i was thinking of doing some business with these people. elizabeth   [figqueen13] has talked to them. they are selling new mexico unknowns in 5 gallon pots for $45. seems a little high for unknowns, but i'd like a great big tree.

but he has never heard of  socorro black. this seems odd for a fig nursery.

so, i just wondered if anyone knows anything about this outfit?

as always, i depend on your advice.

When in doubt... opt out.

sophie,  i shall , unless i hear some glowing reviews from people i trust. everyone here has heard of socorro black. why hasn't he?

If I remember correctly, Soccoro Black is a name given to an unknown fig by our own Los Lunas Farms.  Therefore that name wont be known by anyone outside this forum.

good to know bob. it's just that yesterday i was reading about ebay fig scammers so i'm feeling very cautious. i  prefer dealing with people my friends here recommend.

 thanks saijo. thats not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Susie, if you are buying an unknown it would seem to be less of a risk than if you were putting down money for a know variety that you really wanted.  Just my 2 cents.  Could you ask them to put you in touch with someone who is growing one of these unknowns so you can see how they like it?

Steve

Aren't they fruiting right now? Maybe sample them before buying.

smart thinking steve. jason, they are 250 miles from me,  so i was gonna get one shipped, sight unseen.  that's why i'm asking for info.

Susie,
Does he have a list of his 50 cultivars some place online?  I couldn't find it.
Thanks

I tried emailing them a few times this past spring and never got any response so I gave up with them.

Susie, I just recently found this site http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/ You can search for businesses by name and look at the reviews. Most places are in the database but not this one. Google also only shows one 5 star rating but you have to take that with a grain of salt too. Good luck!

thanks everyone. i guess i'll pass, unless i happen to be that way and can inspect the trees.

maybe i can talk jon into shipping a bigger tree, even tho he says he won't.

lot of figs that we see on ths forum will not be available outside of this forum. some are just rare, some are unknown that was named by the person who found it. as to the person who's selling the fig.. i just stick to known source, or members on this forum. makes life whole lot easier :)

that's what i'm gonna do pete. i trust the people here so that makes sense.

I talked to the owner 2 weeks ago and he said this would be a good time to buy fig trees from him because he was selling his nursery.He said he had over 89 varieties now, that he collected all over the state of New Mexico. I have thought about buying his favorite out of his collection.One more thing I thought about was what he said about New Mexico"s 400 year fig history and the 40 degree temperature swing in a day, every day!Wow! That could be some hardy fig trees.

hi, grant.  you could be right. i do know the spanish brought fig trees here durring their conquest. thing is, the bulk of the comments here tend slightly negative.

There's is a special feeling or fever about owning a rare variety or a variety with an official name vs. an unknown. I grew up all my life eating unknown figs and some were excellent too.
This past year I was able to sample some of my first year figs. I must say that if unable to get anything else you would not go wrong with a Violette de Bordeaux(Negronne), improved Celeste or a Texas Everbearing.
Figs grow fast and before you know it you'll have a big tree. Just try to protect your tree from extreme weather,deer,birds, mice and rabbits etc...until established.

thank you sas. actually, i'd just as soon have unknowns. if you have any to trade, lemme know.

FYI. I've decided to give away my celeste which I bought from Lowes earlier this year. I'm keeping my improved celete.

FYI the claims of your guy from Landofenfigment about fig leaves tea led me to start a new topic. This is very interesting.

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/how-to-make-tea-from-fig-leaves-6559118

can you tell me why you ditched the celeste in favor of the improved? i've got a bunch of celestes rooting right  now.

The large tree that I bought from Lowe's had plenty of fruits and dropped them all. Perhaps I did something wrong. 
I gave it the same attention if not better as my cutting of improved Celeste which I received in the spring from New Jersey.
I believe that they call the improved Celeste O'Rourke also. My improved Celeste did not drop a single fruit and I was able to sample it in its first year.
The flavor is just as good when ripe and the size of the fruit is bigger. For me it's good enough as I perhaps bought too many trees in my first year.LOL

I must add that I have another Celeste that I bought which also had some fruits when I purchased it and this one I'm keeping for now.