Agreed! I’m in the high desert above Palm Springs, Zone 9A. With temperatures ranging from winter lows in the low 20’s to a summer high this year of 112° F and no rain for months at a time, it’s a tough place to grow much! But the 4 fruit trees that thrive for me are figs, mulberries, pomegranates and kumquats. Happy plant, happy gardener! 😊
Pomegranates are another great recommendation! But I don't like eating them or getting them out of their shell 😅 I have 1 just for my family. I need to try kumquats, I don't have much experience with them. Have you tried jujube? Another easy grower here, also zone 9a.
"If your fig tree ever dies back to the ground [...] you can expect it to might grow up to five feet tall the very next year." My Chicago Hardy died back to the ground last winter (its first winter outdoors). It grew back to seven feet, and I'm enjoying several (smallish) figs each day, probably until frost. I'll have to take measures to protect it a bit better this winter once it has gone dormant. Mulberries are something I haven't considered, though it sounds like I should.
Whoaa 😲 that's a lot of growth in one year! Glad you got to enjoy figs this year, but also surprised that the Chicago Hardy died back. To my knowledge, they are one of the most hardy of fig varieties.
@@FaewoodAcres Temps got to -10F at one point (which is unusually cold for this area--Northwest Arkansas), and a lot of the growth was still tender when frost arrived and the tree went dormant. I'll be protecting the new wood this year, and hopefully the tree will be better established and can manage with less protection in future years. The fast growth is probably helped by the long summer heat. A lot of TH-camrs growing figs that I see are in more coastal areas, but here in the middle of the continent temperatures are more extreme for both heat and cold. Spring and fall are very short.
@@FaewoodAcres Current plan (which you're welcome to suggest a change to--I'm a newbie) is to keep about a half dozen of the "medium" stems, pruning both the really tall and really low stems back to the base, then before temps start dropping into the low 20's regularly bend them to the ground, cover with woodchips to several inches. The ground never really freezes to any depth here, even though air temps can get quite cold for a few days at a time. I'm considering dry woodchips first, a sheet of plastic, then additional chips--not sure if the plants will benefit from minimizing contact with moisture. I'll uncover around the end of March (average last frost is mid-April).
Sounds like a plan! Personally I'd be wary of the plastic causing fungus problems, more of a problem for other trees though, and I'd be ok with just piling on the wood chips. The main enemy is the frost staying on your plant, and the chips should help that. Best of luck 🍀
Absolutely, straight from the tree to my mouth! 😄 I need to gather some mulberry recipes for spring, my tree is getting out of control, and gives a ton of berries.
As kids, mulberry fights around massive 70 year old trees wearing white t-shirts was pure belly laughing fun! Mom didn't mind as we'd bring home a grocery bag full for homemade cobbler with ice cream.
@@FaewoodAcres Mom used the yellow box biscuit mix to make a crust and did it up. Her first one she made she treated the mulberries as if they were the local blackberries with the amount of sugar she added. It was so sweet it was hard to eat a bowl but she learned to cut most of it. I don't know if she ever got the t-shirts white again, lol!
Nurseries sell like 3-4 generic fig tree varieties. While if you buy from Third party or places like figbid, you have limitless varieties. The only good fig nurseries sell here is violet des Bordeaux and celeste and they are not good strains of them. The one i bough from someone local produces fruit from every single node and is my best tasting fig so far. Nothing comes close to it. Same for smith taste like strawberry cake syrup. Love my chicago hardy because the skin has a special peachy taste that no other fig skin has, ussualy tasteless. The ones from nurseries have been pretty mediocre. Nurseries mainly sell tissue culture figs to get rid of the FMV virus that every single fig suffers but overcomes it easily
I agree figbid will give you SO many choices. That was the fig community I referred to. I encourage local nurseries as an alternative to the big box stores, which usually just sell "common fig", or maybe "little miss figgy" probably just because it sounds cool.
You're right! Awesome video 😊
Thanks for watching! 😊
Agreed! I’m in the high desert above Palm Springs, Zone 9A. With temperatures ranging from winter lows in the low 20’s to a summer high this year of 112° F and no rain for months at a time, it’s a tough place to grow much! But the 4 fruit trees that thrive for me are figs, mulberries, pomegranates and kumquats. Happy plant, happy gardener! 😊
Pomegranates are another great recommendation! But I don't like eating them or getting them out of their shell 😅 I have 1 just for my family.
I need to try kumquats, I don't have much experience with them. Have you tried jujube? Another easy grower here, also zone 9a.
"If your fig tree ever dies back to the ground [...] you can expect it to might grow up to five feet tall the very next year." My Chicago Hardy died back to the ground last winter (its first winter outdoors). It grew back to seven feet, and I'm enjoying several (smallish) figs each day, probably until frost. I'll have to take measures to protect it a bit better this winter once it has gone dormant.
Mulberries are something I haven't considered, though it sounds like I should.
Whoaa 😲 that's a lot of growth in one year! Glad you got to enjoy figs this year, but also surprised that the Chicago Hardy died back. To my knowledge, they are one of the most hardy of fig varieties.
@@FaewoodAcres Temps got to -10F at one point (which is unusually cold for this area--Northwest Arkansas), and a lot of the growth was still tender when frost arrived and the tree went dormant. I'll be protecting the new wood this year, and hopefully the tree will be better established and can manage with less protection in future years. The fast growth is probably helped by the long summer heat. A lot of TH-camrs growing figs that I see are in more coastal areas, but here in the middle of the continent temperatures are more extreme for both heat and cold. Spring and fall are very short.
Do you know how you'll protect them? I'm planning a video for Fall about protecting against extreme cold. Covers, lights, and mulch mainly.
@@FaewoodAcres Current plan (which you're welcome to suggest a change to--I'm a newbie) is to keep about a half dozen of the "medium" stems, pruning both the really tall and really low stems back to the base, then before temps start dropping into the low 20's regularly bend them to the ground, cover with woodchips to several inches. The ground never really freezes to any depth here, even though air temps can get quite cold for a few days at a time. I'm considering dry woodchips first, a sheet of plastic, then additional chips--not sure if the plants will benefit from minimizing contact with moisture. I'll uncover around the end of March (average last frost is mid-April).
Sounds like a plan!
Personally I'd be wary of the plastic causing fungus problems, more of a problem for other trees though, and I'd be ok with just piling on the wood chips. The main enemy is the frost staying on your plant, and the chips should help that.
Best of luck 🍀
Great 👍🏾 points! I love myself some fresh figs and mulberries…nothing like fresh! Thanks for sharing and stay blessed! #newsub
Absolutely, straight from the tree to my mouth! 😄 I need to gather some mulberry recipes for spring, my tree is getting out of control, and gives a ton of berries.
loved this vieeo!
Thanks for watching! I love talking about fruit trees 🌳😁
As kids, mulberry fights around massive 70 year old trees wearing white t-shirts was pure belly laughing fun! Mom didn't mind as we'd bring home a grocery bag full for homemade cobbler with ice cream.
This sounds terrible and fun at the same time 😂 Those 70 year old trees must have been huge! Did you harvest from the ground or climb the tree?
Oh! And do you have a recipe for that cobbler? 😁 😋
@@FaewoodAcres Mom used the yellow box biscuit mix to make a crust and did it up. Her first one she made she treated the mulberries as if they were the local blackberries with the amount of sugar she added. It was so sweet it was hard to eat a bowl but she learned to cut most of it. I don't know if she ever got the t-shirts white again, lol!
😂 I expect those shirts were like tie-dye purple after that
Nurseries sell like 3-4 generic fig tree varieties. While if you buy from Third party or places like figbid, you have limitless varieties. The only good fig nurseries sell here is violet des Bordeaux and celeste and they are not good strains of them. The one i bough from someone local produces fruit from every single node and is my best tasting fig so far. Nothing comes close to it. Same for smith taste like strawberry cake syrup. Love my chicago hardy because the skin has a special peachy taste that no other fig skin has, ussualy tasteless. The ones from nurseries have been pretty mediocre. Nurseries mainly sell tissue culture figs to get rid of the FMV virus that every single fig suffers but overcomes it easily
I agree figbid will give you SO many choices. That was the fig community I referred to. I encourage local nurseries as an alternative to the big box stores, which usually just sell "common fig", or maybe "little miss figgy" probably just because it sounds cool.