Not long ago I posted a picture of my first ripe fig from a Filacciano Bianco I got from Gene Hosey's yard. 96 folks read the post but no one responded.

I can not find any info on this variety other then a tid bit on the figs4fun.com/Links/FigLink066.pdf, a small post on Gardenweb from Gene in '08 and the info Gene has on the East Coast Figs info page.

As Gene claims "the wood is more resistant to frost damage than others" I expected there to be more interest in this variety. There are, after all so many members looking for winter hardy varieties.

I have so far tasted 2 figs from this tree and I think they were good enough to warrant more attention to this fig - in my collection anyway. I rated the first 8.5 out of 10 and the second was about the same. 
Does anyone out there have this one?
Does anyone out there know anything about this variety.

Any additional info would be appreciated.
thx
mgg

Looks like you're the only current source of info.  But the rest of us are interested.  We just don't have anything intelligent to say.  I don't even have anything funny to say unless it would be about the Fibonacci sequence but searching for that pun would quickly spiral out of control.  Sorry.

Hello Michael,
I will have to agree with Bob C. on this one : ) It sounds interesting.
I had not seen any info on this fig. I've been looking for cold hardy productive varieties, but had been concentrating of readily available cultivars.
I just now read the info that you posted on 7/5. You refer to the fig as a San Pedro type, which would mean only one crop, is that correct? Also how productive and healthy is this cultivar?
Thanks.

Thx Bob. I did track down 2 members who had it in the past and am hoping for info from them.

Pete,
I am relying on the info from Gene Hosey. My tree had 3 figs develop months ago that recently ripened - one was swiped by an evil presence and although I picked the remaining two figs a tad early - both figs were very good.

Gene does list as a San Pedro. The tree has a number of newer smaller figs coming on and it will be interesting to see how that develops.

As far as health goes -- it certainly has grown since I got it a year ago. When I got it it was darn close to death as the couple that bought Gene's townhouse in Wash, DC had not taken care of the figs he left behind and they were quite rough. I bought half of the fig trees in the spring and went back later and bought the other half as it turned out there were some interesting varieties there. 
I would say that this tree has responded as well or possibly even slightly better then the other trees from this collection and has grown substantially and as it is producing figs I'd say it's doing well.

Michael,

I have the Filacciano but I don't know which one.
It can either be the Bianco or Nero. Until it fruits  just have to wait.

Hopefully mine will be the Nero to we can exchange.

Mike, I have this one from Gene also.  It was rooted in February and is definitely a good grower but of course you have more info than I do as yours is farther along.  Maybe I'll get a few figs next year.  I have heard from Gene that F. Bianca is very cold hardy in southern MD (bears breba crop without protection) and gives a very large crop of brebas.  I've also heard from a couple fig growers around Bethesda (who got it from Gene some time ago) that this is an excellent variety.

I am hoping that since it bears in July it might be good for the part of my yard that only gets 5-6 hours of direct sun.  My understanding is that, generally speaking, late bearing common figs need pretty much full sun.  I suppose our friends in the pacific northwest who grow Desert King can weigh in on whether San Pedro figs do ok in partial shade.

Rewton,
Excellent. I was hoping there were others that have some experience with this one - especially if planted in ground. Any way to get those folks involved in this thread?

Hi! Machael,

Al in Bethesda, Maryland has 2 large ‎Filacciano fig trees from Gene Hosey. In late April 2013 I came to his house and saw his 2 trees growing in big containers and there were many figs on his 2 trees. He told me that he likes Filacciano more than Desert King because Filacciano is more productive and reliable than Desert King in Bethesda, Maryland. Moreover, the most interesting about Filacciano is that about 15% of its main crops remain until ripe. The breba crops were taste like Desert King; however, its main crops were more tastier. In early May 2013, he planted his 2 trees in the ground. A block away from Al's house, there is another Italian fig collector whose name is Tina. Tina has collected many fig trees. Tina also has Filacciano fig tree in the ground. She bought her Filacciano tree from Al. That tree was planted in the ground early spring of 2013. I saw many brebas on her tree also. Last week I bought a big airlayer from the top of Tina's Filacciano tree for $30 dollars. Tina is a very nice fig lady.

Best,
Tam 
___________________________
Silver Spring, Maryland Zone 7a

Tam,
Thank you for the info. My FB has main crop figs on it so perhaps I'll get to try those as well as the brebas this year. Congrats on your purchase. This fig seems to deserve wider acceptance but so few people have ever even heard of it. I hope it turns out to be as winter hardy as Gene Hosey thought. 

Tam, I was hoping you would chime in.  Funny that so far all of us that have this fig are in the DC/MD/northern VA area. It sounds like it will do well in a lot of areas though.

Steve

Steve,
I did send one up to NJ. Hopefully if this variety turns out to be as cold hardy as we all hope it'll spread around and start replacing all these BT's we have planted everywhere. All that's in the nurseries is BT, Celeste, some Hardy Chicago and a few Peter's Honey but still they sell out every year.

Michael, agree, and am looking forward to tasting this variety.  It would be great to have a variety that bears a good crop in early July so as to spread the fig production season out from mid-summer until the cold weather sets in.  Since Desert King isn't so well suited for our area (if unprotected) hopefully F. Bianco will be the answer.

I agree Steve. Maybe we found a tree for the MD/DC/VA area that will lengthen our season. I liked the brebas so if I can get one or two of my main crop to ripen I'll be able to judge those as well. I hope Florea will do this as well but mine sure didn't produce figs early this year. Maybe Nordland, Tacoma Violet, Early Violet, Ventura or Binello, etc. will help as well. It would be a great move forward if we could find a decent variety of good cold hardy figs to spread around.

Michael, my Filacciano currently looks like DK as it push itself into ripeness. What was the interior color
of your FB ? Likely I get to pick my Filanciano by tomorrow or Tuesday.

Pauly,
Here's a photo I posted 3 weeks ago. 

Paul,

Are you saying my Filacciano could be just another DK?

You know who I got it from so we may have the same ones.

Rafed, my understanding is that the brebas on F. Bianco are more cold hardy than DK.  Whereas DK brebas would likely not make it here in the DC area unprotected the F. Bianco brebas do make it here.  At least that is the info that I am getting.  I'll have first hand experience in a couple years.  As far as the taste of F. Bianco vs. DK Michael and Paully will have to tell us about that.

Has anyone noticed that F. Bianco has a very upright growth habit (as opposed to bushy)?  My very young tree seems to have a long distance between nodes and hasn't put out any branches yet.

R,
Your trees sounds just like mine. A tall straight stick.

Hi Michael,
I've got a couple of small trees of Filacciano Bianco that I rooted from cuttings.  The cuttings came from a tree in Siracusa, Sicily (Italy).  I understand this variety is present in Calabria also.  My trees are too young to have fruited, but one of them is growing vigorously this year.  If I get figs from them next year I can compare notes with yours.  I'm glad to hear it's a variety you like the taste of.  One of mine is making branches (not just a single stick)... the other is small and single.  (There's a third that is so small I'm trying to nurse it along).  Glad to hear it's a good fig.

Mike   central NY state, zone 5a
 

Hey Mike,
Your PM was full last time I tried to answer the PM you sent me. I figured you were busy. I'm glad to hear you have this variety. It does appear there are more of these around then we all thought at first. thx 4 info on locations. It's always nice to know where stuff comes from.

Its confirmed that my Filanciano is not DK. I was tempted to pick the fig to sample before the dog
gets it. It look similar to Michael's pic. I have 3 more brebas to pick. In the process of ripening,
the skin color looks like DK. As it gets more ready for picking it starts to turn yellowy blush. Very good
taste & a keeper. I think it would taste better if I have left it on tree for one more day. I will take picture
of the ripening ones to post or get someone to post them

Always looking for a good cold hardy variety

Paully, that's good to hear :)