I have one inground,I protected it last winter,in second year,now it has 8 figs well grown,that will ripe for sure.
I think with a little care it will adapt to your zone 8 better than in my zone 6b.

Herman, thank you for the reply, I have high hopes for this plant and do not want to lose it due to something I should have done but did not.

Herman,I'm afraid to put mine in the ground. I'm in zone 7B, Western Piedmont of NC. I know your winters are worse than mine but I paid a lot of money for this tree. I also got several cutting from Jon this year and I have 2 more growing in gallon size pots. But BM needs a lot of heat and sun, I mean a lot! I think I'm going to wait another year and see how mine grows. It is a beautiful tree. Right now, mine is over 2 feet tall and has fruit on it. I got 2 of them. When Igot them, they were sick with them mosaic virus. But now it looks like its out growing it! I would think in Texas, BM would really grow well. I lived in Oklahoma years ago and it get blazing hot there and Texas. I think BM will be the King fig there. Cheers, Dennis

If BM tastes any better than Col de Dame Blanc......I don't think I could STAND it!!!!! CdDB immediately drops me to my KNEES whenever I eat one of those jewls.

I too paid dearly for a phytosanitary inspected BM fig tree that was infested with nematodes. That tree died shortly after I found out why it was doing so poorly. Fortunately, UCD sent me one small fat cutting this year that I turned into a nice replacement tree. It will be a few years before I experience the taste of a BM fig. Looking forward to it.

Dan

Dan, I am hoping one day I will get a Col de Dame Blanc cutting from UC Davis. I had one months ago and it died. It was a very tiny cutting. And the same is true for a Ischia Black. From I've heard these three figs, BM, CdDB and IB are some top tasting figs! I've already submitted my order to UC Davis and the responded with a confirmation email. Dennis

I had a Black Madeira but I goofed up and killed it.
Luck me I had purchased cuttings from Jon and I have one of them growing very well. I think I gave away the other cutting, Just can't remember.

Dan,
To see you praise the CDDB only gets me that more excited.
I picked up some cuttings last year and two managed to make it. I gave one away and I have one that is in a 1gl. pot and doing very well.

Thanks Dan.

Rafed

I forgot,
Maybe you might want to take some cuttings and root them for insurance before you put it in the ground. Which means you might have to wait another year.
That way you will have some more trees for back up.

Goodluck

Rafed

Fafed,

A downside to CdDB is that it is a late ripening fig and might not do as well in other cooler parts of the country. In my zone 9 climate the temperatures are hot enough and the summers long enough to ripen it to perfection. It is an awesome tasting fig and the best I have ever eaten. I've read that Black Madeira ripens late too and some lay claim that it is arguably the best tasting fig. Not sure about its rain tolerance. Time will tell......

From my research work, I've seen that CdDB is a very rain tolerant fig and a definite keeper in my area. I highly recommend it to those who want an excellent tasting fig for LATE in the growing season when the Celeste trees have long since stopped producing.

Dan

My Black Madeira was an excellent tasting fig but it was late to ripen for my area. I say was because I made the mistake of not covering it this past winter thinking it was mature enough to handle the cold, dessicant winters of our high desert. WRONG!
For those of you who I shared this BM with, take good care of them because their mother is now in a better orchard.

Leon, don't you just hate it when a promising fig tree goes to fig heaven much too soon? This past winter I lost an in-ground Round de Bordeaux which was given to me as an air layer by a kind collector. Fortunately, I rooted a spare and will wait another year before it goes into the ground.

Did you grow Black Madeira and Italian 258 long enough to make any growing/fruiting/flavor comparisons between those two?

Dan

Dan:
About 9 years ago, I contacted a good friend and fig collector by the name of R. Watts and asked him what his best tasting dark fig was. He told me that Black Madeira was probably the best out of all his dark figs but that he preferred Italian-258 as a close second because it sometimes produced two crops and consistently bore alot of figs for him to eat. So he was kind enough to share a rooted Italian-258 with me.
Personally, BM reminds me of the chewing gum that has a syrupy filling. Once you bite into it, there is this burst of an intense, sweet berry flavor that just lingers on.

Italian-258 has a similar intense flavor but with a persistent aftertaste that, to me, tastes more like a fig and not so much like a berry! I personally like figs that taste like figs, not other fruit, as others might prefer.

Thanks for that info. Sounds like both are worth having if one has the room and a good climate. I too love figs which have that lingering after taste. They sure do not all have that desirable characteristic.

Dan