Well, at least you KNOW what variety you have. I don't have the luxury of that knowledge. I got it from Gurneys last year, and it said "Ficus Carica." No figs yet.

Doing some fig research, I went to the UCDavis site and found articles that stated the best tasting Figs in the UC Davis program are the Panchee and Violette de Bordeaux. They might have raved about Mission, because I also ordered that one.

The cuttings arrived, and I'll be propagating when my container order arrives.

Nice to know the Mission is delish!

Every day I check my one fig (now a year old) for a sign of figs, but I'm not sure what to look for. Time will tell, I suppose.

Jmsimpson, good find! I'm afraid to dig anything up for fear of killing it.

Desertdance, you should see tiny "knobs" on the new growth next to where the leaves sprout from; some time later, they will begin to swell into figs. Main crop figs usually finish maturing around August or September.

Girlbug:I will do nothing but answer your question:
Why Brown Turkey,is so much planted:
Because it is somwhat tolerant to deseses,and frost,and it can be propagated,and grown by wholesale nurseries,much easyer and more profitable than other choice cultivars(as Black Mission),for Example.
Fruits are larger,than other and public wants large fruits,so that is another plus.
If Wholesale Companies will grow Black Ischia,Beall,Col De Dame,Violette de Bordeaux ,etc,they will all be out of Bussiness,in a couple of years.
That is because ,it takes many cuttings to strike a rooted plant of the choice cultivar,and a lot of special care,and Time, to grow it to the size when it can be large enough to be sold.
H2

I personally think it's cool the way it is. more good stuff for me haha... I grew up in Eastern Europe where we didn't care as much about "looks" as about taste, nutritional value and quality. A lot of my friends here would make a big deal if they saw some of the stuff we ate there.
- "ewwww... that fruit looks gross"
- "well, that's cuz you have no idea what it tastes like"
- "is it approved by the American Food police? It looks
like some bug touched it and it's not waxed and they
probably didn't spray it with 10 different poisons to
kill nasty things"
I brought some snowpeas from my garden in my lunch today at work and this gal just told me she won't eat peas... hmm but she smokes and that's ok.

I had a talk with a co-worker and she said she hates figs... OK??? why would a sane person hate figs? maybe because she got them from the cold room at Costco where they were picked a week early.

anyway, if everybody was into special stuff it wouldn't be special anymore. So let it be as it is. Let people who know what's good, enjoy what's good, and the others can just thumb up their noses and eat fancy processed crap.

Oh by the way, my wife who is really not much into gardening and homegrown stuff... even she was impressed with some of the stuff I grew last year. I grew cantaloupes for the first time here in AZ and they did great. So I opened up a couple and had her taste them and she was totally floored. I mean we eat a lot of cantaloupes and some store bought ones do taste ok, but she said that she's never had one that tasted anywhere near as good (I couldn't tell that big of a difference, my tastebuds aren't as sensitive).
so I don't know, I guess the majority of people are missing out on good stuff because they have preconceived ideas about what things should be like. I can't wait to get my hands on some choice fig cuttings. Violette de Bordeaux, Brogiotti Nero, Cole de Dame White, and a few others are definitelly on my list. Currently I only have a Black Mission and a Brown Turkey, and the Black Mission wins my taste test hands down.

girlbug2, Thanks for explaining how to see figs starting. I immediately went out to look after reading your post. So far, nothing is showing for certain. Even then, I don't have much hope for the taste of my little Gurney's no name fig, after reading this thread.

I have my fingers crossed, I can propagate my cuttings of Black Mission, Violette de Bordeaux, and Panachee.

My grampa had a fig tree, and I never liked the things, but it was probably one of those awful tasting varieties. Looking forward to getting a taste of a good fig!

Herman:

Wow, I had no idea that it was so hard to propagate some figs. Well that probably explains it! Also, what you said about large fruit makes sense. Another popular variety here is White Genoa, which is also large and IMO, also boring flavored.

Desertdance, it may take a month or two for the tiny fig knobs to show up. Who knows, you may have a good fig there. Keep the faith!

White Genoa was bland ,large and tasteless for me too,in my climate,because it does not have enough heat in NJ to get ripe properly.
I Know for sure that in other Hotter climates,as Central California,,very southern US,White Genoa is a very tasty fig,but it seem that in adverse climatic conditions,it will not be as good.
This situation is happening with a lot of cultivars,when they are planted outside ideal climate for fig trees.
H2

I am on the boarder of Orange County and Los Angeles Co. I have Black Mission Fig. My neighbor has Brown Turkey. However, if you are looking for more varieties in O.C., go talk to the California Rare Fruit Growers O.C. chapter at the Fullerton Arboretum next weekend, April 17th. Last year they had 7 or 8 different varieties of figs for sale. Many, I had not heard of. If I had an acre, I would have bought one of each.

I don't know what other varieties folks by me are growing, but the only fig I usually see for sale at the garden centers and home improvement stores around here is Brown Turkey.

As far as sweet figs, BT are the crappiest fig in my opinion. But can be improved if cut in half and sprinkled with sugar. That being said, BT are great producers for me in pots.

Keep it low:You will be surprisedhow good it will be if this next Sommer wich started early will be long and hot.
In The Last 2 Years,in zone 6,7,the Sommer were too cold to get properly ripe Brown Turkey type figs.
They look ripe but they lack sugar and Flavor when Sommer Heat is not adeqvate for fig trees.with large fruits,(100Grams).
In the above conditions,only small fruited figs manage to ripe decent fruits.
H2

Yes indeed, climate (and I believe soil type too) can make a big difference on fig characteristics. In my zone, some Brown Turkey figs taste every bit as good as a standard Celeste fig. Boujasote Grise, for example, falls off the tree in many parts of the US. However, this fig hangs well on the tree in my yard and produces large, dynamite tasting figs.

H2, thanks for posting your observations regarding FIG SIZE performance during different climate conditions. I had not thought in those terms before your post.

Dan

I've been gardening in my backyard for a few years now and I got interested in figs last year. All of the figs I have seen for sale in middle Tn and down in Atlanta are BTs. I've asked why and I was told it was because it was hardy. I spent a nice dime on a big BT last year, before I knew anything about figs, and planted it beside my house on the south side. One winter and the poor thing is gone.

I ordered some other figs from two other online vendors and kept them in the garage, leafless and pretty much dry, all winter. All of those are doing great. So I am puzzled why the nursery down here won't offer Hardy Chicago or something that might be more sturdy than a BT and perhaps have better flavor too.

@espressogeek, quite often, my BT (on north side, FWIW) has dieback of 6"-8" on the tips of most branches every year. Sometimes that dieback has been upwards of 14"-16". This year, I pruned back heavily and sent cuttings to a dozen folks, and 2 of the 4 main remaining branches had dieback. The other two, which were markedly thicker, have no dieback.

This has happened for three years in a row. Because of it, I'm not sure if I buy into the hardiness argument a lot of nurseries around here push.

In my area, Brown Turkey and Celeste are common. Why? Because they are very hardy. If they die to the ground due to frost, they come back every year. Mission figs are rare. I was lucky 2 years ago and found some at Lowes. last year I planted 3 Mission Figs in my yard. They grew slowly and one produced only one fig. I gave it to my wife and she said it was awesome! Howver this past winter was hard on the 3 trees. They suffered some frost bite but are slowly leafing out now. This year, I traveled to just about all the nurseries, Lowes, and Home Depots looking for Figs. I only found 2 Celeste and one Brown Turkey from HD. That day, the nursery provider was in HD, I asked her....Why No Figs? She said they are hard to propagate and grow to make a profit. She said BT and Celeste are the only 2 figs they know they can grew here successfully. SHe did not know of any other varities of Figs. I just laughed and walked away. Dennis

Goodness Dennis, that's just the kind of knowledgeable customer service we get at HD around here too!

The Home Depot here doesn't even carry fig trees. Also, a very limited selection of fertilizers and and potting soils/mixes. The bedding flower plants they have are also very expensive.

Peg

I found Hardy Chicago at Lowes in Va. a couple years ago.
I found Kadota last year.

Still don't know what variety I have purchased from Gurney's last year, BUT I keep checking and today I discovered I HAVE FIGS! Those little knobs are just starting. So my next big job is to figure out when they are ripe. Our summers are very hot here, starting in May, so they may ripen quicker here.

I believe it was advertised as Italian Honey, but the tag on the tree simply said Ficus Carica.

I just hope it's not that BT variety that you all say is not as good!
Suzi

Suzi, I also bought a fig from Gurney's last year and you are right, they did say that it was Italian Honey. I have several other figs (not sure if all the sources are reliable) but the fig from Gurney's has different leaves with longer "fingers" and looks alot like my Petite Negri that came from Raintree. It doesn't look at all like my BT...but again not sure of the source of my BT.
Susan

We got two of them from Gurney's last Fall also. Both are in the ground and are looking great so far...but no figs as yet.

Coastal N.Car. Over 70 y.o. and until a few years ago, did not know anything but BT. Most stores had them and in many family yards. Always told , that they were only figs hardy this far north,
Found a Blk.Mission at Lowes. Not thriving yet, slow.
But opened my eyes to other varieties. Now have,Celestial,
Pete's Honey Fig and a Desert king, all from Willis Orchards in Ga.
Your great Forum has amazed me with varieties and depth of knowledge about this wonderful fruit.
I am now looking for the Vasilika, Greek fig to finish out my little plot. Again, I say..Hoorah for the Forum.

Just moved house last September (Hickory, NC) and am fortunate to have a large fig tree (8' tall X 6' across) in the back yard that is now absolutely covered with nearly golf ball sized figs. Looking forward to tasting the first ripe fig of summer!

Last September I was so busy getting moved in and situated that I hardly had time to enjoy the fall crop although the ones I did eat were quite tasty.

Based on the descriptions I have seen I believe this fig is a Celeste variety of some sort. Skin is a light violet to brown when perfectly ripe with a deep amber to red flesh. If picked too early they are a bit watery and bland in flavor and are very sweet if allowed to ripen fully.

Getting a perfectly ripe one was difficult last fall due to large hornets that seem to delight in eating them from the inside out leaving a hollow sack of skin hanging on the tree. (Not sure what to do about those...)

Trips to Lowes, Home Depot, and a few local nurseries turned up nothing but BTs thus far...

They sell hornet/wasp traps at Harbor Freight.....pretty cheap too.

Dan

DcJames,
not to get off topic i posted a little information about wasp traps in new thread.
Martin