Category: fruit production

Little Miss Figgy in the City

On By durhammastergardenersIn Downtown Durham, NC, Durham NC, easy to grow plants, fruit in the home garden, fruit production, fruit trees, gardening in pots, pruning fruit trees, Uncategorized, urban garden, urban gardening

By Deborah Pilkington, NC State Extension Master Gardener SM volunteer of Durham County

One of the stars in the Container Demonstration Garden at Cocoa Cinnamon in Old North Durham is Ficus carica ‘MAJOAM’ Little Miss Figgy.  It was discovered by Michael Nobles in September of 2010, growing as a naturally occurring branch mutation of Ficus Violette de Bordeaux in a container at his nursery in Ridgeville, South Carolina. Violette de Bordeaux is considered by many to be the quintessential fig, setting the standard for what all figs aspire to be. A highly stress-tolerant tree, its sweet, delectable fruit are among the most sought-after fig varieties in the world. It is low maintenance, disease and pest resistant, and highly productive once established.

On the left Little Miss Figgy is showing off her beautiful, deeply lobed leaves in her first growing season in the container. The right picture was taken in the summer of 2023, her second growing season. (Image credit: Deborah Pilkington)

Planting and Caring for Little Miss Figgy

Little Miss Figgy (Ficus carica ‘MAJOAM’) is a miniature fig with a compact, dwarf habit and deeply lobed, dark blue-green leaves. It grows just 4 to 6 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide, making it suitable to grow in containers or in small gardens in warmer climates. A United States Plant Patent, PP#27,929, was awarded April 25, 2017, listing the cultivar name as ‘Little Miss Figgy.’ Though patented in the US, its original species is not native to the United States. It does best in full sun to partial shade with average to evenly moist conditions. It does not tolerate standing water. Supplemental water may be needed during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH and is able to handle environmental salt. A layer of mulch around the root zone in winter will help protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates.  In the containers at Cocoa Cinnamon, Little Miss Figgy is planted in a soil mix of 50/50 soil/compost with added perlite for drainage.  The ratio is 4 :1 (50/50 mix : perlite).  As figs are known for vigorous root growth, lifting and pruning Little Miss Figgy’s roots may be necessary in the future.  Thus, if you are considering planting one in a container, be sure to choose a container that is wider at the top than the bottom to facilitate removal and pruning.

Cocoa Cinnamon Team member Mary Knierim encouraged us to plant Little Miss Figgy, which we did in October of 2021, to serve as one of the larger anchor plants in the containers. We were concerned about how Little Miss Figgy would weather the extreme cold in the advective freeze of December of 2022, which brought nighttime temperatures near 20 degrees over 6 consecutive nights. We did not cover her nor provide any other protective measures, rather we chose to wait it out. To our great relief, she was unaffected.

One unexpected bonus of having Little Miss Figgy in the containers is she is very adept at letting us know when our irrigation system is not working.  Here was our clue in June of 2023, her second growing season.  After making the fix to the system, she responded beautifully within 3 hours.

Miss Figgy droopy and needing water and then revived after a good soaking. (Image credit: Deborah Pilkington)

Miss Figgy, as we are wont to call her, produced figs in her second growing season, the summer of 2023; beautiful deep purple figs with amber flesh.  Though not many in number, there were enough for one of our team members to make a fig-cranberry relish. 

We were concerned about how the construction of the tall building across the street might affect her in terms of getting less winter sunlight, but she has done well. In February of 2024, we gave her a prune as she was starting to grow vigorously into the seating area.  Also, since figs fruit on new branch growth, we hoped to see an increase in fruit production.

Bare branches provide architectural interest in the winter months. (Image credit: Deborah Pilkington)

In April of 2024, we started to see fruit production, with fruit starting to ripen in July. Figs are parthenocarpic, that is fruits (technically ‘pomes’) that develop without cross pollination. Little Miss Figgy’s third growing season was a banner one. By late July, the figs drooped and softened, indicating harvest time.

The figs matured over the summer and in July, when they began to droop, we knew it was time for harvest! (Image credit: Deborah Pilkington)

It was so fun to be able to pass out freshly harvested figs to the Cocoa Cinnamon baristas and to the public who happened to be in the seating area at the time. The figs have a sweet taste and fleshy texture.

The figs are ripe and ready to be eaten! They are sweet with a fleshy texture. (Image credit: Deborah Pilkington)

Little Miss Figgy is quite ornamental and is at home in a landscape or flower garden as well as a food garden. Highly tolerant of urban pollution, Little Miss Figgy will even thrive in city environments like those at Cocoa Cinnamon. Based on our experiences, we would highly recommend Ficus carica ‘MAJOAM’ or Little Miss Figgy be given a space in your container garden!

Resources and Additional Information

For more information on the characteristics and care of Ficus carica:

www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/plantfinder/plantfinderdetails.aspx?taxonid=367795

Plant mutations can affect characteristics such as the size or color of a plant or fruit. They sometimes occur when a plant is stressed or when there is an error during cell division. This link from Michigan State explores the process and outcomes of mutations. www.canr.msu.edu/news/mutation-examples-and-how-they-happen

Melinda Heigel, Extension Master GardenerSM volunteer of Durham County, explains how cold and freezing weather affects plants in this previous blog post from January, 2023. https://durhammastergardeners.com/?s=advective+freeze


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The Budding Orchardist: Summer Solstice Pruning

On By durhammastergardenersIn Briggs Avenue Community Garden, Briggs Avenue Community Garden Teaching Orchard, Durham NC, edibles, fruit in the home garden, fruit production, fruit trees, gardening, Gardening calendar, Gardening information, gardening NC, growing fruit, managing fruit trees, monthly garden tasks, pruning, pruning fruit trees, Uncategorized

By Jeff Kanters, NC State Extension Master GardenerSM volunteer of Durham County

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” –Socrates

This is an installment in our ongoing series “The Budding Orchardist,” where Jeff Kanters, orchard team leader, shares his know-how on growing fruit.

It’s summertime, summertime, sum-sum-summertime as the song goes.

Among the many tasks the orchard team has during the growing season at Briggs Avenue Community Garden’s Teaching Orchard, the most critical for fruit trees is summer pruning. So, let’s explore the when, why, and how of that activity.

When: Proper Pruning Time in the Orchard

Whereas winter pruning is completed in January, summer pruning is completed by the summer solstice or June 21st. We strive to start the pruning by the middle of June to complete the pruning by the 21st of the month.

Why: Purposes of Summer Pruning Fruit Trees

While winter pruning corrects for shape, pruning the trees at peak summer manages the size of the tree by removing much of the accumulated sugars built from photosynthesis that are still held in the canopy of the trees. This is important because starting in July, the trees–having maxed out their summer growth–begin to move the sugars in their canopies down to the roots for storage during the upcoming winter. By reducing the amount of sugars moved to the roots at the right time, we reduce the overall vigor of the tree. With repeated summer pruning, we can keep the tree at a much smaller size for ease of future maintenance and fruit harvest. The orchard team of Master Gardener volunteers aims to maintain the fruit trees to a height of between 8 and 10 feet.

How: Proper Pruning Techniques for Fruit Trees

We prune out roughly two thirds of the current season’s canopy growth. This includes dead or diseased limbs, crossing limbs, limbs growing inward, downward or upward so the center of the tree is opened. We prune to outward facing buds to push a potential limb out from the center of the tree to more sunlight. This is an aggressive pruning, but our aim is to secure the long-term health of the tree. Trees that are overgrown in size are more prone to diseases, limbs breaking from the weight of excess fruit that is smaller and of lesser quality, and a hampered ability to manage and care for the tree. If fruit trees are left unpruned, they may reach heights of 20 to 25 feet tall, well beyond the reach of many homeowners and small orchards.

Summer pruned orchard rows at the Briggs Avenue Community Garden’s Teaching Orchard. Note the manageable size we keep the fruit trees for easy maintenance. (Image credit: Jeff Kanters)

In addition to size, shape matters. We prune our peaches and plums to an open bowl shape and our apples and pears to a central leader or Christmas tree shape. Both keep the inside of the tree open to maximize good air circulation, photosynthesis, healthy and higher quality fruit production, and ease of harvesting.

(Left to right) Summer pruned peach tree showing the open center bowl shape maintained for stone fruit trees and summer pruned pear tree showing the central leader or Christmas tree shape. This promotes is good air-circulation, which reduces disease pressure. (Image credit: Jeff Kanters)

Summer pruning is a necessity to ensure future success in achieving manageable-sized healthy trees that produce delicious fruit. And of course, all this advice applies to all fruit trees whether it be those in a small teaching orchard or one just outside your back door.

Resources and Additional Information

Below you will find references on growing and pruning fruit trees.

Fruit Trees (General)

Fruit Tree Pruning Basics

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