I posted in the past about which selections to add to the fig collection. I made a good effort adding fig selections this year.

This is what I have now that is rooted and the colors (correct me if I am wrong);
Capelas (Red/Brown skin and flesh) 7/27/09 (Jon's info)
Vista (Dark Purple/Red flesh) ripening 6/17/12-6/24/12 (Jon's info)
Dark Portuguese (Dark Purple/Red flesh) 11/4/12 (Jon's info)
LSU Gold (Yellow/Green skin and flesh) 9/23/12 (Jon's info)
Brunswick (Red/Brown skin and flesh) 8/17/08 (Jon's info)
JH Adriatic (Green/Red fleshed)  August?
Paradiso (Green/Red fleshed) 9/16/12 (Jon's info)
Marseilles vs black (Dark Purple/Red flesh) 8/19/12 (Jon's info)
Black Portugal (Dark Purple/Red flesh) ?

I wanted to limit myself to 10 selections. It looks like im there now (just waiting on 1 or 2 to root RdB and Kathleen's Black). Now the question do you feel the collection is well rounded in taste, texture, breba crop, color, and production. All these are grown outdoors in containers in Southern CA.

If there is excessive redundancy, I would not hesitate to sell or trade some of the above selections. I already gave away Kadota, because I felt there was better selections to replace it. Would love to hear any input, I would love to add more but... I am up to my ears in plants (10-15 selections of Dragon Fruit, 30 selections of Opuntia sp., and the list goes on and on lol).

I think one criteria which seems to not get so much emphasis with figs as it does other fruits is timing.  There have been a few posts about ripening order of figs, however, not too much is written on the duration of each varieties.  As a group, it seems this should be one of the goals of this forum.  Certainly, location (as well as other factors) will have an effect on this.  I do think we are becoming a large enough and diverse enough group to be able to begin to measure these effects.

Given your location, you should be able to extend the fig season for a good part of the year.  This is my goal.  I am growing more than I feel like I want in an effort to weed out the redundant, mis-located, inferior and/or non-productive varieties.  Perhaps, in addition to your (semi)permanent 10, have a few more in trial at any given time.  With so many figs in the very good+ category, we shouldn't have to sacrifice too much taste to maximize our seasons.

More to the point.  You're missing late season dessert figs.  Preto/Black Madeira/Soccoro Black/Bourjasotte Gris/I-258/Black Tuscan; Barnisotte (The Violette de Sollies variant that's turbinate and not pyriform from UCD); ColdeDame variants  

Search Snaglpus' posts for excellent unnamed UCD yellow figs--betcha you can do better than LSU Gold as well.  Emerald Strawberry might be a good idea.

Wait now, wait now, what?  You live in Southern California, and you're growing Dragonfuit?  That many of them?  Cactus figs?  Do you like mild tasting fruits, especially?

Hey Shah8! 

They are cactus pears, and yep!  They do taste good!  I hope to get some pads from Nulzero soon.  They serve 3 purposes:

1.  They keep both 4 and 2 legged trespassers off your property!  No living thing wants to cross them.  As good as barbed wire!!
2.  The fruit is very good, and it makes good juice which makes amazing martini's!
3.  The pads, with the spines removed, make an amazing vegetable dish, sauteed in olive oil or butter.  They taste a lot like a cross between green beans and asparagus.
4.  Drought Resistant

So they are a fence, vegetable and fruit all in one!  They don't get a lot of respect, but they should!

Suzi

I have wanted the ColdeDame  varieties for some time. Unfortunately, I got outbid on cuttings a number of times. The timing of figs is a big thing I left out, James you are so right on this one. I would love to have a fig season starting in July and ending in December :).

Count me in as interested.  Ordered a pad from Oregon Exotics almost two decades ago, now, but that didn't root.  I also have a Selenocereus growing, but it's not really very happy so has only flowered once.

I got some kind of prickly pear cactis I think they call it. It lives outdoors through the winter here and if you drop any it roots to easy and fast.

I added a fig ripen time frame to the varieties. Seems like the selections have are spread out nicely.

garden_whisperer,

You can use that as a cold hardy native root stock. Then graft a pad onto it, it may speed up the fruiting and growth for selected Opuntia sp. graft. Also most wild prickly pears in North America, lack the domestication which Opuntia sp. from Central American and South America have.

I don't mess with the cacti that much in respects to grafting and such. I like the thick flowers and the fruit is good.