The Story & History of Dolce Cuore "The Sweetheart" Fig.

Presenting for the first time ever... a very special Fico has a name of Dolce Cuore. It's original and only rooted home was in a small town in southern Italia Calabria, Cellara . I do not know how old it was but the man who gave to me was his parents tree. About 6 years years ago he was visiting his parents in Italy for the winter and decided he wanted to bring some of his parents tree home because whenever he visited the tree was sleeping and could never eat the figs. so as he said he cut the sticks and bring home in his luggage along with some olive tree sticks and started a baby tree. Since he had it he winterized it well accept 3 years ago and he lost much of the top growth to the cold weather. It did grow back well and since the die back he has never pruned it. Only cut the roots to keep it healthy in the big pot he had it in. When I first met him I was not as into growing figs as I am now and really I only grown papa tree. So when fruits were ready over the past couple seasons we would meet with figs from his and papas tree and eat them and talk. I really loved the taste of his figs. It was not too strong berry but more sweet and little tart to it. And best of all they were big figs! I can't really explain the exact flavor because I've never tasted anything like it. All I can say is wow!
I told him after learning more and more about fig types and rooting cuttings I would love to try it. He was hesitant to give me a cutting because he never wanted to cut the tree. Only prune the roots. After many many times I ask him he finally gave in and gave me a nice cutting to root! And of course I killed it🙄(go mikey)

You have no idea how hard it was for me to tell him what happened when he asked me about it. But he laughed and said it was okay and I can try again. But not off his tree.... He was leaving that fall to go home and visit parents and said he will bring me cuttings from the mother tree so his stays growing and the mother tree wouldn't miss a few cuttings. The mother tree stood about 12 ft tall and said it looked like a letter "T" they grew it tis way to make it easier to harvest fruits. So eagerly waiting him to return I finally go a call from him. We talked a little and he didn't sound too happy. I made a joke about my cuttings he bring me get taken at customs and he replied. "No.... I didn't even take cuttings.... the tree is gone." The tree along with many of his parents fruit and Olive trees slid down the hill side from small scale landslide and was buried in deep grave of earth. It is gone. I apologized for making a joke and then learning of tis terrible news.

You see tis tree has been on their land for very long time and really wasn't anything they paid attention to because it rarely fruited (or it always fruited and they just didn't care) it was on a overgrown portion of their land they never used. after his mother started gardening and clearing the land she started realizing how belle the tree was and started caring for it. The tree flourished with beautiful leaves and wonderful figs. Her first harvest she tasted she couldn't believe the flavor and brought some to her husband. Right then they fell in love with the tree. It was kind of their thing to do together when harvest time came over the years to sit by it and eat them off the tree together. More years go on and the father becomes sick and has less and less energy to sit by the tree with her. So when his last harvest time came around he would say to his wife ..."Sweetheart... please bring me some of our figs and eat with me in here the house"....he never tasted another fig after that season... he passed on. She kept it growing and continued to sit at the tree every harvest and eat the figs with her sisters. My friend was hard to talk about this but I got the story behind it.

As I was told tis explanation from my friend I never bothered him again for cuttings. In fact we started to lose touch because he was also not feeling good.

Now we come to last year early spring. He asked me to come over to help him take the tree out of storage like I've done past few years and when I got to his home he had lost a lot of weight from last time I seen him. He told me help him lift the potted tree into the back of my truck. I says " your joke me" he said he has seen how my collection and care for the trees has grown. How much love I put into the trees that he knows I will be able to care for it now much better than he can. And he told me to promise him that I will not kill it and not to prune too much. Grow it back to the "T" shape she once was. We still speak but no too much. He is in and out of the hospital for treatments. But when we do he always ask about it and I tell him His "Sweetheart" is getting her beauty rest for the winter and will be strong and ready for a very good season.

So far the tree stands about 4 ft tall in a bush style look. I told him the only way I can get it to grow in a T shape is to prune some. So I did a few which WillsC and Dave both have. I will prune a little more tis fall but not much. It is a fast growing tree and you know how I feel about the fruits. Just wonderful. One of or maybe even the best I've ever eat. I will love to get it to the T shape for him in enough time but I can not rush nature for the tree or slow life for him....

Come spring I will post photos of it and the fruits when they are ready.

I never mentioned tis tree before or posted photos of it because of the story and the amount of tree that is available for cuttings. And because I want to show my friend that I did what I promised him. I plan to put her in the ground tis season with hopes she'll grow bigger faster being able to stretch her roots out rather than pruning them off every year. Only time will tell. I am trying to get in touch with him to get his parents exact address so I can look it up on google earth and post the satellite view of the home.

Grazie to My Amico Bruno and may the Dolce Cuore "Sweetheart" become a belle addition to the fig world !

Ciao