosy]

Hmm... My cuttings rooted really well. Haven’t reached up potting though, but they put out roots rather quickly. 🤷♀️ Hope they’re actually HdA! 😆

[oat]

now, I'm jealous that you got it to root so easliy. Kudo!

[RosyPosy]

Evdurtschi haha, not sure on that, more than likely beginner’s luck at this point 😅, and a good cutting!

oat If I end up with an extra one, I’ll let you know! (But you may not want to hold your breath, just in case of beginner’s failure 😝)

[oat]

You will do fine!

[grasshopper]

HdA was the first cutting I rooted in my first cutting season. It was a breeze. I rooted it again after my move. It was a lot harder this time. Took 6 months for it to really start growing. I attributed that to the condition of the cutting instead of the variety.

If you have a problem rooting HdA, try a different source next time.

[Wahshk]

I got 1 cutting early 2020 from Figaholic (Harvey). I cut it in half, grafted both onto 2 different rootstocks. Both took and I was able to eat 9 figs from July to September. It is a very slow grower for the first year, but I expect it to take off next season. I had similar experience with Ischia Black in 2019 that went crazy in 2020

[7seas]

2 cuttings that I got from DrDraconian successfully rooted in 2019 and this variety produce nicely.
Hd'A is not the most grower on its own root for me but for sure the keeper in my climate for its unique taste.