Hey Pete, I am happy to see your harvesting. 7 gallon of figs is a good harvest!  Any hint of what this fig is ( of post #50)?

Hello Grasa,
No ID so far, but that's OK. The trees still produce without a true name : ), and they taste good too. More Pictures...post #50

They do taste great.  Thanks for the cuttings  :)

Bob,
You're welcome. Thanks for the feedback.

Oh those Bryant Darks look wonderful! Thanks so much again for mine Pete . They are growing nicely - can't  wait for figs on them !

One question Pete is - were there 2 different varieties of Bryant Dk or just one? A couple of mine have different leaves from the other BD and didn't know if it was because they were young or different variety . 

I was lucky enough to taste some of these "Bryant-Dark" figs.  Delicious, and thick with an almost apricot-flavored, jammy, center.  These are really very, very, good... not overly sweet, and with a slight acidic buzz to keep things interesting.  We had heavy rains and I saw no splits, souring, and the flavor was still concentrated.  Not one fig was watery, or had a washed-out flavor.  Not a very large fig, but they certainly make a nice, one-bite snack.  I could've eaten these until I got sick.  'Gluttony' is one of the 'Seven Deadly Sins'.  I suffer from this and probably six of the others.  : )

Considering the flavor, productivity, and the ability of this "unknown" to grow unprotected in Zone-7 earns this "Bryant-Dark" at the very least, an 'Award-of-Merit'. 

Pete, thanks for bringing us this fig.  Hope your Quest-For-The-Fig continues.


Frank

Pattee,
No, there is only one cultivar that's referred to as Bryantdark. There is another tree that was relocated that was originally referred to as "Bryantdark2", but that was quickly changed to Noladark to eliminate any chance of confusion. The young leaves are usually 5 lobed, have several different shapes, widths and are usually similar to Hardy Chicago. Its possible it may be one of the other unknowns or just a different juvenile leaf pattern.
Juvenile leaves of 4 separate containers of Bryantdark.



Frank,
Thanks for your commentary on the taste.
If you let them sit for a day, the taste is even more concentrated, probably due to dehydration (they are thin skinned). BTW I have had my fill of figs, at least for the next two days : ) .

Thanks Pete. I thought it might be juvenile leaf patterns , but wanted to ask you to make sure.

Frank , thanks for the flavor profile . I like to add all the info in my book !

this thread is super fun, pete.

Pattee:

The variation of leaf shapes, and patterns, even on the same tree and from the same batch of cuttings, is maddening for the purposes of identification.  There seems to be hardly any stability.  Juvenile vs. adult leaves, 5-lobes, finger-shapes, thumbs, mittens, bra-sizes, thin, leathery, dark-green, light-green....holy crap!  What an absolute pain in the Plumber's crack!

Just sayin'


Frank

LOL Frank I agree !! I'm still a novice at this and it seems daunting to try and recognize one from another.

Agreed, Bryant Dark is a great fig.  Thanks for sharing your find Pete.  And Krmk Dark is turning out to be a good fig too.  Another great Pete find!

Susie, Steve,
Thanks.

Update 9/7/13
Stopped by the Bryantdark mother tree to check the status/progress of the espalier and start air layers (gallon containers). I picked a few figs that were missed earlier in the day (I picked about 1 gallon). Also as noted previously, the fig will dry on the tree, very few ever fall to the ground on their own.

The attached pictures are of figs before they were eaten this morning. I still don't consider the taste to be complex, but they were very sweet with a rich sweet raspberry flavor and mild seed crunch, so far the best flavor dark unknowns this season. They were not as sweet as Celeste, but had that sweet sugar flavor. The flavor was probably more intense due to the drier weather that we have had in the last week.

Absolutely gorgeous !! I am most excited about this cultivar and can't wait until I get a few figs on mine.

Pictures of the BryantDark and KrmkLight mother trees for the start of the 2014 season. Due to the severe winter most of the canopy was damaged by the cold and the trees were pruned back to main trunks to train as Bush form trees.

BryantDark...
       .


KrmkLight...
 .

 Here is my 2nd year Bryant Dark today Pete. It is looking mighty fine. Thanks again for bringing this wonderful gem from the Bronx to us all.

I can't thank Pete enough for the trees he gave me last summer. I have up potted my Bryant Dark into a 15 gallon pot and can't wait to taste these figs.

Coop - that plant looks great!
For some size perspective, about how tall is it and what size pot is it in?

Coop-

Congratulations!  Looks like you are well on your way to a fig paradise.  Those "Bryant Dark" leaves will get large, leathery, and will stay a dark, spinach green.  Continued good luck.  It's a good fig, and I'm sure you will really like it.  How could you go wrong with the flavor of ripe peaches, raspberries, and apricots?


Frank

Thanks Frank and Ed,
I appreciate your kind comments. This plant gets better looking every day. Ed, just went out and measured and he is at just under 2 feet and in a 3 Gallon container.
And again, thanks Pete, your Bronx tree is well loved here on the other side of the river in NJ

The tree looks great Coop. Wow those fig pics that Pete posted of Bryant Dark look delicious!

What a great looking fig! It makes my mouth water.
If anyone has a cutting of this "Unknown Bryant Dark", I would gladly pay the S+H.
Please PM me. Thanks so much.
Marion

Coop,
You're welcome and thanks for sharing the picture and info of your tree.

JohnnieB,
You're welcome and I hope you enjoy the taste of the figs as much as I do.

Joe,
Thanks... They also taste delicious : )

Marion,
I don't have any cuttings left from last year and all the expected spring cuttings were killed by the severe cold this winter, including my potted trees. Hopefully I will be able to get a limited amount of cuttings in the fall. I'll post if and when they are available.

Hi 
I have been following this post from the start it has been great watching all the pictures and the fig shots they look great and glad you saved the trees .
Take care.
                                 Rich 

Rich,
Thanks.


Pictures taken earlier today of the Bryant Dark mother tree. There are dozens of new shoots most are 2' to 3' tall, but there are several that are over 4 feet tall but have fallen over.
   .

Great shots ascpete
Man they look great nice color a lot of them Fig haven lol
Thanks for sharing .

                                                                Rich :)

That must be some root system there.

Hi ascpete,
Time to buy pots and open a nursery :)

Hello Pete, et al.-

Great to see that the original Bronx trees have re-sprouted from the roots.  I see a lot of potential air-layers in your photos.....dozens, in fact.

The devastation in The Bronx and surrounding areas was shocking.  Everywhere I drive, I see skeletons of older figs trees looking bare and gaunt.  Most have been chopped back to within a few feet of the roots.  The good news....many have re-sprouted from the lower branches or roots.  It will take many years for these trees to regrow, providing we don't have bad winters again.  May of these older, damaged and pruned-back trees, are really nothing more than giant, rooted cuttings, at this point.  I hope all this new growth has time to properly harden off before the freezes start up again.

We'll keep our fingers crossed for some milder, winter weather.

Thanks for sharing the new updates.


Frank

It is the same in Philadelphia, a lot of the big trees are not resprouting. So sad.