I'm casting around to see whether it would be worthwhile/reasonable for me to buy a Panache/Panacheee fig this spring. One of the sites that wants to sell me one at a reasonable cost (Raintree) also carries Flanders and Northland/Nordland varieties.

I can find a little about these on a quickish search, but not much. Both are supposed to have good taste. Flanders is said to require "warm summers", and Northland is said to do well in cool regions.

I'm having trouble translating that to the real world. Does anyone have better info on these? Has anyone tried growing them in the mid-South, or anywhere in zones roughly 6b/7a-ish?

Thanks in advance for any info!

Flanders is supposed to be a late ripener, so if you have early frost in your area it might be an issue. And although Flanders has a breba crop, in Birmingham our winters and late freezes pretty much make breba crops impossible (certainly for in-ground trees). I'm not really equipped to handle pot culture on a continuing basis, so mid-season ripeners are ideal central/north-central Alabama.

Good luck, and be sure to report on your experience.

(If you're just getting started, you might enjoy this great thread re: ripening times http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/ripening-order-2858750?highlight=ripening&pid=1274406560#post1274406560)

Thanks, Rick! I'm not *exactly* just starting out -- I had a few figs in pots at a previous residence more than a decade ago, and both my parents and my brother still have figs in the ground that I gave them then -- but I am certainly starting over, in terms of figs, and I'm looking at lots of varieties that I never even heard of back then. I need all the help and info I can get! ;-)

Ione, 

I ordered my first fig from Raintree, a Panache, last year. I think they have a good reputation for shipping small but healthy trees. The trees are small for easy shipping, I guess, but shipping can still be a bit high if you live far from them. 

The Panache's figs are still pretty small, but I very recently found out it's not actually a Panache, maybe a Reverse, because the wood on it is not variegated and the little figs are solid green so far and not striped. Based on Jon's "Fig of the day" for Panache, you can see what the wood is supposed to look like. I ended up searching for local nurseries stocking Dave Wilson's trees based on a forum member's advice, and found many nurseries stocking healthy Panache trees nearby for $20, one of them in an OSH of all places. Both were large, healthy, and showed variegated striping,  and the small figs growing on these now are clearly striped. 

Maybe it was just the luck of the draw with Raintree. I still like Raintree. They have a nice selection and I've ordered other fig trees from them (including Flanders) but now I'm trying to source more locally, since their shipping costs are high. Trees from them took a while to ship to CA, but arrived healthy and well-packed.

Just my two cents. Happy figging! :)

Sarah

Thanks, Sarah! The shipping is high, but with the other plants I would order from them at the same time to spread the shipping cost around, I'd be paying around $30 total for the Panache. OTOH, your report that your Panache is not striped is more worrying! I don't want to waste all that time and anticipation, let alone the money, just to find out it's not true to name!

If you'd rather not chance it, you can always follow the sage advice of Richard (Hermitian), who advised me last month to check out local nurseries stocking Dave Wilson trees:

http://www.davewilson.com/home-gardens/where-to-buy-dwn-trees

Using that, I was able to find at least 15-20 nurseries close to me that carried Dave Wilson's Panache figs. I called the nursery first to check their inventory, you might want to do the same to save yourself a wasted trip. The OSH where I picked up my impulse-purchase second Panache right after going to the initial nursery that had the Panache I planned to get, was a complete surprise.  This OSH wasn't on the list and just randomly had one beautiful $20 Panache fig, complete with baby figs, hanging out with their other standard fruit tree collection. I saw it as a sign that I was meant to have two Panache trees, and bought it. 

For your cooler weather, have you checked out Olympian figs at all? Raintree has those, they sound very promising for rainy/cold climates. I have a small tree growing now but haven't had figs from it yet. 

Yeah, I already tried locating Dave Wilson distributors. No such luck around here -- we are not in fruit tree paradise as you are! ;-)

I already have a baby Olympian starting its life here. Crossing my fingers for it.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Oh, P.S. -- I may go with Edible Landscaping instead. They also have some other plants that I'd be interested in having, and I could also try their version of the O'Rourke fig while I'm at it.

Ah, I just now noticed Olympian on your fig list. 

Good luck!