what a let down this yr for this wonderful fig.. well.. wonderful, i heard, but i haven't really experienced that wonder.

long story short, it is very slow ripening fig, at least where i am or this might have been the lousy weather we've had this yr.

first fig was super well ripen. almost starting to dry on the tree. i was camping over the weekend and thank god no bird took a visit to that tree. i took it off and cut into it with my knife imagining all the wonderful color, honey, and that deep red pulp. well... the color was close, but little on the light side. there was drop of honey dried on the eye, but there were none in the fig.

the taste was.. intriguing.. it was different, but not intense.

of course, jon has mentioned that this fig requires heat and sun, not just will do better with heat and sun, but requires... which we had very little of this yr.

but the luck had it, we had few weeks of no rain and good hot sun. so i moved the tree to the front of the house where it was getting intense sun for almost 3 weeks straight.. i had second fig starting to run color. then it rained right after it started swelling. and it bursted into wonderful exploded starfish shape. i didn't even bother taking a bite.

i have been hoping too much for the Black Madeira fig, and with high hope comes greater disappointment. i'll have to wait till next yr to see what will come out of the tree again.

at least with Black Madeira, i can say i tasted one fig. Figo Preto all soured due to heavy rain. I-258 is too young to do much yet.

Hi Pete

Get yours to awaken early next season so the fig embryo's come on sooner as a few weeks makes a big
difference at end of season.
We had same weather as everyone else in our colder zone in Illinois and ours tasted best in yard once again but
majority ripened earlier.
Get yours to awaken early next season so the fig embryo's come on sooner as a few weeks makes a big
difference at end of season.

Its one of several figs for me personally that wowed me from the very first time eaten a few years back which is not common for my palate.
Not many have done that and those are the real keepers in our yard as i continue to discard many other plants that are
simply a waste of my time, effort and money for i will not wait years anymore in hopes they get better.
Been there done that.

All plants have been in garage stored for season since around October 23rd.

hey martin,

if you say it's good, it has to be good. i know you have very high standard for the figs. altho it's limited to dark figs.. :)

i think my main problem was the weather and not timing the "wake up" call right. right now i have two BM growing and they are doing well. both put on figs. 

i'm just hoping my Hardy Chicago will do well next yr. for whatever reason, it just stopped growing in the middle of summer along with another tree i moved into 3 gal. i got Paradis Nursery Hardy Chicago since you mention that's one you have :)

Hey Pete, trust me, BM has a flavor and taste like none other.  And the same goes for I-258.  Last year my BM put out a lot of figs and they were good.  Years back, they were so good one might jump off a cliff for one!  This year, not so much.  The rains ruined mine except a few and just last week, I removed the 60 or so figs from my tree.  Last year, my tree stayed outside and I didn't do much winterizing.  this year, I'm repotting it to an oak barrel and placing it in the gargage with a few other rare ones.  It's definately one to keep.

It was the climate this year.
Worse climate than any other,before.
I also grow selected grape cultivars,and I ended up a few years ago with:
Jupiter Cultivar as champion.
Guess what:This year I did not have one single bunch ripe properly a total,disaster.
In 2009,I had 30 pounds on each plant as an example.
Do I need to say more?
Maybe place a pix here so you will be totally convinced!LOL.
Here are Jupiter grapes in 2008

I only had one ripe Black Madeira this summer and it was great to say the least despite being one day early. I thought that it was ready when I saw a drop of honey seal off the eye. I picked it one day early and couldn't wait.
All the rest of BM figs are still green. But this is less than a six month old plant packed with figs and I thought that I will  be able to enjoy them. The colder it gets the less my chances to get those figs. LOL.

Just ate a ripe Black Madeira. Two more to go and this year is over. They aren't as good as they were a month ago, but still awesome.

herman, that grape looks amazing. i would love to grow some, but my wife is drawing line rather heavily of late. too many figs.. 

Pete:That grape pix is what I found in my new computer.
It will look amazing when i find the pix ,with the plant in about 2009,having 30 pounds + of seedless grapes hanging down,on plant
I am going to look for those pixies and post it here,then that will be an amazing site!.

Edit note:
Here is my Jupiter in 2007
And a bowl of Jupiter grapes in 2007


In the last three years ,I had grown nothing but ,black rot of grapes instead of the above,due to bad climate change.!
Grapes and figs require same type of climate to get ripe properly!

Bullet,  It has to bed HOT for good sweetness and flavor, and it has to be continuously hot. If you weren't 85+ and more like 90+ the last 2 weeks, it ain't going to happen. Otherwise it is like trying to do barbecue ribs with a Bic lighter. Ain't happening.

jon, typically the summer here will be over 90 most of the months of late june, july, aug, sept and half of the oct. it's hot enough here in nc to provide intense heat and sun. this yr just didn't work out that way. most of the summer, i was swimming in the rain.. talking about rain, i was at raven rock state park about 2 months ago. it rained buckets for about 10 hours between 9pm till 7am. my trusty tent which i have been using last 6 yrs decided to leak and by morning, i was literally swimming in my tent.. floating on top of my sleeping pad. i really need to reseal that tent. they don't make it any more and i bought it for $28 6 yrs ago brand new. little on heavy side, but i can't find another tent i would rather have.. it doesn't use any guy-wire... stable in wind, and roomy enough for me and my pack.

Martin how do you wake up the container plant early to get head start? Indoor heat/light?

I can put in a second vote for Jupiter grapes. Altho I may have some that beat it in near future, for now it's my champion too and the rest of mine that have fruited so far have been tossed.

Hi Persian,
 In early spring the blacktop driveway gets warm quickly by sun thus they are moved onto driveway to enjoy sun and more root warmth
which enables them to come out of dormancy a little earlier than if waiting for them to do so in garage floor.
At night there moved back in .

Hey Pete,

Too bad Black Madeira didn't produce top quality fruit for you this year.  Last year was the first year that mine ripened fruit and the fruit quality was pretty variable, with many not being that good.  All of the fruit ripened in high heat.  It was more of an immaturity issue with the tree.  This year the tree is older and the fruit was consistently much better.  The flavor is very complex and strong.  It's an excellent fig.  Better luck with it next year.

Your grapes look great growing on a single pole up in the sky Herman. It's the first time I see this. They look like they're on a tree with a metallic bark. Great design.

Well Sas,Growin it this way is ,done ,in order to avoid ,black rott,of grapes,going up the plant from soil line.
The farther from the ground the leaves are the ,more protected against fungal diseases,because of better aeration.
Growing on wire does not work here ,the vine ,will totally fail ,because of fungus,problems.
Yet in the last 3 years my results were very very bad,even with this growing style due to water in the air ,most of the time,(jungle climate).

i was thinking about doing similar thing with hardy kiwis.. well.. i killed all my hardy kiwis. it seems my green thumb only goes as far as figs are concerned.

Sorry to hear this, I'd be very disappointed as well. I know it's cold and late but my Black Madeiras are finally coloring up. I guess I won't get the true taste of a properly ripened BM but what the heck, it's a fig

Pete i keep killing my hardy kiwis too--well the deer do. 

Herman that is a great idea for grape growing!

Martin that is a very nice and straight forward trick thanks for sharing.