My Smith is Going Bald.

[ohiobruce]

Last week I had a lithotripsy for kidney stones and neglected my figs. I think they got a little dry, and the Smith started shedding leaves.

I watered them Saturday, but it didn't seem to stop the Smith from continuing to drop leaves.

The rest of them took it in stride, so I wonder if it's something else? Here's a pic of my I-258 for comparison.

I was really hoping to taste a Smith fig this year.

 

[TorontoJoe]

Yeah.... if they get beyond a certain point of dehydration, they'll drop all their leaves and while they generally survive just fine, it usually means no harvest for the year.....


The trees in the pictures don't look so bad though

 

[ohiobruce]

Dang. I feared as much.

 

[TorontoJoe]

It's survival behaviour. By dropping its leaves and any fruit it goes into a state similar to dormancy. This way it won't use resources and is more likely to survive until water is available. I assume many plants developed this habit to live through dry seasons in the wild. Better to lose the harvest, but live to grow another day.

 

[TorontoJoe]

FWIW... I can't think of a better reason to consider some sort of automated watering system. Before I had one I couldn't go on a vacation without sweating bullets..... not knowing if the teen neighbour I paid to water my plants would actually get it done.

 

[ohiobruce]

FWIW... I can't think of a better reason to consider some sort of automated watering system. Before I had one I couldn't go on a vacation without sweating bullets..... not knowing if the teen neighbour I paid to water my plants would actually get it done.

That's next on the list. I just ran out of time before I got knocked down for a few days.

 

[figologist]

The first time I had a kidney stone, I thought I was having appendicitis. Passing it was awful. The 2nd one I had, I was in between surgeries. I took out a kid's tonsils, then went to the bathroom and passed the stone (and caught it in a basket!), finished the rest of my surgeries, and took the stone to the lab. The torture? I had an oxalate stone.....and guess what food is high in oxalates.....

 

[ohiobruce]

The first time I had a kidney stone, I thought I was having appendicitis. Passing it was awful. The 2nd one I had, I was in between surgeries. I took out a kid's tonsils, then went to the bathroom and passed the stone (and caught it in a basket!), finished the rest of my surgeries, and took the stone to the lab. The torture? I had an oxalate stone.....and guess what food is high in oxalates.....

I had two that were about 1cm each, so they had to be broken up with a laser and vacuumed out. It took the surgeon about 3 hours, so my pain is from the procedure and resulting stent.

Based on my current growing results, I'm not going to have to worry about oxalates.

 

[BruceB]

From one Bruce to another, I hope your Smith cones around! Here is mine today. It is one of my top four growers and fig producers. So far. We all know that can change.