All this talk of propogation has me a bit giddy. I have an established (~8 year) fig tree of 15-20' of unknown variety, although I suspect Desert King and have a new Spanish Black (Black Spanish?) in a container, but I'd love more!

I'd love to try more varieties, but my 50 x 100' lot demands very small trees or ones that are container-compatible.

Can I propogate larger trees and just keep them small with aggressive pruning and still get a decent amount of fruit, or should I stick w/ varieties that the catalogs say are good for 'container culture.'? I fear that aggressive pruning will mean small breba crop.

P.S. Would love any tips on good tasting, dwarf-compatible varieties that have a skin that is black, purple or red (i.e., not green).

Many thanks!

Steve

Petite negri probably stays under 8 feet tall, 6 feet if you prune it well. Mine is about 5 1/2 feet tall and has lots of figs on it now. It is 5 years old. I do use the summer pruning method (clip the end when new branches reach 6 leaves) to stimulate figs and branching / size management. Others have written about this method on gardenweb.

I also have a Brown Turkey in a 1/2 barrel-type container that has about 25 figs on it now, trained at about 4 feet tall by the same method - it has Brown figs that are fairly good. Also, and what I think is a Brunswick, planted in the ground, trained at about 5 feet tall, which has about 20 figs on it now(it is in its 3rd year from a small cutting) which has bronze colored figs with amber interior - better, I think, than the Brown Turkeys.

Contact me off line if you want a start from Petite Negri - I have a small one from a cutting in a contiainer now, and another one that I stuck into the ground this spring that is starting to grow as well - mine seemed to start slowly but this year it is doing great. It's black, red interior, and has a good flavor.

How about "Black Jack"; may be the same as Petite Negri?

Steve