First off, in the TyTy site, they identify the Patrick Supergiant as a "good diet for diabetics." As poor as their reputation is for plants, I surely am not going to take advice about my diabetes from them. For those of you concerned about the effects of figs on blood sugar, try the varieties you like and see what each one does. From my experience, the difference in effects from variety to variety can be marked.

1) Unless you are proficient with the hybridization process, I wouldn't bother trying to hybidize. Get trees or cuttings of established varieties.
2) Trees from seeds do not always fruit. Get trees or cuttings of established varieties.
3) Get trees or cuttings of established varieties.
4) You may not get figs from a tree grown from seeds. Get trees or cuttings of established varieties.
5) If you are serious about hybridizing figs, you'll probably need more information than could be obtained on this forum. Get trees or cuttings of established varieties.
6) Dream crops are going to vary from person to person and from location to location. What does well for me in Houston may not be what does well in other areas.

UC Davis does not charge for their cuttings or for shipping. The program is paid for with tax dollars. However, feel free to send your FedEx account number if you have one and would like to ease their burden.

~james

James,

Thanks for the info! I do intend on becoming proficient, at least on a small scale, with hybridization. It is something I've been interested in for years and have dabbled in it with other types of plants with success....figs are unique, and so I'm a slave to the new learning curve! :)

I didn't realize Ty-Ty had a bad reputation. I wish I had known that before I purchased three trees from them. I've not done business with them before. One that I purchased looked like it had been hacked to pieces before they finally stuck it in a pot. Apparently, looks are not important to them? When I unwrapped the trees, there was a nest of ants living in the roots, so that was fun....not!
:( Live and learn, right?

The Patrick's Supergiant was purchased for the size of the fruit (it struck my curiosity), not the promise of helping diabetes...most figs help in that department anyway, so lucky for them I'm well-read in natural food nutrition and didn't think twice about the way they advertised it. :)

As far as the dream crop question goes, I should have specified. I live in South Carolina, and next summer will be moving to either Hawaii or Southern California. Aside from that, I keep the trees in very large pots which are on casters for easy mobility...they can be moved if it gets too cold. Currently, I live on the coast with very mild winters, and there are figs everywhere here. I also have plans for a greenhouse. So my question bypassed the growing zone issues. I simply was curious as to what everyone likes and why? So if you're still willing to share, I'd love to hear!

~ Erin

I really liked Col de Dame Mentioned above.I also have a Sal's Fig,and a Vista Mission,I like most,as Flavor and productivity.I also Like ,very much,the Taste of Violette de Bordeaux(Negrone),but is very late in my climate,and it will split bad when a lot of rain occures suddenly.This are my best choices from about 30 varieties i tasted.Get Them you will be happy you did and forget about growing from seeds.You need to grow and fruit at least 10000,plants to be able to get a very good one.And also you will have to dig 9999 of them out in order not to invade the environment,because they are invasive.Unless you sell it to other people as good figs(Jocking)Regards

Thanks! That's what I was looking for...just was curious to know what everyone liked. It seems most people here have tasted LOTS of varieties....I've only tasted a couple. It seems only natural to ask people who already know, right?

As far as the seed thing goes...well, that's what I consider "fun". I will probably approach this in coming years from a very manageable standpoint, and VERY slowly. I first want to narrow down my selection to my absolute favorites, selected for flavor, color, size and hardiness. Then keep them close together. Most likely, I will select the one or two largest fruits off each tree during the season and plant the seeds. My intention is not to make money...I just want to have fun! :) You're probably right...nothing may ever come of it, but the joy is in the not-knowing. Sort of like fishing...you never know what you're going to catch, if anything.

So that still leads me to one of my initial questions: within one ripe fig, will ALL the seeds produce the same identical tree, or will each seed carry different genetic possibilities?

Thanks again!! :)

~ Erin

Kepp In Mind that the largest producing figs are not the best tasting most of time.
The gems are usually in the size small to medium.

Dear Erin,
It is my understanding that figs in the eastern U.S. do NOT have viable seeds because they need pollination by the fig wasp, plus the presence of male fig trees, called caprifigs. Unless one lives in California, or some part of the world where these are available to you, you will NOT be able to grow new fig trees from your favorite backyard trees. My tastiest fig, by far, is a cultivar of Celeste. This tree produces extremely rich tasting fruit that is small. A fault of the variety is its tendency to drop unripe fruit. This characteristic may be linked to hot, dry weather. It is refreshing that you are full of questions! Keep on asking! You have come to the right place!
Sincerely,
Palmfan [Jim]

Erin, I know little to nothing about hybridization of figs, but I think I can give you a starting point in looking for further info. If I say anything which is incorrect it will be corrected quickly on this forum, as it should be, so here goes......
Most of the figs we homegrowers raise are common figs which cannot reproduce by pollenation, but are propagated by vegetative means. I do not know if they produce any sort of pollen, therefore I have no idea if they can be used in the hybridization process. The norm is that their seed is sterile.
The other type of fig will produce viable seeds from the process of pollenation, and this can be accomplished by hand as well as through natural pollenation by insects (wasps). I have never seen one of these types live, therefore have no idea as to where the pollen is found, or how it is collected and transferred from one fig to another. These seeds apparently grow quite readily, but, as is the state of genetics generally for them, they will not produce a plant the same as the parent(s). Ergo, the little plants which are produced will be a variable and eclectic group, almost all of which will be of no value as per producing edible figs.
There is a booklet, written and sold by Ray Givens, which gives a more complete explanation, complete with terminology, of the types of figs as divided by reprodutive systems, but even this does not explain the process of hand pollenation.....Elder (Lou)

Oh WOW!! Thanks for the valuable information everyone! I was beginning to think I was "bugging" everyone with my questions....I tend to get straight to the point when I am interested in something. You all have no idea how much I appreciate the help, and as you know, detailed info on the fig is hard to find, ESPECIALLY the info on "breeding", hybridization and pollination.

Jim: Hmmmm...perhaps it is my naivety with figs, but if fig wasps were imported decades ago on the west coast, wouldn't they migrate as far as their food source would allow? I'm reminded of how quickly insects migrate as I treat the fire ants in my yard every year. LOL! It would be interesting to find out if anyone had luck germinating seeds from figs grown on the east coast. Bear in mind, I won't be here in another year, and will most likely move to Hawaii or Southern California (in the desert). So my odds will greatly increase, and since I'm in no hurry with this (even if I was, It would be useless), I have several years to get my dream orchard together, (in large pots of course).

You mentioned a cultivar of Celeste...."cultivar" is something I don't understand...or maybe I do. Would this be similar to say, Chocolate Chip Cookies? :) There are a million different recipes out there, and some are excellent, while others are so-so, but all of them are basically made with the same ingredients. Forgive my simplicity, but is this somewhat accurate? :) I'd love to try it, none the less. Where did you get it?

Maybe you can help me identify a fig I have. I got two little twigs off of a gorgeous tree in a lot of a church...I can try to get pictures if it would help. Anyway, the figs are green with amber flesh...sort of stringy, and nowhere as juicy as some of the pictures I've seen on here. They are mildly sweet, but good. They are about the size of a golf ball, maybe a tad smaller...no striping, and no yellow. Any ideas? (I know, I know...there's a million possibilites, but I thought I'd try anyway!)

Lou: Wow, I didn't realize figs were so complicated. But still, I have hope...SOMEONE had to develope all these "common" figs we have, so there must be a way, right? As far as hand pollination goes...how in the world would that be done?? A Q-tip?? A needle??? LOL! All joking aside...it does baffle me a bit.

I do realize that planting seeds from select fruits (either by taste, color or size) will result in trees with genetic traits unlike the parent trees. Of that I'm sure! But that's the excitement of this for me! Most, if any at all, will probably not be worth keeping. It is the needle in the haystack that I find exciting.

As I said before, I want my "dream" orchard to be about 10 trees strong or so. I'll keep them close together throughout the year so that cross-pollination, if there is a chance, can occur. I'll journal, take pictures and document all the fruits as they are picked. I'll even weigh each one and log it in, since I also have fertilization methods I'll be experimenting with. As long as the taste is uniform through all the fruits, I'll select the largest, prettiest ones, and collect the seeds. From there, one can only wait and hope, right? Any idea of how long the seeds take to germinate and what conditions they require?

Thanks a million...and rest assured, if I get lucky with an incredible fig one day, you won't be forgotten! :)

~ Erin

Erin, my impression from doing reading about figs online, is that only a special type of fig called the "caprifig" has viable pollen to donate. Most brand name varieties (the yummy ones) are not caprifigs. Thus, they can't donate any pollen. So unless you find a variety that can be used as a parent (caprifig), it is unlikely that any cross pollination will be done at all.

Plus, I'm not sure how to get those fig wasps to cooperate either, as I heard they only live for 1 day, and then die.

There are so many good varieties out there, and they are so easy to propagate, that it isn't very feasible to try to breed them yourself (unless you really like to). Simply cut a stem from, stick it in the soil, and walla! It roots very easy, and grows fast. Plus you might even get several fruit the first season.

Erin: Where are u in S. Carolina....I'm in Oburg ---would
like to converse with you as I am just now getting my Master Gardener's certificate and love growing figs. I've been taking cuttings and trying to bring trees up from that.. Judy B

Erin, There is a link that has been posted on this site to a book "The Fig" by Ira Condit. Chaper V Caprification starts on page 42 and Chapter VI Fig Breeding starts on page 51. I'm a computer illiterate, so I can't give you the link, but in Search This Forum enter: "The Fig" Condit. In the results, choose the 3rd post down: The Fig, by Ira Condit Online, posted by pitangadiego. It has the link.
When you get to the book make sure you find and click: view page image, it's in bold type. There is a drop down menu where you can pick the page you want.
It's a little dry, but might answer some of your questions.
Good luck.