I bought a fig from one green world under the name 'Negronne'. Some sources I have read say that Negronne and VdB are one and the same. Do you find that to be true? It is hailed so highly I don't want to miss out based on an assumption.

Second one I'm pondering is Black Spanish. I've looked through various forum posts and a lot of people are calling this a blah BT. If this is true I want to get rid of it and make room for something more exciting. I already have one BT. I don't want two. The photos of the figs on OGW's website description certainly does not LOOk like a BT.....

Thoughts?

For what it's worth, which probably isn't much, here is the pic from OFW's description of Black Spanish

Negronne/ VdB/ Vista/ Large Negronne/ Petit Negri are closely related but not necessarily the same.

They have different variables- Some have sweeter brebas, larger brebas, better main crop, etc

Vista is considered a sport of VdB- DNA matches them up but Vista has a better taste profile

I have most of those listed above- one is more than enough since I find they are thatclose.

Is there one that you think offers the best breba crop? That is usually all we get up here in the PNW.

Nichole, Negronne vs VdB has been discussed in numerous old threads. Bottom line is that  both have likely been sold under both names. They are quite similar and if you have either one (regardless of which name it has) you will have a good tree that provides good eating.

My Black Spanish may or may not be BT, but it is enough similar that I wouldn't go there if you don't want a BT. There are hundreds of better figs. Maybe BS has had different figs sold by that name, similar to VdB and Negronne. Yes, that pix looks about right (on the OGW site). It is a BT that has been nicely shined up.

Several years back a lot of us bought Danny's Delite, and it seems that there were to different figs in the 100 plants that were originally purchased.

Finally, if you went to http://www.ocnursery.com/#!fruit-trees/vstc1=fig up until a couple days ago, the Black Jack fig pix was of a Black Ischia from the Figs 4 Fun website. So, they were clearly on advertising correctly what they were selling. Don't know where the current pix came from but I assume that it is not theirs either.

That is the one advantage I have when I sell a tree: I have the parent tree (except in very, very rare cases), I know what the tree has actually produced, and I use my own cuttings (except in very, very rare cases). Doesn't mean I am perfect, but that I have very tight control over what I personally produce and sell. That is often potentially not the case with other operations.

I may chuck the Black Spanish then. Space is a premium and there are lots of other varieties I'd rather try. Frustrating. Lesson learned and moving on.

Would be nice to know WHO actually checks the DNA, and HOW to find out what you REALLY have!  The world of fig varieties offers a lot of confusion do to inbreeding, and nobody actually knows what is what.

I have a VdB, but I'm not so sure............ People tell me the leaves are unmistakable, but other varieties have the same leaf!!  It's a conundrum for sure!

Suzi

It is very frustrating. Kiwibob warned me that some of my sources aren't super duper reliable for correct names being connected to the correct fig. I'm sure that's how you get a VdB that doesn't look like a VdB. The leaf shape on my Negronne is pretty unique. Cut so it looks like long fingers.

I wonder how many different varieties of BT there are out there.

I wonder too, Nichole.  And I know I am rooting two unknown varieties, which are probably actually named varieties, but because I didn't know their names, I named one "Wild One," and one "Catherine's Nacido."  Maybe it doesn't matter what the name is.  Maybe it matters if the fig tastes fabulous, the tree grows with vigor, and it's prolific in your zone?

Suzi

Suzi, yes it is ultimately about taste and performance (doesn't matter how good the taste is if it won't ripen for you) and not about names.

As for DNA testing, it isn't cheap, but USDA/UC Davis tests everything in their collection, so when I donated Vista cuttings to them, it got tested, and that I how I came to find out that it is the "same" as VdB - though in my experience it is a superior selection or variant.

Frustrating is just another term for Fun - and this is all part of the "Fun" that is part of growing figs. I wish it were otherwise, but don't expect it to be so in my lifetime.