Pattee
1345750012
Posted 1370358915
Reply with quote #1
Much has been said about the named varieties , varieties du jour , the most expensive and/or elusive varieties. While most of us have a "wish list" to include, drool over , covet those lofty varietes, there are figs we all seem to have , the UNK's .
Malta Blk+purple/red, Italian + Calabrian UNK's , Catanzaro, Malone, Sucrette(Baud) "We may have our private opinions but why should they be a bar to the meeting of hearts?" - Gandhi
newnandawg
1344130335
Posted 1370360264
Reply with quote #2
Pattee, well said. I have many of the ballihood varieties but I am as interested in seeing and tasting the UNK's from all over the country.
jtp
1271516015
Posted 1370360412
Reply with quote #3
I could not agree more. People literally bring their "family tree" to America when they come here. These varieties, many with names lost to time, were important and valued enough to be brought over from wherever they originated. Unknowns that are "discovered" by us offer the potential for a really nice surprise when they bear fruit. Until proven to not be of excellent quality, I assume an unknown is something well worth growing.
Charitup
1364254079
Posted 1370360635
Reply with quote #4
Amen!
detomaso
1258290310
Posted 1370364434
Reply with quote #5
Some of my better performing trees are of the "Unknown" type. Angelo Zone 7A NY
rcantor
1309799312
Posted 1370364560
Reply with quote #6
Maltese Falcon and Maltese Beauty were unknown to us when George brought them over. You're absolutely right, Pattee.
sirlampsalot
1217533232
Posted 1370365331
Reply with quote #7
Well said Pattee, I totally agree. Most UNK's are proven performers. Thanks for that great comment.
bullet08
1284496248
Posted 1370366146
Reply with quote #8
i'm looking forward to few.. can't wait.
dkirtexas
1341345900
Posted 1370370633
Reply with quote #9
"Heirloom" anything is worth saving, especially in the plant world. The current Celeste trees seem to have a problem with throwing the figs in the southern regions. I have a tree that I am preparing for one of our members that came from cuttings from an "Heirloom" tree. This tree is more than 75 yrs old and does not throw the figs. Is it a different strain of Celeste?, is it a Celeste? don't know, the owners says so, who knows, looks like a Celeste, who really cares, it is not a candidate for tree of the year, just a good tree that bears a lot of great figs. Will the offspring perform as well in South Louisiana?, time will tell.
greg88
1359498953
Posted 1370374772
Reply with quote #10
i have one UNK so far and am looking forward to adding to the collection.
, Kathleen's Bl, Hunt, a great UNK or anything anyone wants me to have???
pitangadiego
1188871011
Posted 1370378931
Reply with quote #11
GT-1 throu7gh GT-11, GT-A through GT-J and Jose o through 7 are among these Unknowns. They were all collected on various trips, by various people, from the Greek Neighborhoods of Baltimore.
http://encantofarms.com
http://figs4fun.com
http://webebananas.com
kubota1
1342900232
Posted 1370380830
Reply with quote #12
Pattee, I agree 100%. I have some big named figs, but my unknowns that have a story behind them are my most cherished figs. They also taste great!
Italiangirl74
1189815225
Posted 1370389688
Reply with quote #13
Yes Pattee, very well said! Most that have well known names/patented names are wonderful, but many are not named or don't have a name known everywhere,..... just local/regional names, they are just called something ( Place of origin/color/taste, family name) and the names stick and they are the ones with histories and connections which are well worth just as much as a ancient name ex: Dottato. When I get figs especially from Places in the old country, whatever the owner or the community calls it, thats what it is because that is where I collected that fig,, if it turns out to be the same as a variety that is known and a modern name has been applied, I will keep the local name that has been given to the fig, where I collected it that name stays and the more modern/patented name applied as synonym. Many times the patented names are much younger that what it has been called longer in local places. When I collect the figs from My property overseas, whatever my family or whatever we called them locally in our area is their name and they stay that way. Many of us were calling different figs by different names well before Figs 4 fun or the garden web came along with such a great amount of info!
omotm
1349913471
Posted 1370390664
Reply with quote #14
Absolutely agree Pattee. The majority of what I have right now (and what got me started last Nov 2012 thanks to generous members) are unknowns. Part of the fun (and I'm sure disappointment) will be learning which trees do well here in Houston and which can't take the heat, humidity and rain. But out of the failures will be info I can share with members on which trees do better in the southeast.
Pattee
1345750012
Posted 1370391601
Reply with quote #15
I'm glad you all feel the same . UNK's certainly have an important place in any fig collection. The info collected and shared here is priceless !
Malta Blk+purple/red, Italian + Calabrian UNK's , Catanzaro, Malone, Sucrette(Baud) "We may have our private opinions but why should they be a bar to the meeting of hearts?" - Gandhi
farowyn
1369012438
Posted 1370399490
Reply with quote #16
My first fig (well, cuttings that I'm waiting to root) is one of Jimmy's Bronx white figs that I got off eBay. It's exciting that it's a bit of an unknown, but tried and proven in a similar zone. I'm always a sucker for the old things that are worth preserving over the newest flavor of the week.
Bass
1188959030
Posted 1370400768
Reply with quote #17
Unknowns are sometimes hidden treasures indeed. All if us are making discoveries of potentially a great variety, and sharing pictures and info surely help bring these almost extinct varieties to light.
http://www.treesofjoy.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trees-of-Joy/110193909021138
AaronT
1332859238
Posted 1370434312
Reply with quote #18
Funnily enough I found this forum while trying to find out what my wife's family tree was. Over the last year or so I have gained a lot of knowledge and a few new varieties through the forum, but I have stopped caring what kind of tree we have. Just knowing it is reliable and great tasting is enough!
musillid
1327758167
Posted 1370448406
Reply with quote #19
What's the difference between "unknown" and "named cultivar"? We recognize the name. That doesn't make it better or worse than and "unknown." The unknown may be a named cultivar for which we simply don't know the name. Heritage is as important as provenance.
ascpete
1336096379
Posted 1370468724
Reply with quote #20
Pattee,
cyberfarmer
1293483474
Posted 1370498783
Reply with quote #21
To obtain the cuttings for my figs, I had to go back to the house where I grew up and knock on the door and ask permission to go into the back yard and snip a few branches. That tree was planted by my deceased mother. She got it from a sucker that came from my uncle's tree in Costa Mesa, CA. He got his as a sucker from my grandmother's tree in Fresno, CA. My grandmother planted that tree from a cutting that she brought over from Agrigento, Sicily in 1947. Those cuttings came from a tree on the family farm that had been there for god knows how long. My mother (born in 1929) grew up eating figs from that tree in Sicily and I grew up eating from it's descendant. I hope to pass it on to my son some day. By the way, the figs are delicious and are the only ones that taste like "real" figs to me.
Paul the Fig Tree Destroyer in Fallbrook, CA (Zone 10A )
Italiangirl74
1189815225
Posted 1370512455
Reply with quote #22
Very nice full of history story cyberfarmer,, Very well documented and passed down the family, the tree is definitely a part of your family history, Like an old picture or the family china, The figs become such as much a part of our own family stories.!
elin
1360863025
Posted 1370512963
Reply with quote #23
taking fig branches is also written in the bible when noah took fig branches. still i guess they do this in families of fig growers.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1298814119
Pattee
1345750012
Posted 1370549646
Reply with quote #24
Paul , what a great part of your family history. I'm glad you were allowed to take cuttings to keep the growing alive in your family.
Malta Blk+purple/red, Italian + Calabrian UNK's , Catanzaro, Malone, Sucrette(Baud) "We may have our private opinions but why should they be a bar to the meeting of hearts?" - Gandhi
greenfig
1359790036
Posted 1370562232
Reply with quote #25
Paul, a great story!
