Fig growing in Sweden
Author : Bo Blomqvist
 

  

I am a friend of the author, Bo Blomqvist, and a fig trees collector. I live on the French mediterranean coast in the area where are concentrated almost all the commercial figs orchards of France and where hundreds of producers supply the French market and export a large part of their production. When I encounter a group of them, inevitably talking about the fig bid price, the dominating position in the world of the damned Turkish 'low cost' producers and the ranking of the various countries figs production volumes, I reverently listen to them and silently agree with the nod of the head. And suddendly I drop my bomb, asking "And for the Swedish production, any appreciable progress?". Some of them immediately start laughing but the major part look at me with commiseration and I know what they are thinking : "Poor fool, he is greatly to be pitied...He lives in the kingdom of the fig and he confuses fig trees with Scandinavian fir trees...".  
But the author of the article, Bo Blomqvist, a Swedish rare fruits enthusiast, proves that, at least on that point, I am not a fool... He tells us that fig growing in the open is practised in his country and he has undertaken a field experiment with various hardy fig varieties, in order to determine which could be the largest selection to be offered to the fig enthusiasts in Sweden.
He periodically reports his results immediately including them in the article, so that the fig enthusiasts can follow the experiment as it is in progress. The article increases year by year and the conclusions will progressively appear.

 

 

Introduction

I live in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The average temperature in Gothenburg is in January 0.5°C and in July 17°C. The annual average is 7.7°C. At my place it is unusual with frost after April and the first frost in autumn is usually in the second half of October or in the beginning of November.

The average minimum temperatures for the winter-months are as follows : December 0°C, January -2 °C, February -3°C and March -1°C.

About the actual minimum temperate for the winter-months one can say that usually the temperatures in winter drop down to -10 to -15°C but only in short periods. It can also occasionally reach -20°C or lower. The lowest temperature in Gothenburg during the twentieth century was in 1942 when it was -26°C.

For a long time I have been interested in growing edible plants. For about seventeen years ago I became interested especially in fruit and berry growing.  One of the reasons for this is the fact that unfortunately I am allergic to most of the common fruits and berries, such as apples, pears, cherries, etc.

So I started to search for other species and varieties. Example of species I am testing are mulberries, figs, paw paws, grapes, peaches, etc. All these are uncommon to grow in Sweden.

 

Fig growing

In the mildest areas of Sweden it is not uncommon with figs espaliered against a wall.

A Swedish botanist said to me that in these areas of Sweden it is possible to grow figs for fruit quite successfully (photo1).

In years when the winters are fairly mild it is possible to have a crop of figs in the spring, and when the summers are warm it is also possible to have a crop in late summer.

It is usually not necessary to protect the fig trees in winter.

In some winters however there can be some die-backs on the branches.

 

The Bornholm fig and the 'Precose de Dalmatie' fig variety

The most common variety sold in garden centers and nurseries in Sweden is 'Precose de Dalmatie' prov. Bornholm (photo 2, photo 3, photo 4).

It is often referred to as "the Bornholm fig" (Bornholm is an island outside the Swedish south coast, belonging to Denmark).

However this connection is not obvious.

A gardening consultant on Bornholm said that the origin of the Bornholm fig is very uncertain ; it is not even clear if it is only one variety.

He also says that some figs growing on Bornholm might have been introduced from Italy by artists living on Bornholm, or by Danish seaman which have been sailing in the Mediterranean Sea.

Also according to the above-mentioned Swedish botanist, working at the botanic garden of Lund, there is important uncertainties about the Bornholm fig. It probably exists several varieties of this fig.

In the future I will travel to Bornholm and investigate this in more detail. I also hope to get opportunities to collect some fig cuttings and also to talk with people which have fig trees, and ask them if they know anything about the history of their particular fig tree.

It is possible, however, that 'Precose de Dalmatie' is a real variety, but I have not received any information about this. If it is a distinct variety, one might say that it is one of the varieties of the Bornholm fig.

The Bornholm fig (with the name 'Precose de Dalmatie') is, as said, sold in Sweden in garden centers and nurseries. It is quite common nowadays. It is most often grown trained against a wall in the mildest parts of Sweden, that is, around the coasts in southern Sweden. It is also grown in greenhouses in other parts of Sweden.

 

The beginning

I ordered from USA two varieties of fig in the beginning of the 1990s.

One of these ('Hardy Chicago') was said to be very hardy and the other ('Galbun') should grow and fruit well in a container. I have kept both for several years in containers, and 'Galbun' has fruited quite well, but 'Hardy Chicago' has had almost no fruit at all.

I also have tried small plants of 'Hardy Chicago' outside and they survive the winter with heavy mulch.

In 2004, I planted out my original plant of 'Hardy Chicago', together with another American variety, 'Desert King'.

The confraternity coordinator, who was informed of the tests, put me in contact with a friend of him, Pierre Baud, who is the most important French nurseryman for fig trees, exporting all around the world, and who also is an eminent scientist in this matter (see his Internet site which includes an English version).

Pierre Baud became  interested in my experiment and suggested two hardy and very precocious varieties from his collection, named 'Ronde de Bordeaux' and 'Pastilière', which could  be good candidates for a successful result.

He proposed to send me these two varieties and extend  the experiment with other varieties.

I had not enough space to plant more than the two above mentioned varieties, but a friend of mine, Håkan, living in approximately the same climate zone as I, and who is also a fruit tree enthusiast, kindly accepted to host them in a large piece of land he owns.

We then received the figs from Pierre Baud ; in all 19 plants. Very kindly Pierre Baud refused any payment, even for the shipping costs...

I had prepared land for 'Ronde de Bordeaux' and 'Pastilière'. I planted them out in the second half of May 2004.

At the same time Håkan planted  the other varieties and also duplicates of my two varieties.

 

July 2004

May, June and the beginning of July has been unusually cold and rainy this year, with temperatures the most days below 20°C.

During the last three weeks however, we have had very hot weather, with temperatures between 27-30°C.

'Ronde de Bordeaux' has grown quite well, with a lot of shoots between 30cm and 50 cm... No signs of figs yet, however. Photo 5 is 'Ronde de Bordeaux' growing in my herb garden.

Photo 6 is 'Hardy Chicago', planted in a south facing hillside protected from the North and photo 7 shows some small figs on 'Hardy Chicago'.

Photo 8 is 'Desert King' planted in the same south facing hillside.

Unfortunately 'Pastilière' has not grown at all. I investigated the roots last week and found that the plant was dead.

I will try 'Pastilière' again. I received a mail from Pierre Baud and he promised to send me a new plant next spring.

I will also ask him if he could send me a plant of the fig  'Bécane' which is 3 days earlier than 'Ronde de Bordeaux'.

As I have mentioned before I have also planted out large plants of 'Hardy Chicago' and 'Desert King'. They have grown quite well this rather cold summer.

'Hardy Chicago'  has in fact developed some figs. It will be interesting to see if they will ripen this fall.

Håkan reports the following :

Plants that has shoots about 20 cm : 'Negronne', 'Sultane' and 'Bécane'.

Plants that has shoots about 10-20 cm : 'Brunswick', 'Tena',  'Goutte d'Or', 'Dalmatie', 'Brown Turkey' and 'Pastilière'.

Plants that has shoots about 10 cm : 'Ronde de Bordeaux', 'Sucrette', 'Figue de Marseille', 'Dauphine', 'Madeleine des Deux Saisons' and 'Longue d'Août'.

Only 'Negronne' has produced some small unripe figs.

Håkan told me that 'Bécane' has grown best of all his fig plants this summer.

 

July 2005

The summer was unusually late this year. During the last weeks however, we have had warm weather with temperatures between 25 and 30°C.

The winter was very mild until late January (we had no frost at all in most of January). By February the weather suddenly became much colder, with a minimum temperature in the beginning of March of -18°C.

The spring was then quite cold, but we had no frost after April 25.

My 'Ronde de Bordeaux' survived the winter well, without any mulching (just a thin natural layer of leaves). It was not injured by the frost until spring time, when last years shoots died. I was in fact able to take a cutting of the last years growth in late February, which rooted easily. About two thirds of the main trunk have survived, and have now produced 7 shoots with the longest shoot approximately 35 cm.

I have planted out the two figs Pierre Baud sent me this spring. Both 'Pastilière' and 'Bécane' looks healthy and grows well.

Both my 'Hardy Chicago' plants survived the winter.

The large plant was mulched with 30 cm layer of leaves and was also wrapped with a tarpaulin. The main trunk survived up to 70 cm and the branches which were covered with mulch also survived. The plant looks very healthy and have a lot of news shoots on the trunk and on the branches.

The smaller 'Hardy Chicago' also had a mulch (but much thinner) of leaves and two stems were bent down and covered with some soil (2-3 cm). It survived, and is now growing very well.

The' Desert King' fig, also a large plant, survived the winter, but froze down to the ground. It was mulched in the same way as the large 'Hardy Chicago' and wrapped with a tarpaulin.

This year I have also planted a fig variety bearing  the trademark 'Violetta'. It comes from Southern Germany, and is said to have withstood -20°C. It will be very interesting to see how it will succeed. It is also said to ripen its fruits very early.

Håkan reports :

Eight of his fifteen plants survived the winter (he is not sure if the rest actually have died yet ; he will investigate this later on). All of these died down to ground level.

Four of the surviving plants have developed quite well and have each four to five shoots 5 to 10 cm long. These are : 'Sultane', 'Ronde de Bordeaux', 'Longue d’Août' and 'Dalmatie'.

'Tena', 'Goutte d’Or, 'Bécane' and ' Madeleine des Deux Saisons' have started to grow but have developed more slowly.

 

December 2005

Concluding remarks on the 2005 growing results :

'Ronde de Bordeaux' has grown well during the summer. The seven shoots were between 30 and 70 cm long, but no signs of figs.

'Pastiliere' has also grown well (the longest shoot 50 cm) and there are some small  figs.

'Becane' has not grown quite as much, but it looks healthy.

I think that 'Ronde de Bordeaux' endured the winter better than 'Hardy Chicago' and 'Desert King'. A larger part of the trunk survived and the shoots were also more vigorous.

Håkan told me that :

'Sultane', 'Ronde de Bordeaux', 'Tena' and 'Dalmatie' are the plants that has developed best during summer. They have each four shoots of 30 cm or more.

'Goutte d’Or', 'Longue d’Août' and 'Madeleine des Deux Saisons' have one or two shoots, 10-20 cm long.

'Brunswick', 'Sucrette', 'Bécane' and 'Dauphine' are quite small. They have one or two shoots which are less than 10 cm long.

The rest of the plants sadly did not recover from the injuries of winter.

 

 March 2006

We have had an unusual long winter this year, and during the last week the weather has been very cold (down to -19°C one night) with a lot of snow (the snow cover is between 40-50 cm).

The figs seems quite healthy despite this. But the real challenge for the figs will come later on when the snow cover disappears and the sun becomes warmer.

 

December 2006

'Hardy Chicago' was seriously damaged by a deer in the winter, and I thought it would die, but happily it recovered.

'Desert King' was somewhat damaged, but also recovered.

Both had new vigorous shoots, the longest about one meter.

As last year, 'Ronde de Bordeaux' has grown well during the summer. It has nine shoots between 40 and 100 cm long. For the first year I can see small signs of figs, but they will surely die this winter because I am not going to cover them.

'Pastilière' has grown quite well, but only with two shoots (the longest 40 cm). No figs.

'Bécane' has not grown well at all, but it still look healthy. I will change it's place next year and see if it then will grow better.

'Ronde de Bordeaux' seems to be the most vigorous of the French varieties.

I mentioned that I also test a new German variety, which commercial name is 'Violetta' and which is said to whistand -20°C.

It survivied the winter well but the main trunk froze down. Like 'Ronde de Bordeaux' a lot of new shoots developed during the summer, and there are already some small figs on the shoots. These shoots will be bent down and covered with some soil and leaves during the winter.

Håkan reports :

'Sultane', 'Ronde de Bordeaux' and 'Dalmatie' are, as last year, the plants that has developed best. They have all shoots of 50-60 cm. 

'Ronde de Bordeaux' had also some figs on the shoots, about the size of cherries. Unfortunately there were some frosty nights a month ago, which killed them.

'Goutte d’Or', 'Longue d’Août', 'Madeleine des Deux Saisons', 'Sucrette', 'Bécane' and 'Dauphine' have shoots 20-30 cm long.

'Brunswick' is struggling and is still very small, around 10 cm.

 

September 2007

Last winter was relatively mild in southern Sweden, the minimum degree was only -12°C at my place and we had cold weather only during short periods.

The foregoing autumn was also warm and long. This meant that there was not that extensive dieback on the fig bushes during winter as was the case in the preceding years.

The summer however was quite cold, especially July, with very little sun.

As earlier years 'Ronde the Bordeaux' looks very fine, and is growing  fast. This year it has 6 solid shoots, which are up to 120 cm long.  No signs of figs yet however (photo 9).

'Pastilière' seems so far to be the most hardy of the figs I am  testing. It does not grow as vigorously as the other figs, and seems also to ripen its wood much earlier. No figs yet (photo 10 and photo 11).

The 'Bécane' plant was last year in a very bad shape, but has obviously recovered somewhat. It has started to grow again, but only about 15 cm.

Both of the 'Hardy Chicago' plants survived the winters extremely well, with almost no dieback at all. The biggest plant has some small figs on it, but they are too small to ripen during the autumn. One plant is more than 1 1/2 meters high and the other around one meter. Both have a lot of shoots (photo 12 and photo 13).

'Desert King' looked miserable early in the summer, but recovered and put out several long shoots (up to one meter). No figs at all.

'Violetta' had, differing from the other figs, several dieback, but it is also the youngest plant. However, it has grown vigorously during the summer and have now 7 shoots up to 120 cm. No figs yet (photo 14).

This year I have also planted out a fig I received from Sergio Carlini, an Italian fellow member. He calls it 'Gallo' and says it is early ripening and might also be quite cold resistant. It was originally obtained from an old man living in the Italian mountains (photo 15).

Håkan reports :

Five plants died during the winter. It is possible that mice have killed them.

All the remaining plants have grown quite well this summer with a lot of shoots (between 6-8 in each plant).

No figs at all this summer.

The best plant this year is 'Sultane', which has grown to about 1 meter. 

The second best are 'Longue d’Août' and 'Dalmatie', about 60 cm.

'Ronde de Bordeaux', 'Goutte d’Or' and 'Sucrette' are 50 cm high.

 

September 2008

I have not received any report from Håkan for 2008 because he is moving  his plants to a new piece of land. 

I can tell you that I found a quite big fig bush in central Gothenburg, not far from where I am living, last summer. It was really a surprise, I have never seen a fig in Gothenburg before (photo 16). Unfortunately it was cut down in October because they made some renovations on the house. It was about 3 meters high and 4 meters  wide.

We had a very mild winter this year, with temperatures dropping to  about  -11°C one or two nights. A large part of the winter was actually frost-free. The summer came early with very hot weather starting in May.  Unfortunately the weather was also dry the first part of summer, with almost no rain at all during a period of 1 1/2 month.

All fig plants look very healthy, and some of them had no damages at all during winter.

'Ronde de Bordeaux' had some winter damage, and last years shoots was killed about 75 cm above ground. Some signs of very small figs on the plant.

'Pastilière' died back to about 10 cm above ground, but have recovered with three shoots, with the largest about 40 cm high. No signs of figs.

I moved the 'Bécane' plant last year, and put it in a pot that I kept inside during winter in a cool place. It has recovered and I will  plant it next year in a better position in the garden.

My both 'Hardy Chicago' plants survived the winter with almost no damage at all. They have also developed well during summer, but the growth was a little less than earlier years, which I think is caused by the lack of rain. For the first time they have produced small figs (photo 17). Two of them ripened but were unfortunately eaten by birds when I was away for some days.

The 'Gallo' plant that I received from Sergio Carlini survived the winter extremely well with no damage at all. It also started to produce some small figs in July, which however didn't ripen during autumn (photo 18). I think that this variety might be quite exceptional because it is still a very young and small plant and yet being so cold hardy and setting fruit so early.

'Violetta' died back to about 40 cm above ground, but recovered with a lot of shoots. No figs at all.

'Desert King' looks even worse this year, so I am thinking of removing it from my trials.

 

If you know anything about, or if you are growing a fig variety which is particularly cold hardy, please do not hesitate to contact me. It would be very interesting to discuss these matters with other enthusiasts.

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