Here are some more pictures of my over/under ripe fruit of unknown GM#17.
I forgot to include a coin for reference; that yellow paper measures 1.5x2".

I am not going to name anything just to say that this fig is too dark to be Sal Corleone as I said in this post very above,at the begining.
Yet it is very similar in shape interior color,size etc.

Thanks Herman,
We already knew that it is not a Sal(C).

There is currently an ebay some  fig (MD_BT) cuttings selling that look somewhat very, very similar.

Fruit is very pyramid-shaped on that tree, reminds me of the shape of Grantham Royal.  My BT is nothing like that.  It does have the leaf shape of my BT, and the fruit color, also.  Has that huge eye that sometimes my Monrovia BT gets. 

satellitehead,

All I mean to say is that the shape of that fig looks similar to #F and #K in the fruit shapes here:

http://www.raysfiginfo.com/id-figs.html

It has a "squat" look to it.  It looks pyramid shaped, like a Hershey Kisses chocolate candy.  This is unusual if I consider my Monrovia BT as a BT sample.

My BT also does not have "ribs" on the fruit, as the one pictured at the auction does.

My BT does have the white flecks on the fruit as you see here.

Of course the color of Royal Vineyard does not match, but the fruit shape (not the size) and ribs seem to match.

If you want to see some pictures to compare, here are ...

Some pictures of my young BT fruit and tree: 
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=41210236&postcount=18

Some pictures of the different dominant leaves of my BT:
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=41210339&postcount=20

Finally, here are some pictures of ripe fruit:
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=4767918

And here is a picture of very ripe fruit with that very large BT eye ;) 
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=41371106&postcount=8

I hope somehow this helps, and you understand I'm just providing some real-world BT samples.

Hi Gorgi,

It's Scott that sold you the Md. BT fig cuttings on ebay. I saw your critique on the cuttings and I do apologize, I didn't know any better. I did have one bag of cuttings that was sealed to tight, but I thought the fine gray mold was benign. If you don't have any luck with them, I will of course, replace them for free.

A friend of mine who raised champion leghorns gave me the cutting. He got it from a farmer. Probably about 1985. I got it in '92.  He used to just remove the bottom leaves and jam the stick in the dirt without any ceremony. I didn't know dormancy was important.

I often get ripe fruit in early August. I'll slice one and post a pic when the time comes.

I have plenty of cuttings. Now I will know how to pick the best ones. Thanks for turning me on to this site.



Scott   

Grantham's Royal is a huge fig. Last season was the 1st time my tree gave 2 ripe figs. Colour looks like Dauphine -- some dark greenish with dominant purplish dark colour. It was about 2 days to perfect ripeness when I have to be away from home. Would take pic's this year. Jrice would likely be the best person to give some feedback on this variant.

Hi Scott,

Hi Gorgi,

I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya. Sounds like a good mix. No rooting hormone for you?

Yeah, I threw ih some extras to try to make up for the fact that I don't know what I'm doing. That gray powder was on some of the old fat gnarly sticks before I cut them. I've seen it before and it always seemed harmless.

This was my first attempt at selling cuttings. I was actually mortified at my mistakes, when I read your critique. And I appreciate it very much, as I want to do it right.

When is the best time to take cuttings? ... and the best way to store them? ... any other advice on how to prepare them properly for sale?

I've been a long time member of gardenweb, and have researched the site. Lots of different opinions and experiences. Obviously, this is a much more focused forum, so I would love to hear the consensus here.


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Jon, I got your email. Thank you so much for the warm welcome.

Scott

You can take cuttings any time as long as they are 'hardened' (not soft, flexible, new green growth), but you may choose to take them during growing months or dormant months depending on your situation.

If they will be rooted immediately, like within 48 hours of being taken off the tree, I would take them in the 'non-dormant' months where leaves are actively present.  You should remove the leaves, of course.  There is some anecdotal evidence that "juicy" cuttings (i.e. non-dormant ones) seem to root more happily and vigorously than dormant ones.  As a word of caution, I would let the sap harden on the cutting ends before sending them off.  This should only take a couple of hours and apparently helps to callous/seal the cutting ends.

Alternately, if you have no idea when a  person will get time to root them, or if you want to take them and refrigerate for shipping later, it is better to take them while the tree is dormant in winter, after all leaves have fallen.  I personally like to take cuttings in early to mid January, after they've had about 3-4 weeks of near-freezing temps, just for good measure (ensure dormancy, etc.).  From year to year, I usually find one or two local unknowns that look promising or very unique and offer up to the active members here at the forum for free, and it is easiest for me to take them in the winter months - no need to rush shipping, and they can go direct from the box to a rooting bin or into the fridge until spring.

Satelitehead,

Good info. How do you feel about the lengths of cuttings?
I"ve been advertising 6-8 inch, but have been giving up to 10 inch cuttings because I am unsure of what I"m doing, and want to make sure everyone gets taken care of.

Thanks, Scott

Personally, I think 7"-8" is ideal.  It gives a person the option to do whatever they will.  10" is larger enough that you can make two cuttings, so you are essentially providing twice the potential stock to folks.

Anything in the 10"-12" range is actually harder to root, in my opinion, I've tried while experimenting, and anything over 8" is overkill, destined for failure.  Anything shorter than 6" and you're depleting the amount of internal reserves the stick has to produce the roots required to uptake nutrients and feed an actual sapling.

This is my experience.  Others may also share theirs.

To me a pencil is the perfect instrument to follow. The length is a good barometer. But I find too thin takes longer to get roots. A magic marker thickness has rooted the best for me. Even the length is good too. So for me I have the  best success with the length of a pencil and the thickness of a marker.

But the pros can get a rock to root.

I tried rooting rocks last season, 0% success - nothing but bad results for me.  ;)

Hi again all,

I have fruit pics finally as promised.

Scott