is it hard to get figs just because they are not being circulated enough? is it exceptional figs that are in circulation but for whatever reason being called "rare"? 

i'm not sure exactly what is a rare fig. 

Good question Pete.  I imagine some varieties are manipulated to be rare and expensive.

Rare... a bad tasting fig. I think that word is used too much, I love looking for something on ebay and pulling up 10 or 15 of the same item that all say rare....

A rare fig is one that continuously eludes me.

Suzi

just found this from couple of yrs back. 

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/which-is-rarest-fig-tree-5928698

I don't believe there is any manipulation of figs to make any of them rare.  New varieties get discovered/introduced and it takes a while before they get distributed enough to be common.  It just takes a while.  Of course, the better a variety tastes (based on reports) and looks, the more rare it seems since we want it more.

I'd like to have a tree of every striped fig variety out there so any that I don't have are very rare. :)

Isn't a 'rare' fig one that is still oozing red in the middle?


Seriously, I don't think people can manipulate things to make them rare, but there is surely some manipulation to make them seem rare and valuable and thereby elevate prices.

Ed, I don't see that manipulation either.  I've bought over 100 varieties in the past year and sold nearly 300 cuttings.  I don't think I'm suckered in easily and see favorable comments of some figs I don't have and think nearly all are fair and accurate descriptions.  People paying high prices for some varieties is mostly from folks that are knowledgeable and know what they are doing.  Prices just end up high most of the time because there are a lot more willing buyers than supply.  Eventually, they all come down in price.

And Harvey has given you the operational definition of rare.  Demand far outstrips supply.  A one of a kind seedling tree that no one's ever seen is more scarce than Maltese Beauty but since there's no demand it's not considered rare.  Rare is usually reserved for things people want to buy but can't - Suzi was exactly right.

It's the same for a certain engineering definition of 'sound'.  In it, sound is defined in reference to its effects on the human ear drum.  By that definition if a tree falls and there's no person to hear it it makes no 'sound'.  Useful for designing acoustics but meaningless to the animal deafened by the pressure waves produced by the tree hitting the ground.

The people who determine the price of a rare fig are the people willing to buy it.  If people are telling false tales about the quality of certain figs they are found out soon enough.  In any field it's obvious who the real experts are over a fairly short time period.  People who are respected as experts over the years have earned that distinction.  The fakes are found out, the ones with temper tantrums are thrown out and the emotionally unstable flake out.   

Three people growing a highly sought after plant in a pot can't possibly meet the demand of a fig community of thousands.  As the Amway effect grows you'll get today's rare figs as a sign up bonus for opening a new bank account.

To me....I define a rare fig as one that is NOT widely distributed or one that is NOT seen occurring for sale (eBay or listed in Jon's database).  Plus this forum can make a fig rare---big talk and praise about a particular fig.  I'm not point fingers or saying this is bad.  I'm just making a point.  We all like to hear about unknown figs!   Well, at least I do!

Case in point, we think Maltese Beauty is rare----Right?  I think it's rare.  A couple of years ago, the rare fig to get was Maccol.  I have not seen Macool or MB for sale on eBay periodically or widely distributed as give aways here.  The same goes for Black Ischia.  Two years ago, there was a post about a Black fig that Garden so vey had for sale.  They called it Black Italian.  Someone posted here about it and some said that the fig might be the same as Black Ischia.  Well within a few minutes, those Black Italian figs were gone!  Garden so vey has more today if anyone wants to go there and order one but I don't know its the true Black Ischia.   But then again according to Garden so vey, their Black Italian/Black Ischia is rare.  Just look at their asking price compared to their other figs!  HA!

I know the Dall'Osso I got is rare.  I know exactly where it came from and the price I paid speaks for itself.  Which means not too many folks have this fig.  In other words, it is not widely distributed....yet!  But it is rare to me and I am very happy with it. 

Back when Jason found that black fig.  Herman said he thought it was Black Ischia.  At that point, Jason's mailbox was flooded with emails from folks wanting that fig.  We made Jason's fig a "rare" find.  Is it the true Black Ischia?  Who knows!  But we made it rare.

Most of the trees that George, Marius, Mario, Rafed and a few others have I would consider rare.  Which means, not a lot of folks have them.  IMHO, I think anything that came from Baud or BC or Italy or Greece that's not too many folks have is rare.  That Black Greek I found is rare.

There are several figs that Jon and UCD have are rare.  At UCD, Calvert is rare.  The tree is very small and the one on the A side of the orchard is dying if not already dead.  So, if a lot of people request Calvert-----they won't get it.  Calvert is such an excellent tasting fig but it has a high level of FMV which does not affect the fig.  Me---I collect Calverts.  Today I have 4.  And Black Maderia and Black Ischia are 2 short little trees at UCD.  This is why they won't be able to send out too many cutting.   The trees just doesn't grow that much.

HOW BOUT THOSE FIGS!!!!

dennis, out of all the figs listed, i know only one that would consider rare. Dall'Osso. that fig is being kept at some italian conservatory as a historical fig. not widely distributed, and very hard to get one.

You know Pete...I lot of folks did not know that about Dall'Osso.  Now that I think about it.  You do have a point.

If I have it it is not a rare fig for me anymore !

Perhaps another distinction we should make is for the figs which are "geographically rare".  Like Akram mentioned... If I can't see it here, it's rare.

I can't speak for the rarity of figs since I'm new to the game. But any product can be manipulated to give the perception of rarity. If one controls the supply of a product they also can better manipulate demand by releasing the product slowly rather than flooding the market. They can also manipulate pricing. High demand equals higher pricing. If you are on and island full of people and control the only fresh water supply then you control the perception of how rare the water is. You may have enough to last forever but ration out as little as possible. My guess is the same thing with figs. There may be a perceived rareness and possible manipulation behind some varieties but that is also fueled in part by those willing to pay the price for "rare" figs supplying the demand to keep them rare. Therefore, it may take longer, as some noted above, for the "rare" varieties to become more commonplace. 

hey Pete, how's this one "Got money & yet not able to buy at better than fair market price ...." like

Black French
2 Fat Lady Black
Blue Bingo
Black Beauty 10

As is I don't think the said variants are available to fig enthusiast. Hope someday they are available for the fig community to enjoy or trials done in different zones. The reality is it has been reported that these are super tasting variants discovered & they could be lost if some huge hurricane/flood calamity sweeps thru Louisiana.

Hi,
I agree with the ones that say that rarity is a local perception . Don't laugh to tears but hardy Chicago is rare for me. Ice crystal was supposed rare until I came across a batch of 5 trees that where just at the normal price.
Rare is something I can't see everywhere with my own eyes, and something that I can't buy because lack of supply. In that respect, all figs are rare for me, and that is one of the reasons why I grow them myself .
In 2012, all figs were rare for me ... Production of my fig trees was: ZERO fruits.
In 2013, figs were not that rare as some trees produced nice crops.
In 2014, hopefully, figs will be much of a common fruit for me :)

I myself don't care for rare figs. I just want workhorses .

But I can understand the pride of people collecting them, and I can understand and feel all the fun about it, especially the striped ones, the big ones ...
Especially when, at last, those bloody trees come into producing fruits and that the rain, insects and rodents don't spoil - haaarrrrghhhhhhh, oh no  ! .

To me rare figs would be historically popular figs that are now almost extinct. 
It would be great if I could get some of these rare figs.

A rare fig would be of the white type grown in a guys yard named Martin.

Good one Martin

... unless it's striped :) 

JDSFrance.......good point. I think unknowns are rare especially if they taste superb. I use to think Panachee was rare until my trip to UCD and got several growing in my area. But to me, Panachee is not rare. But, hey it might be to you.

You can think about your community or local area in terms of what is rare - for figs or for anything else. In many places, it seems most places, any type of edible fruit tree is relatively rare. Even go to a place like south Texas and you'll see that, say, citrus trees are not ubiquitous. They are not rare at peoples homes, they are not uncommon, but certainly not nearly every yard has a citrus tree or even any fruit tree. A strong edible tree fruit culture seems rare most everywhere (even as opposed to, say, vegetable gardening culture). Here in Morgantown WV (6b) any fig bush/tree is rare. Doesn't need to be, especially given the many micro-climates, probably shouldn't be, but is. I've turned up 8 bushes, heard of a few others. Mostly Brunswick, also Brown Turkey, Hardy Chicago, and an unknown Mount Etna. And these are all around private homes. There are apparently no figs tended by churches, schools, municipalities, or public/private groups, organizations, institutions of any sort. Same goes for most or all edible fruit trees (apart from WVU orchards - what a failing of WVU orchards!). Some of the elementary schools do urban gardening (even meeting with Michelle Obama this year) but have missed out on what would seem to be the easiest, least expensive, and most permanent type of gardening: tree fruit cultivation. (One of the schools even sits directly across a small hollow from the university orchard, which produces a lot of apples each year and I think other fruits, but the idea of facing the University orchard with an elementary school orchard has apparently never occurred. And it's a so-called "green" school. And in the first round of student voting to name the school, "Orchard View Elementary" actually tied for first before losing in a revote.) So, any fig cultivars here are rare. Even much of any Johnny Appleseed effect seems absent. Mount Etna cultivars seem all the more rare for being likely the most adaptable to the growing zone. Any but the most cold hardy cultivars planted (and protected) here would seem exotic, let alone rare, as even the few cold hardy figs can seem. May fig bushes and fruit trees in general be less rare in the future.

On NPR this morning: