Last week I had a chance to visit Bass Samaan at Trees of Joy. 

Of course we all know what a generous and resourceful presence he is here on the forum, and I would guess that lots of folks would love to meet him and get the tour. Take it from me: DO IT. It's not like going to Longwood Gardens. No. It's more like hanging out with a rock star with a really deep collection of unusual flora.

Anyhow, Bass is so nice, so hospitable, so unassuming, so interesting.  His plants are great. The prices are fair.  The selection is way better than Home Depot.

Anybody with an interest in figs (show of hands?) within striking distance of Bethlehem, what are you waiting for? As for me, I'm saving up. I need me some more trees.

Bass is good people. He was real patient with me and all my email questions.

Did you buy any plants?  Details please!

Bass will be hosting a 'fig-meet' sometime in June -- watch for more specific details later on...

Re plants I got: a Salavatski pomegranate, a Saijo persimmon, a Sumacki fig, and some red currant cuttings. Saving up for some paw paws next.

I want to see some photos! :)  Thanks for your report.  Don't know if I'll ever make it there but I hope to some day.

I can't wait to hear about the fig meeting. I may try
to attend.

I hope I get invited to the fig soiree. Harvey, seriously. Get yr California Hippie A__ out here. You would see some cool things:) I didn't get any pictures! That's why my words are so purple.

I always enjoy visiting Bass, he has a great collection and he is a great guy. Yes you gotta come to the NE fig meeting, you will meet many nice fig folks and come home with some real nice figs. 

Chilly,

Many thanks for the good review! My wife and I have been planning to make the trek up to Bass' operation this weekend or next. We hope to get two Persimmon and some other fig type. can't wait.

How far from Philly to Bethlehem ?

http://goo.gl/maps/htYoV

From the airport to the center of Bethlehem, 76.5 mi – about 1 hour 17 mins

The map also has the driving route  :)   You need to drive so you can take home more plants.  I certainly wish I could go  :)

Hey Harvey, here's a question for you. I grew up in Concord (CA) just after the gold rush. We had a Valencia-type orange tree that was planted in back next to the patio. The top of the tree hung down over the roof. We were pretty lazy so we didn't always pick those oranges up on the roof. I contend that the oranges did not necessarily drop off at the end of the season, it seems to me that many of them would just hang out up there indefinitely. Therefore some oranges were there for more than a year, and if memory serves (???) those oranges were the best. Am I suffering from false memory syndrome?

Wow, that was a long time ago! ;)

I have a couple of navel oranges and some will hang on into late in the year, but not very many.  Most will get knocked off by wind but I'm in open windy country so it might be different there in Concord (45 miles west of me, getting close to hippy country!).  I have picked most of my navel oranges already but the ones I have right now are very sweet and the do continue to get sweeter.  I don't know that I have any beyond mid-summer....they get very soft and mush after a while.  There are different varieties, though, so some likely behave differently.  Trees will be in bloom soon and that's a great smell.

In the past, I have received some really nice rare cuttings from Bass. He will literally go out of his way to help you out. He literally took my phone call while working to help me with some questions I had. Very knowledgeable and helpful! Thank you, Bass!

My interest in figs actually started with an NPR story I heard about a man on a mission to save figs. I founds Bass's website and was totally floored at the selection of figs beyond Mission and BT. Opened up a new world for me.

This is not to far from me. I will have to make a visit up there especially for a east coast Fig Fiesta.