Hello everyone! I'm fairly new to figs. I've always wanted my own fig orchard ever since eating fresh figs off the trees in Queens NYC years ago. Now I finally have my own property in a warm climate (Houston, TX) where I hope to grow many productive trees.

So far, I've planted only an LSU Purple. I plan to plant more and I am interested in learning of varieties that should grow well in the hot humid climate of Houston (zone 9a/b). I've started compiling my own list of figs that interest me below:

Atreano
Strawberry verte or battaglia green
Black jack
Texas blue giant
Black madeira
Black mission
Kadota
LSU gold
Alma
Smith

Eventually, I hope to acquire a black madeira. If anyone in the Houston area has a nice BM and can supply cuttings or rooted BMs, I would like to buy one.

I look forward to any advice y'all can offer! Thanks!

Matt

Hey, I'm from SoFla so maybe I can help with the heat/humidity thing. 

Texas Blue Giant has been a terrible splitter for me. Maybe it's our rain, maybe our humidity, either way, I'm not gonna keep my tree. It's very similar to Brown Turkey and I'm not really wild about BT in the first place. I think it needs arid climates tbh. 

Smith is heaven. You have to get it when it's really supple and leaking honey. ahhhh

Emerald Strawberry is also a great choice; its strong skin holds up to rain and its tight eye makes it almost impervious to ant infestations. Kinda tastes like plum more often than not.

Violette de Bordeaux does really well for me as does Hollier, LSU Purple, Tena, and JH Adriatic. Although JHA tends to split sometimes, the flavor's good enough for me to overlook it. 

For Black Madeira, seek out Figo Preto; it's the same varietal but just less diseased with FMV. If you're dead set on buying "Black Madeira", go with the strain from username KK. We had a member a while ago who said that I258 was the least diseased version of Black Madeira but I don't really see any resemblance between the two, visually anyway. Hmm.

Either way, good luck and be careful of rust. Use copper fungicide on the leaves and when watering, don't get any of the leaves wet. 

Don't ignore a Celeste.  An established tree in South East Texas can put out a lot of flavorful figs while you tinker with other varieties.   

I agree. An Improved Celeste is still very good here. What part of Houston are you in?

Are you interested in cuttings, or looking for trees on your list. I believe that I still have some Atreano cuttings that I pruned from a large tree I transplanted in November. I also have an extra small Alma tree.

You can usually find Kadota pretty easy here. But it is usually marketed as a "Banana Fig". Call Eternal Springs Nursery (a little north of JRN), and ask there. They had some really larger ones for $35 last fall. And some HGC locations have Black Mission, if you look at the older held-over trees from a couple of years ago (now already 50% off).

Good luck,
CliffH

Thanks everyone for the great advice!

Levar, that sounds right since TBG was developed around San Antonio where it's a bit less humid. I've always read great things about Smith. I'll read more about VDB.

To be honest, I have been ignoring Celeste because I thought it was too common like brown turkey and produces small figs. I passed up a really nice looking Celeste at JRN a few months ago. Do you know any good sources for an Improved Celeste?

I'm interested in tasty figs that others have had success with in our climate. Doesn't have to be on my list. I have yet to root my own cutting but I'd like to try. Has the Atreano handled our climate well?

I live in Northeast Houston right off beltway 8, near Lake Houston.

Matt

Matt,

My Atreano actually has not fruited yet. I just got the tree in November from someone who was moving. I transplanted the 7ft tree then. So far it has been working on establishing new roots and just a little new grow. No fruiting yet.

The Improved Celeste handles stress and hot weather better, without dropping most of its crop. Some say that it is slightly larger than the std Celeste too. 


Vis - Great to see the cutting doing so well!

CliffH

For Houston I'd recommend a Smith, Hollier, Celeste or improved Celeste, Adriatic JH, violette de sollies, LSU champagne, Ronde de Bordeaux, and maybe a Panache. The key here is tight or closed eyed varieties. Can't stress that enough. I had a Texas blue giant that split 2/3 of the way open any time the rain was within 100 miles. Ants and other bugs pile in there with every split. I think I got to eat 2 out of 50 figs.

Rain resistant varieties: Smith, Ronde De Bordeaux, Hunt, Col de Dame Blanc, Alma, Italian 258. Pm if u want some plants, I'm located in The Woodlands.

Matt,

The Improved Celeste is definitely larger than the standard variety. I just picked my first IC today. In the picture below the standard Celeste is on the left and the Improved Celeste is on the right.

 


If your interested, I am going to go to the nursery where I got the Improved Celeste tomorrow. One of the IC trees that I got from them has turned out to be what I think is an Alma (after I put it in the ground of course). I'm going to see if they still have another true IC. I can get two as easily as one. Last fall was getting a large (1.5" trunk) tree for $25 from them.

CliffH