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#1
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Fig and frost
This year has been tough on our fig, and I suspect that it is not going to sprout well - it looks as if a few weedy tip shoots may break into leaf, but not much else. My inclination is that, if it does that, to cut those back, and force it to regrow from old wood. Has anyone experience with figs and late frosts, and does that make sense? Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#2
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Fig and frost
wrote in message ... This year has been tough on our fig, and I suspect that it is not going to sprout well - it looks as if a few weedy tip shoots may break into leaf, but not much else. My inclination is that, if it does that, to cut those back, and force it to regrow from old wood. Has anyone experience with figs and late frosts, and does that make sense? One thing - on our Brown Turkey the figs are on the tips, so if you cut these back you may lose all this year's fruit. Ours has just started puttting out leaves, and although we haven't had a late frost it has in the past been frost hardy. Yours may just be a late starter this year because of the continuing cold weather. Possibly worth waiting a few weeks to see what developes? -- No plan survives contact with the enemy. [Not even bunny] Helmuth von Moltke the Elder (\__/) (='.'=) (")_(") |
#3
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Fig and frost
In article ,
David WE Roberts wrote: This year has been tough on our fig, and I suspect that it is not going to sprout well - it looks as if a few weedy tip shoots may break into leaf, but not much else. My inclination is that, if it does that, to cut those back, and force it to regrow from old wood. Has anyone experience with figs and late frosts, and does that make sense? One thing - on our Brown Turkey the figs are on the tips, so if you cut these back you may lose all this year's fruit. Thanks, but ... :-( We are FAR too cold for overwintering fruit! I agree that figs develop mainly on the previous year's wood, and rarely on new shoots, but there aren't going to be many of those. Ours has just started puttting out leaves, and although we haven't had a late frost it has in the past been frost hardy. Cambridge is normally colder than that, and was this year. Even figs in warmer gardens haven't started leaves yet. Yours may just be a late starter this year because of the continuing cold weather. Er, no, sorry. It is pretty clear that the fairly hard and late frosts have killed most of the younger growth. I did mean a FEW weedy tip shoots! Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#4
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Fig and frost
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#5
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One of our figs is just thinking about uncurling its leaves, the other hasn't started yet. At this time of year I'd be worried about sap bleeding, so if you are going to prune, test a small twig first. But you're obviously OK about taking out dead stuff. That said, commercial growers prune heavily, taking out big branches, in order to encourage a lot of branches since, as has already been said, figs tend to fruit at only at the tips. So if you think you are still OK to prune, then seizing the opportunity to cut back a few branches may give you more figs next year. (There again, if there are a lot of embryo fruits coming, I'd find it very hard to prune - delayed gratification isn't my thing as far as figs are concerned.) Figs are very tough things. April two years ago last my garden waterer forgot about the potted fig, which lost all its leaves and died back. I chopped it back to 6 inch apparently dead twigs and parked the pot under a shrub to deal with later. In late August it produced a whole bunch of new leaves and is now going fine.
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#6
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Fig and frost
In article ,
kay wrote: One thing - on our Brown Turkey the figs are on the tips, so if you cut these back you may lose all this year's fruit.- Thanks, but ... :-( We are FAR too cold for overwintering fruit! So are we - but this year's figs are already visible as lentil sized buds before the leaves appear. These are the ones you will lose by pruning. That typically doesn't happen here, because it is too cold. Those (obviously) have to form at the same time or earlier than the leaf buds, and we have had a couple of quite hard frosts recently. One of our figs is just thinking about uncurling its leaves, the other hasn't started yet. That is a LONG way ahead of here! It hasn't even started forming buds - the only ones visible are those that overwintered, and I don't know if any will burst. The point is that we have a cold garden. The fig was my wife's choice, and has never done much. There is only one warm spot, and it absolutely cannot go there (drains etc.) Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#7
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Fig and frost
kay wrote:
So are we - but this year's figs are already visible as lentil sized buds before the leaves appear. These are the ones you will lose by pruning. Ours are about the size of large grapes already! |
#8
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Fig and frost
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#9
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Fig and frost
In article , wrote:
That is a LONG way ahead of here! It hasn't even started forming buds - the only ones visible are those that overwintered, and I don't know if any will burst. The point is that we have a cold garden. The fig was my wife's choice, and has never done much. There is only one warm spot, and it absolutely cannot go there (drains etc.) Is your fig, by any chance, not a UK-designed one such as brown turkey? ok, I have a south facing garden, and the fig is near the house, but ... you're only 20 or so miles up the M11! It can't be /that/ different climate to me! (I had a 10 minute warning about the hailstorm yesterday) It's a Brown Turkey. As I said, it's a cold garden, though I am not entirely sure why, but I have observed that in many plants. They are generally a week or so later than the area, and often rather more affected by frost. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#10
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Figs that have been ripened on the tree are wonderfully rich in flavour, and Brown Turkey are much more intensely flavoured than the dark blue things which are sold as fresh figs in the supermarket.
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#11
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I doubt whether you'll make things any worse ;-)
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getstats - A society in which our lives and choices are enriched by an understanding of statistics. Go to www.getstats.org.uk for more information |
#12
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Fig and frost
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#13
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Fig and frost
In article , wrote:
It's a Brown Turkey. As I said, it's a cold garden, though I am not entirely sure why, but I have observed that in many plants. They are generally a week or so later than the area, and often rather more affected by frost. How strange. Havign said that, our asparagus patch on the allotment is distinctly colder than the rest of the whole plot, for no apparent reason. I think it's probably haunted. The only thing that is strange is that I can't identify why! It's fairly common. Anyway, I passed a fig 2 days ago elsewhere in Cambridge, and it was still solidly dormant - that that was south facing, sort-of! Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#14
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Fig and frost
On May 17, 9:26*am, wrote:
In article , wrote: It's a Brown Turkey. *As I said, it's a cold garden, though I am not entirely sure why, but I have observed that in many plants. They are generally a week or so later than the area, and often rather more affected by frost. How strange. *Havign said that, our asparagus patch on the allotment is distinctly colder than the rest of the whole plot, for no apparent reason. *I think it's probably haunted. The only thing that is strange is that I can't identify why! *It's fairly common. *Anyway, I passed a fig 2 days ago elsewhere in Cambridge, and it was still solidly dormant - that that was south facing, sort-of! Regards, Nick Maclaren. Some interesting info on figs http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1787/ |
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