one of the very generous forum member has sent me number of cuttings of Hardy Chicago EL, and they all rooted and are in the cups. i have read ton of things on this, and it's still confusing.

so is this same as Sal's Gene/EL?

i know now that it's different from Hardy Chicago Paradise Nursery.

Gene swears by Sal's and that they are different(Sal's performed better for him for both flavor+productivity). I don't find a big difference in their flavor personally they are both solid figs!

Michael at EL thinks they are the same. You know what though, we will never know for sure. If they are not the same, they are very similar. I have not noticed difference in productivity in mature trees. Perhaps Sal's is a bit smaller fruit with a bit more sweetness to me? But my experience is very limited in taste samplings. There are so many variables that affect fig performance that if two are that similar--then whatever.

Every time this subject has been brought up i get tempted to buy Edible Landscaping's Hardy Chicago
to compare with my EL's Sals and Paradise Nursery Hardy Chicago to see out of curiosity.


I bought Sals from EL (same as Genes plant ) when it was not listed on there website but not their hardy chicago, long story short i was referred there by person at Belleclare when told they do not ship plants.

My Sals from EL and my Paradise nursery Hardy Chicago are not the same tasting fig.
Listening to video of Ray Givens describe his hardy chicago was spot on to what mine taste like
a rich figgy tasting fig.

Taste wise hardy chicago has always been a favorite for me of the 2 plants.

does anyone have both Sal's Gene/EL and HC EL to say if they are same? 

Pete, I have both but in small trees from last season with no fruit. I hopefully will be able to compare this coming season.

I got to try fruit from Gene's tree in DC and from my in ground HC EL. I've also seen/eaten from HC in ground at EL. I never compared leaves or growth habit though. I was expecting Sal's to be more productive based on what I heard... and be more obviously different overall. But EL's HC in ground seemed similar even in productivity let alone taste.

You've probably seen this but in case Bass's post on Gardenweb where he had all three (with Dark Portuguese(!)) side by side in photo is nice viewing:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/fig/msg080709399791.html

I have suspicion if they perform vastly differently for someone, it may be more because of other confounding variable not accounted for (the slightest soil/water/sun/fertilizer/slope/ripening times in slightly different weather difference etc.). Figs from the same tree or in a different season can vary much more in flavor more than between the difference in flavor between HC and Sal's.

That being said Gene is the man and must've took into account possible confounders... and many people suggest these are different. So maybe they are different--oh brother. It also depends on your definition of different though too right? I get the impression that at EL (based on talks about non fig fruit varieties too particularly the Magness and Warren pear...) that they like to lump things together if they are much more similar than different. Nothing wrong with that, kinda like imprecise DNA testing. How precise are we talking when we say "different"? I think I'm slowly becoming a lumper too--it's much more practical/real-world to just lump in these super gray areas when you see how much dramatic impact other factors besides cultivar can have on fruit flavor/performance anyway.


As an aside, I am in love with EL--Michael is an amazing person.

This must be my medical side speaking... but also a lot of comparisons while they are direct and first hand and meaningful to the observer... could still be due to chance alone. Even growing side by side... this may sound a bit ridiculous... but you might need to grow 20 mature trees of each side by side in this case to draw hard conclusions.

Thanks for finding that post with the photos. 
They are very similar but I don't believe they are the same. They are in the same category as far as taste, color, ripening time and cold hardiness.

I have both but have not compared them.   I did some research on these two figs a few years back.   Follow this link http://figs4fun.com/Info/Info_Sals.html to see what I found (starting on the second paragraph) on the Sals E.L. fig.  
Ingevald

 

I have them both. My HC ripens first....taste is very rich figgy and very sweet. My Sal's ripen a week or 2 later.....tastes is close figs are smaller.....pretty close to my Dark Portuguese. In my opnion HC is not the same as Sal's. Heck a grower can't go wrong with either of the 3. I'm glad I have all 3!

How about good old Belleclare#39?

The fruit/leaf look very similar to Sal(EL), but the leaves are definitely smaller.

Maybe just a Mt. Etna fig cousin?

39. SICILIAN BLACK (Sal's) (Fico Nera) (a) medium large, dark black, red center, very juicy & sweet (2 crops)

don't have any Belleclare figs. might have to look up some. i heard they had great figs. but got into figs too late to know much about them.

I have a hardy chicago i got from hirts garden a few years back. i have some sal'sC and G rooting now that i got from a member. I have a few kids pushing roots at this time. Had a member send me one as a bonus, dont know anything about it Aubiqua Petite, but the one i got is rooting great and pushing growth.