New "Hardy Chicago" Figs

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 4:57 pm

Well the same can be said for most ficus anyways right? Any of us who have one as a house plant ( I think its safe to say all of us?), knows they can survive for years inside the same pot, and same soil, and thrive.

My dads friend had one in a 5 gallon pot for 15 years (F. elastica). He was an alchy, pissed in it, neglected it until my mom took it, and managed to kill it. It was 10 feet tall......

I cant wait to try one of these here!. I have the perfect spot for it ( or them, seeing as they propagate from cuttings so so easy)

Nice trees again mike..

Grats again Cameron, cant wait to see the growth they get this year! If they die back, expect 4-10 feet, more if you get some trunk to survive! ( mabey protect liek basjoo stems?)

sidpook · Post by **sidpook** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 5:01 pm

Maybe I'll try pissing on my figs: May keep the squirrels away!

sidpook · Post by **sidpook** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 5:02 pm

canadianplant wrote:Well the same can be said for most ficus anyways right? Any of us who have one as a house plant ( I think its safe to say all of us?), knows they can survive for years inside the same pot, and same soil, and thrive.

My dads friend had one in a 5 gallon pot for 15 years (F. elastica). He was an alchy, pissed in it, neglected it until my mom took it, and managed to kill it. It was 10 feet tall......

I cant wait to try one of these here!. I have the perfect spot for it ( or them, seeing as they propagate from cuttings so so easy)

Nice trees again mike..

Grats again Cameron, cant wait to see the growth they get this year! If they die back, expect 4-10 feet, more if you get some trunk to survive! ( mabey protect liek basjoo stems?)

Maybe I'll try pissing on my figs! It may keep the squirrels away!

BILL MA · Post by **BILL MA** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:25 pm

I might surprise you Cameron with one or two spots left.

BILL MA · Post by **BILL MA** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:26 pm

Mike you only piss on your figs when your so full of beer you can't hold it anymore

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 3:35 am

very cool figs Mike! Great specimens.

JackLord · Post by **JackLord** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 10:45 am

You guys are enablers.

This got me thinking about figs so much that I just ordered two more including a Hardy Chicago.

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 10:50 am

Good luck with them, Jack!

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:43 am

enabling is liek giving just free

JackLord · Post by **JackLord** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 1:55 pm

In abundance, as now I will have 3.

Thanks boys.

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 8:18 pm

Here's a pic showing the growth of the figs over the summer. The fig on the right has grown the most, the one on the left has grown the least, and the rest are all in between:

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 4:50 am

Not to bad dude! Multch the hell out of that thing this winter to make sure.

Did you know their main taproot goes down 60 feet + ??

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 4:15 pm

Yeah, I'll be providing lots of mulch! I didn't know it went down 60'!!

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:02 pm

Oh yeah, thats why they can survive in zone 5, they just regrow like a peony - herbaceous, so dont expect much trunk to survive.

I hope it does well over the winter

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 8:28 pm

I'm going to cut the trunk down to just a couple of inches above the ground, and then cover the whole thing with mulch.

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 8:09 am

THat should work. When I plant mine, im going to have to used a layer of fleece/old blankets to keep a little bit more heat. Your zone 6 or 7 if i remember , so you wont need that kind of protection.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 11:06 am

I think we talked about this years ago, but does anyone remember an old Victory Garden TV program where an older Italian or Portuguese fellow had a 15-foot tall Fig tree in his back yard in Toronto (I think).

The episode filmed him digging a long trench a couple of feet deep.
The fig was partially uprooted (on one side), and then bent down horizontally into the trench, followed by huge amounts of mulch.
Process is reversed, obviously, in the spring.
Says he gets a fig crop every year.

I miss those Victory Garden shows.

Barb

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 1:36 pm

Ah ive read about this method. THey do it with the lower branches as well, and wrap the trunk. Or they do a large version of hilling in roses, as the portuguese method talks about.

The one thing that amazes me is how well they apperantly take to being dug up, dispite their massive root systems.

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 2:58 pm

Barb, that might have been Adriano, of Adriano's Figs. I was planning on purchasing some figs from him, but it takes months to get an email response (if you get one at all)

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 4:41 pm

Jesse, basically the entire tree is almost horizontal.
Figs must not mind the annual root pruning to achieve it.

It may have been him, Cameron.
I recall being amazed at what a person can do with a lot of thought and planning.
Kind of like at PN

Barb

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 4:56 pm

barb

me

. Or they do a large version of hilling in roses, as the portuguese method talks about.

Thats what i said.... As far as I know hilling in roses requires burying them in a ditch horizontally

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 5:45 pm

How did I miss this thread, awesome figs. I never seen them grow so well so far north.

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 5:50 pm

DesertZone wrote:How did I miss this thread, awesome figs. I never seen them grow so well so far north.

I think people grow them in the UK.....

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 5:56 pm

canadianplant wrote:
DesertZone wrote:How did I miss this thread, awesome figs. I never seen them grow so well so far north.
I think people grow them in the UK.....

So true, but I think they are on the warm side. Very cool to seen them on the east cost and into Canada.

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 5:11 am

YEah, the UK is warmer (in the winter) then most of canada, except maybe extreme eastern nova scotia (where cameron is.... lucky basterd ::P ) and a large portion of the west coast. They are wetter and cooler then most of canada in the summer though.

THe UK as far as ive seen doesnt have any zone lower then zone 6 or 7, and even southern, and south western UK , ireland, and scotland have zone 9 and 10!

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 3:31 pm

Canadianplant, I think the coldest zone in the UK is a zone 7 in the Scottish highlands. There is a tiny portion of Nova Scotia which is a zone 7b (south-west tip of the province), and a relatively small area which is zone 7a (southern coastal area). Ontario has a similar-sized 7a area around the St. Catharines/Niagara region. So basically, the highest Canadian zones (outside of BC) are the coldest UK zones

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Fri Oct 28, 2011 12:00 pm

I picked a fig the other day.....it looked good but wasn't that sweet.
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... oct264.jpg>

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Tue Nov 15, 2011 11:31 pm

Great shot, Tim!!

Here are some before/after pics of multiple -5 C exposures for the "Hardy Chicago" figs.

Newly planted:

-5 C:

I am trying to root the cuttings, and will be posting a progress report with pics soon!

Bonus pic, -5 C and potted "Black Magic" EEs

:

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 6:48 pm

my figs are leaf-less now after the freezes. I'll be protecting mine soon. I've been too busy.....I probably protect turkey day!

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Mon May 07, 2012 1:12 pm

Here is a pic of the first "Hardy Chicago" bud to emerge. It's on the same plant that has been pictured beside the S. minor "McCurtain". These figs were protected with around 2-3 inches of mulch over the winter, and saw at least -13 C a minimum of 20 times. Look closely for the bud!

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Mon May 07, 2012 3:00 pm

Congrats on that Cameron.

You must've got a lot of soil in your nose to get that shot

There could be gold in that rock and you wouldn't notice, looking for the bud.

Barb

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Mon May 07, 2012 5:41 pm

The worst was removing the extra mulch, with all of the dust flying everywhere!

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Tue May 08, 2012 3:24 am

Nice job Cameron. Lets see how large it will get for you. I still did not see any new growth on my fig yet but I did not get as close as you!

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Tue May 08, 2012 6:20 am

NICE! I wouldve expected it to die down to the roots!

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue May 08, 2012 9:26 am

Cameron, wonder if some Christmas lights wrapped around the stem would work for overwintering.
Hope it grows 5 feet for you this summer.

Barb

igor.glukhovtsev · Post by **igor.glukhovtsev** » Tue May 08, 2012 9:42 am

Hey, Cameron, mine is not "Hardy Chicago", but has survived and has a very good this year growth now. Since there is the Victory day Holiday in my country tomorrow I'm gonna try taking a pic. of mine. Minus 29C last winter and almost no protection.....

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Tue May 08, 2012 4:32 pm

I hope to see some decent growth on these figs this season, although I still think it will be at least a year or two before any fruit. Barb, I try to grow most of my stuff without any extra heat

Igor, that's an amazing survival temperature for your fig! Make sure to post a pic!

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Tue May 08, 2012 4:33 pm

Cameron, Figs fruit on 1 yr branches, and current growth. You should have at least one harvest this year IMO

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Tue May 08, 2012 4:38 pm

I hope so! However, I've read that some people say figs focus on root growth for the first few years, and you often don't see any fruit for 3 years or so!

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Wed May 09, 2012 5:37 am

Ahhh good point. I just relized you planted it right next to some rocks. Funny how the bud and stem that made it is closest to them eh

A friend in NC planted one last year, and it didnt do too much. ITs grown a foot in the last month, and has put on about a foot and a half since Feb. IT started to fruit, but it was too cool for a few nights and the tree aborted them. ITs more then possible to get fruit the second season!

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New "Hardy Chicago" Figs

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