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Italian 258 (Ital258) late fruits ripe pix:

Late but still delicious !
I did have earlier fruits too,from this tree that started from soil line this Spring!

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OMG, that looks amazing im jealous. Now I definitely need to get some Ital-258 cuttings.

Vasile for this fig to ripe so late and taste good is definitely something everything I ate in the last two weeks was insipid.

Nelson

Hi Nelson:I think the tree is on the northen limit for planting in ground here in NJ.
In Canada,I see it getting ripe if one has a Greenhouse to start it earlier,and then in May to grow in a medium bucket ,10 Gallon,and place it outside in full sun (After about 10 days of getting the plant used to outside ,by providing shade,to accomodate).
Of course care has to be taken to drill holes on bottom side to let the plant grow roots outside pot.
If the above method is used,the tree will produce ripe fruits ,with no problem.

Looks good.

Thank you for posting, Vasile. They look very good, even in November!

Herman2
Very nice fig this 'Ital258'. Wonder if that 258 code can be translated into an original fig name.
don't think it is a hybrid. (?)
I may be wrong but was under the impression that it was a black skinned fig.
If it was feasible I would not mind to trade this one with any of my best Portuguese blacks.

Francisco

Vasile,

Would you say this is one of your best trees?  How does it rank in your collection?

Frank:It is one of my best ,handfull of cultivars.
It ranks at the same level of superiority with Col de Dame,(all colors),Ischia Black(at its best),Maltese Falcon(at its best),Vasilika Syka(At its best),Longue D'Out,(at its best).
Notice,that at its best remark mean that in most years those are not at their best due to difficult climate especially in the last 5 years.
It is better than Madeira Black and Preto,on the account that it makes larger fruits and is a strong grower,Tasting just as good if not better.
To Lampo and Frank:In my opinion Ital 258 if DNA done ,will be the same fig as Madeira Black and Preto.
However,it is much healthier,because of possible lack of the fig diseases the other 2 suffer,and so it makes much larger fruits and it is more productive and stronger grower.
To Lampo:Yes the true color of the fig in ideal warm climates will be much darker,but here this year the Autumn had very cold nights starting September 1,and that is why is not getting the right color tho it is fully ripe.
Here are fruits from last year,which was also cold but not this cold.
(Can't find them ,will look later,and post)
Here it is:
This pix down here is from the same plant as the pixies in the first post,just that is from last year.
One can see how they differ in color and size a little, i think this year the fruits are a little larger.as the tree get older.
Conclusion:Fig tree is very variable in different climates different shapes colors size etc,,for the very same cultivar.
They look and behave the same only if they are grown side by side,and the fruit in zone 6 does not look like the fruits in zone 10,that is, even if the cultivar is the same.
And the fruits this year does not look identical to the fruits last year,only if the 2 years had identical climate.

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Looks nice!
I have a just noticed a couple of Peter's Honey ripening, but not sure how because the temps have gotten lower, down to the 60s daytime.  Most of them ripened in September.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Herman2
Frank:It is one of my best ,handfull of cultivars.
It ranks at the same level of superiority with Col de Dame,(all colors),Ischia Black(at its best),Maltese Falcon(at its best),Vasilika Syka(At its best),Longue D'Out,(at its best).
Notice,that at its best remark mean that in most years those are not at their best due to difficult climate especially in the last 5 years.
It is better than Madeira Black and Preto,on the account that it makes larger fruits and is a strong growe,Tasting just as good if not better.
To Lampo and Frank:In my opinion Ital 258 if DNA done ,will be the same fig as Madeira Black and Preto.
However,it is much healthier,because of possible lack of the fig diseases the other 2 suffer,and so it makes much larger fruits and it is more productive and stronger grower.
To Lampo:Yes the true color of the fig in ideal warm climates will be much darker,but here this year the Autumn had very cold nights starting September 1,and that is why is not getting the right color tho it is fully ripe.
Here are fruits from last year,which was also cold but not this cold.
(Can't find them ,will look later,and post)
Here it is:


Great review.

Thank you, Vasile.  Preto is my #1 tasting fig.  Nice to hear I-258 it is similar in flavor.

Vasile, how cold has it gotten at your place? My trees have already lost all thier leaves after some nights in the upper 20's. Your plants still have leaves, so I'm guessing it has been colder at my more southern location. Nice juicy looking figs, a real treat for this late.

Mike in Hanover, VA

Thanks for the advice Vasile, for me personally best tasting in my yard to date has been Preto, bourjassote noire & cool de dame glad to hear ital258 is right up there if not better.

I

Nelson, I am sure I can help with an air layer next spring. Like Vasile said, it is an excellent tasting fig. I got a few ripe main crop figs. Don't waste time starting cuttings -- not only it is a difficult variant to root and it take years before you get a decent tasting fig. It sure took me over 5 years. All 3 attempts in rooting fail and I bought a tree. Another awesome one is I395.

Mike :We got frost twice in the last  2 weeks.
Leaves are dead,but some still cling on branches.

Francisco, Todd Kennedy from the SF Bay Area imported this and several others from Italy several years ago.  Originally I heard he had lost the names but later heard that the names were already lost when the cuttings were given to him in Italy.  I don't know that there is any significance to the numbers chosen, though maybe there might be some method to the madness.  Others from this importation worth looking into are 376, 395, and 215 and maybe some others.

Herman,

Thank you for your clarification on this it258 . Agree that climate, notably the number of sun-hours available and the average relative humidity, temperature, fertilization, etc..  may affect many aspects of a given cultivar.

Harvey,

That's interesting. I have noticed those numeric suffixes on several occasions and wondered if these were hybrids or the real names were kept hidden.
A strange loss of the correct identity of so many figs simultaneously happening in so recent times!

Whoever prepared this gallery - http://www.ficuscarica.com/carica.html - could probably give a hand to find their genuine names.

BTW, think the fig shown and very well described on pages 86 and 87 - (BrigoriƱa) - of this very nice and well organized catalog - http://www.icia.es/icia/download/Publicaciones/Higuera.pdf  -
could well be a distant but direct brother of Preto and Black Madeira.  small world !
What do you think ? . Local botanists say that it came from Violeta grounds... with the first settlers.

Francisco
Portugal



Great, another beautiful and supposedly delicious green fig that I now want. Only this one costs as much as a mortgage payment.

*sigh*

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