Whoa. I had no idea this forum post was updated. Carolyn, Definitely not looking for rot problems. The problem with getting recommendations for my region is that I have not found a reliable source yet - they just say "plums" and "apples" grow well here. I called my county's extension office and the guy was nice enough to email me some informative things but they didn't exactly answer my question about what is specifically known to grow well. Just now, I found an article online that says Frontier and Ozark Premier can be grown in the Southeast. On the other hand, Stark Bros. says Ozark Premier is "the best choice for the Ohio Valley and the Northeast, as well as the Midwest". So I've stayed in a state of flux and just used this forum mainly to see what people's experience with different varieties has actually been. At the time of this posting, I'd decided on Shiro and Satsuma. I want to get them from the same place and I want them the same size roughly so I've had a time locating a source. In the meantime, I've been trying to learn as much as I can and trying to see if there is a better choice to start with than what I have determined.

To make this thread more information-rich I would like to suggest that everyone who grows figs in the mid-atlantic area (Maryland, Virginia, DC, etc) or who previously grew figs in the this area (Gene, your legend lives on) post information on the figs that they grow/grew and their impressions. What varieties do well and which don't. Information on flavor, fruit color, cold hardiness, productivity, open/closed eye, resistance to splitting in wet weather etc. would be very welcome. I this regard, the information upthread on Chicago Hardy, VdB, and Battaglia is very interesting though I had previously heard from many sources that Chicago Hardy is one of the better tasting figs. As I mentioned upthread I grow VdB, Chicago Hardy, Mildenhall and Celeste. I will obtain Marseilles vs Black and Ronde de Bordeaux later in the spring. My figs are all too young to provide any useful information on at this point. Space is limited so I plan to growth them in containers another year and then decide which 2 or 3 to plant in the ground. I am open to collecting another one or two varieties if there is good evidence that they do well in Maryland. By the way, I would like to obtain Kathleen Black but so far haven't had luck finding it - if anyone could spare a cutting of this one I would be very grateful!

Here's an update in case any one is wondering what a kaga plum tastes like: I ended up getting only one plum on the tree this summer. I covered it individually with a mesh bag and waited until it dropped off the tree. It tasted like a very good supermarket plum. It did have the slight "bubblegum" flavor that is often described for this variety, but it was refreshing, not unpleasant. Like most plums, it was only tart around the skin. I really only planted this because it is supposed to be hardy, easy to grow and a pollinator for other hybrids/asain plums. I didn't think it would taste as good as it did. It is vigorous as advertised and does have a bush like growth habit. The fruit was probably 1-1/4" diameter, maybe slightly larger.

Morning y'all beautiful people of Gardenweb! :) Mike and Al, here are the promised pics of the skewers this morning. As requested, I've used two skewers per tree, one that goes only as deep as what I think the roots are at, and one that goes all the way to the bottom. They were left in about 5 seconds. I've also taken a few pics of the trees themselves. Al, I did the leaf temp this morning, they do feel slightly cool, but then, it's pretty cool in my house in the morning as well. I think that they are starting to dry out a lot faster, just like you said they would Mike. It took a lot longer last time (close to 2 weeks, not one week), to have skewers that look like that. Maybe they are starting to get used to being indoors again? I hope so, but you guys are the experts so you tell me what you think. It baffles me a little that the short dipped skewer comes out dirtier than the one I stick to the bottom of the pot, but maybe its because it gets cleaned by rubbing against the 511 as I take it out? Anyway, they don't feel wet to the touch, so unless you tell me differently, I think I'm going to put them on a weekly watering regimen, which would make me water them tomorrow. Dave trashed his back this week end, so I couldn't ask him to lift the pots to take a picture of the wick for you, Mike, but I haven't forgotten. As soon as he's feeling better, I'll have him do it and take a picture. Hey, you said in your last post that the wick can't come in contact with the saucers at all? Can you explain why? You made me curious :))) I hope y'all had a nice week end. We went upstate NY to see some friends and got back home yesterday. It was nice to be out of the house for a couple days :) Anyway, here are the pictures :) The skewers this morning: The trees, last night: . and the other: Hey, is it normal for the leaves to be turning themselves towards the light/window? I get the feeling that, for this tree in particular, that's what they are doing. It's less pronounced with the other tree, because it's in an angle between two windows, so the light gets to it from 2 directions. . Y'all have a fantastic day :) . Atheen