Thanks for the thoughtful comments, Bob.

Yeah, Brunswick and the other big eye varieties wouldn't do well in my greenhouse environment, and space is at too much of a premium to devote to varieties like those that will tend to split and/or sour.

It's interesting to learn that one persistent caprifig would be enough to sustain the wasps.  It's also interesting to learn that too many wasps can be problematic and cause splitting; that thought had never even crossed my mind.  Excess water + excess wasps could be an explosive disaster.

I had forgotten about St. Rita.  I got that variety from Jon last year, but the cuttings never rooted, and I didn't have the heart to put it back on my wishlist. 

I've got a feeling that no matter how many greenhouses I build, I will always think I'll need at least 1 more.

James:

I keep the humidity in my greenhouse as low as possible. Still it seems to be a low water use environment, certainly so compared to outside. What that leads to in my experience is watery figs of some varieties. Those that already have that tendency are particularly so. Things like BT, Black Jack, Beall, and Kadota. On the other hand figs that shrivel up as they ripen suit my taste better. If they were ever watery much of it goes as they shrivel. Varieties that so far are of that type include Strawberry Verte, Paradiso, St Rita, and RDB. I'm testing several more and will know more next yr.

Some other fruits have the same issue. My response there is to cut back on water as much as possible.

I like the shrivelers, too, thanks for those recommendations.  I'll be starting Strawberry Verte and RdB this winter, I'm anxious to try them.

GreenFin,

You may also consider grafting additional varieties to your 36 trees.  If you prune them into quadrants and graft 3 varieties onto each tree, one variety for each quadrant. This would give you a total of 4 varieties per tree, that would increase your diversity to 144 Varieties.  It also affords you the option of removing an entire quadrant and grafting in a new variety if the production or flavor is not befitting to your desires. 

Scott

Col de dama is a great one, I believe the yield is average from what I have read so it may put out less figs than say black mission but the quality is top shelf.  Again this is what I read not from personal experience so take it for what it's worth.  I have also read that you can achieve higher fruit weigh with irrigation on them but I don't know how this translates to quality. 

James:

I've grown Jon's version of Paradiso and now have Bronze Paradiso. Both fruits are very similar to Strawberry Verte only about 50% bigger. I like them both a lot. Very sweet, excellent flavor, and all can be picked as plump or shriveled as desired.

Ten yrs ago my original greenhouse stonefruit trees were nearly all 4 varieties per tree. It worked well. Some trees ended up with 7-8 varieties and some got reduced to one.

I agree with an earlier suggestion. Don't plant a variety in the ground until you test in a pot first. At least in a greenhouse absent freezing back you can maintain a single trunk tree. So a tree could be converted to another variety. But you'll still end up digging out trees.

I'm letting my pots root into the ground to see how that goes next yr. Want to see if they are too vigorous. That was an issue with last tree inground fig. I figure in a pot root pruning would be easier if they get out of hand.

James, I am also trying to start a wasp colony in my green houses. I have 6 rooted Capri fig cuttings and have been lucky enough to get a huge amount of seedlings to germinate. I hope to grow as many as I can out just for a learning experience. I'm also planning on building a greenhouse just for figs somewhere around 100' by 100' in size with a flat roof. The rain will pour though holes so there is no need for a sloped roof. I also would like to share in this project with you. Any information that you learn would be appreciated.

James and Hershell:

I'm interested in the fig wasp as well for my greenhouse. I don't think it would take much room just the extra caprifigs. If I could share costs or help in any way keep me in mind.

Hi Greenfin,
A general rule : More fruits on the tree ... will lessen the quality of each fruit.
The bigger the tree, the more energy is lost on scaffold feeding instead of fruit production.
I'm in Zone7 so I probably don't have the best infos on huge productive fig trees, but ,since you're in Zone6, here is my personal experience so far -for my best performers- :
1. Unknown figtree "ufti": planted 2009 in ground full clay , Winter screwed in Feb. 2012, around 70 figs this year brebas + maincrop . Approximate size: 5' * 4' and 6.5' of height - 10 stems growing from under 1' of height.
2. Dalmatie               : planted 2009 in ground full clay , Winter screwed in Feb. 2012 , around 100 figs this year brebas + maincrop . Approximate size : 5' * 3.5' and 6' of height - something like 10 stems growing from under 1' of height.

Next year the Dalmatie should be more productive due to its dwarf and compact growth habit ,
the big "ufti" due to his habit to grow fast, non compact sport, and being a late maincrop will probably be less productive next year.

Good luck with your trees, and keep us posted !

If you're interested in getting common figs from the seeds you have to use a persistent caprifig.  USDA's GRIN Ficus carica database only lists 4:  DFIC 6, 8 (Enderud), 10 (Saleeb), 126 (capri Q).  DFIC 127 has 2 entries for caprifigs, 1 persistant, 1 caducous so I'm not including it.  There may be other persistent caprifigs out there but these are the ones available through GRIN.  There's Gillette which is an edible caprifig and Igor's Black Prince which is also edible.  I would think they must be persistent but I don't know if the wasps can survive in the liquid interior (Same with DFIC 8 & 10).