Gita, I'll take a fig rooting. Bring two LOL.
I have a fig bush bought as nursery plant with just a couple 24 inch stems, in fall 2010. This year it is growing past three feet, still not many stems, and has eight figs on it. It a Brown Turkey I think, and I have one stems 'bricked' to the ground and rooting. As I seem to be practically a zone 8 down here in protected spots, I did not wrap it or anything over winter. I can pass along a rooted Brown Turkey if anyone wants that named variety. They self pollinate so it's not as if you have to have more than one. Course, the ones by Gita all seem to be very hardy in her area...
Happy birthday Pippi!
Fall Swap at Sallys- DISCUSSION about your haves and wants
Gita and Sally, we have been planning to try growing figs, so a suite of starts would be wonderful. Gita, what are you referring to with the abreviation HB?
Are Figs hardy in my Zone 6? I noticed they sell them at our local Lowes. I would love to have one of your Brown Turkeys Sally. Going to look that one up.
Oh Yes it says it is an Everbearer good to Zone 5.
This message was edited Aug 20, 2012 9:07 AM
Sally--
This is the big tree that has grown up to the top of the 2-story house.
The figs on this one are green, med. size--but sweet as honey.
Think you have room for something like this??????
Will bring you one cutting of this---and one from the one near their back fence--which is like a big bush--
covered in figs. These are a bit darker when ripe--but also sweet.
Went and took some pictures just now...
1--The BIG fog tree--last year
2--the same--cut back and re-growing
3--The fig bush
4--many figs growing on this bush-ready by mid-end September
5--The third Fig--growing up against the house overhang. the figs on this are huge and dark maroon.
Not- very sweet! Probably started as a cutting--now too big to move...
David---
OK! Will give you some fig cuttings---see above post to Sally. We cross-posted..
Most of these cuttings I just did Saturday....Hopefully--they all will root.
Olga (my neighbor) does not know the names of any of these.
The BIG one was brought over in a suit case from Italy and given to her by a friend.
The "bush" one (by the fence) was given to her by a friend right here...
HB stands for "Hanging Basket"----easier not to have to print it out all the time...
Holly----Just because Lowes (or HD) sell fig plants--does that mean they are hardy to this area?
Just wondering....
You are right Gita, We had several plants that came in marked perennial that were only hardy to zone 7 not our zone 6.
I looked up Sally's Brown Turkey and it is hardy to zone 5 so I would be save with that one.
Thanks Gita! By the way, since HD and Lowes supposedly give a one-year replacement guarantee on their shrubs, it does not behoove them to sell out of their hardiness zone. Stores in Greensboro, NC will have selections differing from those in Baltimore, MD.
Edited to add: Holly, did those plants die on you? Hardiness on labels tend to be on the conservative side.
This message was edited Aug 20, 2012 9:33 AM
Gita- you can sign me up for the great fig experiment as well.
I have noticed three large fig trees in my area that grow on the south side of the house but are sandwiched between two houses, less than 20 feet between the two. I don't think they need as much full sun as some might think.
This message was edited Aug 20, 2012 11:17 AM
OK--Paul, David and sally----
Which fig cuttings do you want? They are all different....And--how many?
I think the "Bush" one is good if you do not have 20'x20 to spare.
Besides--there is an issue picking the ripe figs if they are 15' up in the tree..
Olga's husband used to go up a ladder to get them.
Half of them never got picked--as they were 2 stories up. The Wasps and the ants sure got their fill...
I can always do more cuttings--spring is best....but some of the bottom shoots do pretty well
even now.
you all DO realize the size of these at full maturity???? Gita
Holly, Greenthumb, Gita et al
Each year the corporate big wigs from lowes, hd, walmart etc get together with their contract growers/suppliers and contract based on previous years sales for "product' to be shipped to any of the stores that grower/supplier has in their ballywick. Profit margin, not zone hardiness, variety (except for nationally advertized 'sellers' like 'Knock out roses or Proven winners) customer preferences, good common sense(lol), size of store, weather, or ability to keep plants alive til sell thru gets factored in ...
So, there is a sameness to what gets shipped to every store by region with the overlap being the Philly area where supplies come from growers in the north or growers in the south. Growers in the south have warmer weather earlier on their side profit margin wise even though shipping costs and loses may be more. Growers in the south also have the margin advantage of being huge huge volume producers and lesser costs to import their growing stock from central and south america...
Very very little plant material is locally grown which is one of the reasons our swaps are so invaluable along with our forums. Gita and sally are now "our neighbors down the street/next door" who grow figs!
I could go on and on, but will repost this over on our designated "chat" thread" for comments
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1276207/
This message was edited Aug 20, 2012 9:54 AM
I would prefer the smaller one, please.
Thank you and your neighbor!
This message was edited Aug 20, 2012 11:15 AM
I'd love a cutting from the "bush" fig, Gita, either now or a "water shoot" in spring would be fine. Thanks, and please thank your neighbor also!
Wow!!! Such a chatty bunch. First off, thanks Coleup and others for identifying the purple Wandering Jew. Gita, I too have seen pictures of Moses in the Basket, and when this plant blooms, it looks very much like a baby in a basket.
Thank you to Chantell and Paul for taking some of the Coleus off my hands. These things have gone completely crazy for me this summer. Also thanks for the ID's on those too Coleup. I brought you and Sally small rootings of those in the spring, but now have gigantic ones, if either of you are interested in having more......Got you down for green Oxalis too Paul.
Want to also say happy birthday to Pippi and to Joyanna. My gosh, how time flies when looking at the one time infants who are now ruling the roosts in which they reside. My grand daughter starts to school on Wednesday and I cannot believe how fast the last five years have flown by. I am going to miss seeing her as much as I have the past two years. My house will be much quieter without her here though, that is for sure.
Anyway.....thanks for the great info supplied here today. Will do my best to remember what I have learned. You folks are the very best.
Ruby
No Greenthumb, Not plants I bought just plants that I know won't overwinter here. The tags were marked zone 7 but also marked perennial which it isn't in our zone 6. I think there is just some cross over where there shouldn't be. I like going to the Lowes, HD and WM in the southern states I get some really nice Tropical plants at really good prices.
Gita this will be fine for me -quoting you-
"Will bring you one cutting of this---and one from the one near their back fence--which is like a big bush--
covered in figs. These are a bit darker when ripe--but also sweet."
Thank you mightily.!! If it starts getting too big I'll have to prune.
Holly as you asked specifically for Brown Turkey, I will mark my one rooted stem for you.
Yes, Please Sally
Sally---Hmmm.....
Have you down for the Bush one and--"this".....which one was "this"....The BIG one? I think so...
Need to clarify--as I no longer know what I was talking about.
All of a sudden--everyone wants Figs! It is OK--but I had 3 kinds i was offering...
Most of them barely rooting....but will do so....hope...hope...
SO--which one is "this????? The BIG one or the one by the house???
I get the "bush" one. I only have 4 cuttings of that going. I can always cut off more---it is quite bushy.
My neighbor does not care. Like I said--somewhere--her garden is also MY garden.
She has serious knee and hip problems--and is quite heavy. It is hard for her to garden.
I take care of it and water it....If I have no room for something in my beds--I plant it in one of hers....
Gita
So sorry Gita, here is the complete quote.
This is the big tree that has grown up to the top of the 2-story house.
The figs on this one are green, med. size--but sweet as honey.
Think you have room for something like this??????
Will bring you one cutting of this---and one from the one near their back fence--which is like a big bush--
covered in figs. These are a bit darker when ripe--but also sweet.
So that is
Big huge tree one and the by the back fence one.
HOWEVER_ let greenthumb and Terp have the first dibs as they are starting out new.
Heaven knows what I'd be doing with all those figs. only two here eat them, the others rthnk they're weird.
My suggestion is IF you want to- add a new cutting to each pot you already have. No more pots, If they take they sure will NOT fill the pot with roots before the new owner can deal with it.
NO pressure! ONLY if you want to!
Yep, no pressure here either on the figs... If need be, I'll stage a raid and get my own cutting LOL... I'm glad the fence thing didn't stop you & your neighbor from being gardening buddies, though!
It isn't that urgent for me just thought it would be interesting. If there are multiple starts floating around mag I'm sure there will plenty more in the future. Not a big deal.
Jill---
This is NOT the "FENCE" neighbor (the ones from Pakistan)...that has the Fig trees....
This is my long time neighbor on the other side (from 1970) from Spain that I am talking about....
She is also an original owner of her house. Not many of us left here..
Her husband dropped dead 2 years ago--and she has never gotten over it yet....
She is depressed--misses him--is angry at him for dying...etc...
It will be a LONG, SLOW process before she has any normal interest in life again.
Here is the kicker----SHE never relied on him...SHE was/IS the Matriarch of the whole Clan.
What she misses is taking care of HIM--and cooking for HIM--and everyone else.
Basically--she has lost her reason for being who she always was.
That is what is depressing her.....
The "Fence" neighbor is living inside her fence--I never see her--I never get to talk to her
and I miss my little buddy--Hamsah.
I was a main bridge to both of them in learning to speak English. They all speak Urdu.
Now--The few times I have seen Hamsah--he looks at me with a confused face.
I think he is not sure who I really am any more. Well--he is just 2 1/2 yrs old.
I miss our daily conversations with the Grandmother. She IS a good gardener...
I taught her a lot of English as well....I can do that--having been there--experienced that...
Her daughter said that she is sad because I was angry with her.... Re the fence.....YEAH!
Well--That lasted about a week.....She needs to find another excuse. IF there is one.....I do not think there is...
Gita
Paul---
What are you talking about???? You're GOOD!
I already put you down for a Fig plant--the "Bush" one....There is NO problema!!!
NO! I do not think there wall be multiple starts floating about MAG. WHO grows Figs around here????
I seem to be one of the instigators of plants no one can get anywhere else....
I am populating the MAG with plants no one here has heard of or is growing....
My big satisfaction in life.....
Gita
I'm not sure if my fig is 'Brown Turkey' or 'Celeste', although I'm leaning toward 'Celeste' (I bought one then had to replace it before it even went into the ground... and I remember purchasing both those varieties, but I don't remember which one was first LOL).
Thanks for reminding me about your other neighbor... not sure how I could get them mixed up!
Although I asked for a cutting of the bush fig sometime, I'm also interested in the BIG one brought over from Italy... I'll find a spot for it, or I'll put it next to my other big fig, and they can duke it out. Spring would be fine, though. :-)
Gita, would your neighbor like a little start of my Sweet Bay, do you think? I could find a cute pot for it...
Jill--
Is that like a bay Leaf--just not dried? Is it grown in pots and brought in for the winter
or is it perennial? How big does it grow? Got a picture?
Asking all this--as I would not mind having one if it stays manageable.
My neighbor kills every plant that she has. She just does not bring them out--does not water, etc....
Not worth the bother....
David---which fig(s) did you want? Trying to keep tabs here....Or go bonkers......
BTW!!! I have lots and lots of Endless Summer Hydrangea cuttings rooting as well.
Interested????? Let me know. There are 3 stems in each 5" pot. One of them is sure to make it.
Gita
Yes, it's the plant that dried bay leaves come from. It'll grow to about the same size as a ficus, but you can trim it back... mine has been pruned pretty severely to sort of a stubby columnar form, which provides plenty of fresh leaves without taking up that much sunroom space.
Plenty of photos and info in PF: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/814/
Sorry, Jill---
Anyway I look at it--it is too big for my garden.
NOW--IF I could dig up and get rid of the two large, old Burning Bushes (the ones that the Spider mites ate up)
that would be a good place for these. Good AM light....protected from harsh winds....
However--how would one dig up 2lg shrubs that have been there foe close to 40 years w/o a back hoe???/
I will pass...Thanks though. Gita
My Limelight (I think) coleus (from Ruby) has grown so amazingly well, I couldn't resist taking three cuttings tonight.
Sally---
Would you like some seeds from the "Limelight 4 O'Clocks??Very short, small clumping 4'.
Beautiful. bright lime-colored leaves with bright magenta blooms....
Maybe I should let this go until the seed Swap next spring....I do not have a lot of seeds from this one...
No thanks, I kow what I have is a Coleus and I am pretty sure the cv is Limelight, and that's fine with me.
Save them for spring Seed Swap, that is the right time.
Gita, I pretty much don't try to dig up unwanted bushes/trees, I just cut them down and plant on top of or between them. I have a bunch of "weed trees" (those big bushes that have honeysuckle-like blooms) that I've been hacking back to nearly nothing in the tree line, and when the "good" trees I planted near them start taking off I'll just paint their stubs with brush killer. The only reason I didn't cut them to the ground and kill them right away is that they do still provide some good "screening" along the back edge. If you want the stump and roots to rot out more quickly, you can get some stuff that will accelerate the process (and it's much easier & cheaper than the backhoe method).
Good morning light & protected from harsh winds would be a great location for so many plants... I wouldn't waste any time whacking back those burning bushes!
Gita, Pat and I would like a start of each of the different figs when you conveniently have them available. and would like a Brown Turkish from Sally sometime too.
Gita - Should you desire to do so, your old Burning Bushes should be fairly easy to remove. I have found that they have shallow root systems, so exposing the roots that splay out from them allows one to more or less lift the plant out of the ground without a heavy rootball. In fact, unless they are really mature I pick a time when the soil is softened by rain and pull them like weeds.
Good tip on those bushes, David... I was envisioning something like the root system on some foundation shrubs (junipers) at our townhouse... it did take heavy equipment to get those out, but we hired it done! (shrubs & grass out, leaf mold tilled in, then we put in 2 low walls of "castle rock" ourselves and had nice little terraced beds for me to plant on that slope)
Thanks, David and Jill..
These ARE very mature--close to 40 years old. They also are NOT the dwarf varieties
that are sold now. They are the tall/big ones.
Hmmm...Got them from a Nursery that used to be at the corner of my street..LONG ago.
I used to shop there--and one day the owner said--"Would you like to have these two stumps?"
They were stumps of 2 old Burning Bushes she had pulled up. I said "Sure!".
And that is how I got these two bushes...And--if I remember--the stumps were not all that big or full of roots.
That would validate what you said, David.
I love having these bushes there. It totally screens the East end of my Patio. If you remember pictures
I posted from the Spider Mite attacks. At least 2 birds nest in these shrubs every year.
I cut them back every couple of years as they make new stem growths in all directions that are over 2' long.
It is a very robust grower. Wonder how big it would grow if I did not cut it back every other year??
Have to think on this....Gita
1--The bushes from the patio side--stripped of all leaves bu Spider Mites.
After I cleaned up all the fallen leaves and mulched the bed. Lots of stems and roots.
2--From June, 2010--a good look at where these bushes sit. They were cut back that spring
and are re-growing. So they seem shorter than normal. These serve as a nice screen. They "belong" there...
Sounds like your burning bushes might get a reprieve! I'm just that way with some plants here... start thinking they should go, then I realize I like them as well or better than anything I'd replace them with. LOL
(right now, I'm mostly replacing weedy patches with plants, and that's pretty much a no-brainer)
Sallyg I have two more of those loropetalum "Suzanne' if youd' like to try another.
Jill, did you ever take cuttings from the dwarf crepe myrtle 'Chickasaw'? I think Roses and one other person was interested in one when they are ready.
Speedie, I have a Dr. Seuss brug for you and a noid pink for someone else
Greenthumb, did you ever id that tree I gave you at Holly's? Do you want a Deutsia (not dwarf) ?pic5
Anyone interested in a blueberry patch? 6+ assorted in containers...???
Chantel, would you like an ensete banana? I have two that are about 2' tall now, a good wintering over size.
Holly, I have a new elephant ear called "Elena". It is lime green. Interested? Pic 4
http://plantlust.com/plants/colocasia-esculenta-elena/
UMD Terp what conditions do you have for overwintering tropicals? If Greenthumb has id the small tree I gave him, I have others
I also have an assortment of Hen and Chicks and sedums. See pics below 1, 2, 3
Oh Yes Coleup, Did you want one of my Portadora's? I can always use more hen's and chicks but I will wait to see if anyone else would like them first. Maybe some one that doesn't already have some.
I don't have a lot of free space for anything...but has that ever stopped a true DG nut?
6 blueberries in pots? Really?? My bushes looked horrible this year. I'm considering starting a new few bushes elsewhere part of a garden remodel....I wouldn't take all six, but might, one or a couple, if there are enough to go around.
A basement with no good southern light and a shed. Otherwise windows in the house, which are filling up..haha. I am going to have shelves set up with lights for my rhodo cuttings.
We have a blueberry bush of some sort, it has never been that spectacular. Guess failed experiment and space holder. It has been moved multiple times.