These two varieties were started from cuttings in Feb. of 2013.  Figo Preto was from a cutting obtained from Encanto farms and Black Madeira from a cutting obtained from reliable source.  Both have been good steady growers for me with essentially no symptoms of fmv.  I had them in conventional 3-4 gallon containers last summer and then moved them to 5 gallon SIPs this Spring.  I have attempted to grow them under as close to identical conditions as possible.

The first 5 pics are of FP and the last two are BM.  Their growth habit is indistinguishable.  FP seems to grow slightly better than BM but the difference is small enough it may not be statistically significant due to my small sample size of two plants! This difference became apparent once I moved them to SIPs. One thing that does seem to be a real difference is that FP is ripening sooner than BM, as some others have observed.  I picked the first FP fig today.  It could have went another day but I think it was close enough peak ripeness to get a good idea of the flavor.  It had moderate seed crunch and sweetness and a richness that set it apart from most of my figs.  It had something extra in the flavor - maybe this is what some have described as a "smokiness"?  Anyway, it was very good and I'm sure it will get better.  I'll post again once Black Madeira figs ripen and I can compare the flavors side-by-side.

That is super!
Thanks, Steve. I am sure helps to those who want to acquire a BM.

Both plants look great and the fig looks delicious, thanks for sharing how the two compare/differ for you

Nice Steve,
Thanks for the report  and  keep them coming. Many of us would love to grow those two

Steve, Thank you for sharing these pictures and descriptions - really interesting to see these two at the same age grown side-by-side with the same growing conditions. I wonder if their "sources" from waaaaaay back could be growing side-by-side right now on the Madeira island. Thanks again & Keep Growing,

Thanks everyone for your comments.  I'll be curious to see if the subtle differences I observe for these two plants is also observed by others who are growing both of them.

That's really impressive that both of your plants are so healthy. My BM is too small to compare, is very small and has 1 fig on it. Preto is on the fritz. I hope in a years time to be able to make a better contribution to this thread.

Steve, very nice report on these two figs. Just looking at the pics of the FP fruit on the tree, they look a little more elongated than
my BM fruit. That could also be the camera playing tricks or the difference in the growing environments.

Rafael, I don't know your growth conditions but I've found that they have really thrived in SIPs.  They have put on so many figs this year that I am wondering if I should have removed a few of them so as to not overburden the plant.  When they go dormant I am thinking of moving one or both of them to 20 gallon SIPs.

For comparison here is my Black Madeira from Steve that was started from cuttings earlier in the year. All three rooted and are this size. No fmv..

Nice size Preto fig! Thanks for posting.

Brian, your B. Madeira looks great!  Thanks for sharing.

Very nice healthy trees!  Thanks for the side by side comparison.

Very nice Steve! I'm on the ropes about getting any more varieties but the Preto and Genovese Nero got me questioning my self again! I'm looking forward to BM as well. I actually had one large fig on my BM this year and I pulled it off and chunked it! I like to practice self torture and force my self to wait for the good stuff;)

Hi! Steve,

How are you? Last Fall 2013, I asked you if you would like me to send healing energy to your four fig trees: Black Madeira, Figo Preto, Col De Dame Blanc and Longue D'Aout. You told me that your trees would not get hurt and said yes, please send healing energy to them. So, I sent my healing energy to heal your 4 trees for at least 12 time or more during the fall of 2013 and winter of 2013 and 2014. I remembered last fall 2013 both the Black Madeira and the Figo Preto were small. The Figo Preto was a little smaller and less vigorous than the Black Madeira. The Figo Preto had Fig Mosaic Virus. But I am still sensing a little fig mosaic virus in your Figo Preto tree now. Your Longue D'Aout had the most fig Mosaic Virus, therefore, it did not grow much last year. How is your Longue D'Aout tree now? I took the pictures of your Black Madeira and Figo Preto trees about 10 days ago when I came by your house. Thanks for sharing.

Best,
Tam

These are the photos of the Black Madeira from Steve:














These are the photos of the Figo Preto from Steve:

Thanks for the info, Steve.  I hope they're similar enough to only grow one or the other.  I have Preto that should give me some ripe figs in the upcoming weeks.

Those babies are loaded Steve! Nice work man.

Really nice Steve, great photos and interesting information. Thanks and congrats, you have the touch.

Tam, I think you are a better fig photographer than I am! While I haven't noticed obvious signs of fmv/fmd on either the FP or BM, the FP is showing some yellowing of the lower leaves.  It could be nitrogen deficiency or Mg deficiency.  I stopped fertilizing a few weeks ago but perhaps I will give a little liquid fertilizer next time I water and maybe a little more dolomite lime.  The LdA has always showed pronounced fmv.  It had disappointing growth this Spring when other trees were taking off and only set three figs.  These should start ripening soon. It might have been set back by potting it up to from a conventional container to a SIP in late May.  However, around mid-July it started to take off and is growing well now even though pretty much every leaf shows evidence of fmv.  Since then it set a lot of small figs that probably won't ripen in time, unfortunately.  I should probably pull these off.

Frank, I'm hoping to learn enough about these two trees to decide either that one is better than the other for my area (and thus keep only one) or that it is worth growing both for their individual characteristics.

Keep them both! I hope you aren't planning on keeping just one due to space constraints (even if one out-performs the other) Most of us would love to have either variety, but it's your collection and your space, of course :)
I'll be interested to know the taste differences you find between the two.
Thanks again & Keep Growing,

You're doing a great job Steve.  Keep up the good work!  Don't let BM get too many figs on.  Remove some of those figs.  My BM is in a half whiskey barrel with figs on right next to my back door.  It's a great tasting fig with a unique taste.  My BM figs are not ripe yet but like your FP,,,mine have half ripe figs now.  The same goes for Ischia Black.  They are ripening now.

Steve, is your BM in full sun?

Dennis, I have wondered if these two varieties have too many figs for the size of the plants.  So if I leave them all on would the plant have trouble ripening them, or would not do so well next year, or both?  Would you suggest maybe removing about 1/3 of them?  I'm amazed at how productive these varieties are. If only I could transfer some of this productivity over to Kathleen's Black!

Yes, both the Figo Preto and Black Madeira get direct sun about 10 hours a day in summer.  As the weather cools down a bit I'm hoping that being next to the brick wall will help them ripen the figs.

Very nice, Steve!
Do you have a diagram of your SIP you are growing them in?

Igor, here are the instructions for the 5 gallon SIPs - essentially the global bucket design:

http://greenroofgrowers.blogspot.com/2008/07/how-make-two-bucket-sub-irrigated.html

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