Red Lebanese Bekka Valley 2023

[opiem10]

Here is a picture of one of the successfully rooted Red Lebanese Bekka Valley cuttings I took this winter.   This one was rooted in a shoebox using Clonex gel and up potted to the mini tree pot.   Another really good berry fig that handles rain and humidity.

[LaFigGwr2019]

John,

Looking good.  Have you seen this one handle the rain? 

[opiem10]

Arturo, I have never had a single Red Lebanese Bekka Valley split on me.  This one dries on the tree very nicely. 

[Andrea]

Do you know how cold hardy it is reputed to be?

[opiem10]

Hi Andrea,
     RLBV is thought to be a Mr Etna variety that is considered cold hardy.  Mine are grown in pots, sheltered in my NJ winters, and have never suffered winter die back.  I am not sure how hardy they would be in ground if temperatures dropped below 30F.   

     There may be only one way to find out.   If you were experimenting, I would just grow it in a pot for a few years and then plant it in your orchard.  Then, I might give it protection for a year or two before letting it grow unprotected. 

     The tree is prolific and the size and quality of the fruit seems to get better each season. 

[Andrea]

So, do you think cold hardy figs get hardier after they’re a few years old?

[opiem10]

So, do you think cold hardy figs get hardier after they’re a few years old?

ABSOLUTELY!    I don’t know if it is the more advanced root system, thicker trunk, or slow acclimation to cold which allows older trees to survive cold better than young, rooted cuttings. 

[Andrea]

Wow. That is the most encouraging news I’ve heard in a long time! How could I design an experiment to test this? I probably won’t have time to do it in the next year or two, but I’d be interested in trying to prove that it’s true. But how?

[GJRoberts]

Wet and rain?  Sounds like a good one for my neck of the woods.

[opiem10]

Wow. That is the most encouraging news I’ve heard in a long time! How could I design an experiment to test this? I probably won’t have time to do it in the next year or two, but I’d be interested in trying to prove that it’s true. But how?

Andrea,
     Over the next several years, it might be worth putting a three year old plant in the ground with protection, a three year old tree in the ground without protection, as well as a one year old tree directly into the ground without protection.    I would start the test on all three trees in the same year.   Check the results after the first winter and every winter thereafter.   If all survive, then winter protection and age may not be a factor for this variety.   You only need to acquire three trees!!!

[Andrea]

What a great -and simple- method to test cold hardiness! Now, what variety do I test it on? Chicago Hardy? An unknown local fig? Some fancy variety? I can take some of the cuttings that I have started now and move them in larger pots for the next two years, then root a cutting from one of them to test along side them when I plant them in-ground in a couple of years.

[LaFigGwr2019]

Arturo, I have never had a single Red Lebanese Bekka Valley split on me.  This one dries on the tree very nicely.

John,

Thanks for the response.  I wish you the best of luck with your new trees. 

[opiem10]

What a great -and simple- method to test cold hardiness! Now, what variety do I test it on? Chicago Hardy? An unknown local fig? Some fancy variety? I can take some of the cuttings that I have started now and move them in larger pots for the next two years, then root a cutting from one of them to test along side them when I plant them in-ground in a couple of years.

Andrea, Chicago Hardy should be able to survive outside without protection.  I would test on another variety considered cold hardy.