I have a similar breba on my new Negronne fig cutting. I hope some knowledgeable person answers soon.

I'm not knowledgeable on this subject, but I know a lot about viticulture, and grape vines that are allowed to bear fruit the first year produce inferior fruit and stunt their growth because the vine puts all the energy into the fruit. The next year, you have a smaller vine, and more inferior fruit. If you let the vine be fruit free for 3-4 years, and let it grow big and healthy, THEN the fruit is great!

I would think it's the same for figs.

Hi Token,
although im not an expert i just go by what i see and experience here is my opinion on a few things mentioned here.
If i was in your zone i would leave a few breba on and see what they do out of curiosity. Your plant is young and probably vibrant, if you start getting lots of breba you can knock some of if you feel its slowing the plants progress down. Its nice to taste a breba and compare them to main crop taste.
Hi Desertdance , its been my experience with my plants growing in containers only i don't grow inground, that the
main crop fruit usually taste better as a fig tree matures, by letting a fig plant fruit does not stunt there growth.
Letting a fig plant fruit for its first 3 to 4 years the plant should be a decent size and healthy if properly cared for.
In year 3 or 4 the fruit should give you an idea if its good or bad on your palate as we all have different taste buds.
I grow mine in containers and always let them fruit at young age and see no ill effects the following year, some fig plants are more aggressive than other types in there growth habits some slow some faster some better tasting some not so good tasting .
There are variables on fig fruits taste and so forth in different climates as some types need a hotter climate longer growing season to taste there best.
Martin

Well, I'm glad to know that if my first year fig puts out Breba, I can let it stay and taste it!! YAY!! My grapes are for wine, so I'm really careful with those, but Fig trees grow huge, so it makes sense that different principles apply.

Several years ago, I rooted three 'Tena' cuttings. Two of them formed figs in the same year they rooted. I removed the figs from one of them and let the other produce the two figs on it. I saw no noticeable difference in the growth (either roots or tree) between the three trees. Certainly, results may vary, but I don't think letting a few figs ripen in year one will lead to any discernible differences in subsequent years.

~james

Thanks y'all. I'm gonna let them grow. I've already tasted these figs. It's forever known in my yard as the 6th Street fig. I'm guessing the plant I took the cuttings from was well over 15' wide and 8' tall. They whacked it to the ground this winter. I wonder what they did with all those cuttings.

I would never leave fruit on a newly started cutting.

I would happily leave fruit on a year old well-rooted sapling or small tree.

There is a huge diffrence between the two. With the freshly started cutting, it should be putting all of the energy towards developing out of infancy, and it can't do that if it is putting energy into trying to make a huge fig.

With the year-old rooted fig, it should already have a nicely developed root system, stems and leaves, and can produce and uptake the energy, nutrients and water required to bring that fruit to .... fruition (sorry, had to do it).

I always remove breba figlets from the cuttings that I am rooting, as soon as I see them. However, once a new fig start has become fully acclimated to normal watering's, full sunlight, and is growing nicely......there is no harm in leaving a few figs on a new plant for observation or a trial tasting. Most will not taste as good as those produced in later years and many will simply fall off and not fully ripen. When I rooted the UCD 143-36 cultivar my first start produced a rather large fig with a small eye and tasted pretty good for such a young plant. That one fig made me very optimistic about growing this cultivar in my climate. I still anxiously await the day it produces lots of figs.....maybe this year.

Dan