Looking for the immense fig tree in Warm Springs

From George Christian Roeding 1868-1928, A Tribute

This tidbit about fig trees from George Christian Roeding's biography caught my eye. "...there are individual specimen trees that have historic value by reasons of their immense size and heavy cropping. One of these, said to be over one hundred years old, is situated at Warm Springs, in Alameda county, with the trunk girth of seventeen feet, a glorious example of the longevity of the fig tree and a noble testimony to the vision and achievement of the Mission era of California in the founding of what has become the greatest fig producing section of the western world."


Seventeen feet! That's about three adults encircling the trunk with their arms.

Where is this tree today? Does it still exist? It would be about 200 years old now.

I asked our local tree expert, Nelson, and he suggested the fig tree at Rancho Higuera in Warm Springs.

And now I find out that Rancho Higuera literally means "Fig Ranch"! 

The "Belts and Suspenders" strategy of my least favorite weed

At the California Nursery Historical Park, our rose beds are awash with the "Devil Bulb". This crafty weed confounds us at every corner. Nothing seems to stop it. I call its strategy "Belts and Suspenders", because it profusely propagates by bulb and by seed. And it seems to grow year-round and to flower year-round and to make bulblets year-round.

This "Devil Bulb" has been in our garden for a very long time as you can see from the 1997 Mercury News article below. I asked 93+ year-old nurseryman, Bruce, if it was in the garden in his time and the answer was yes.

Is there any hope?