I'll get philosophical, Sas... and ladies, no offense...

Because figs are like beautiful women... there is no one "best" definition of beauty, and - in my experience - there is no one "best" definition of a really great fig, either.  They are all unique in their own way.

Drew,

That nectarine looks good. Almost as good as my blood peaches :-)

Sas,

You make a good point. Will the quest for the best figs in the world ever end, or we will be stuck in collecting mode forever?
For several years I was pleased with a few adult fig trees with excellent figs (most of what i've collect still hasn't moved them from the top spots) and i was busy collecting several other fruit types to fill my orchard, until i got lured with listings of exotic fig names and promises of excellence and varieties much better than what i had.

A few years later and 130 varieties in my collection (and rooting some 40 more) i'm very far from shrinking the choice and finally selecting the best to put on the ground - I have space but i won't be keeping figs that don't deserve it, at least not in the ground.

I may keep most of the Portuguese figs i'm collecting tough, to try to preserve our heritage and because most of them are among the best in the world. Afterall, we select them for centuries.
The problem is that they are approaching the 70 varieties mark and there are still quite a few very good one's i don't have :-)

Drew,

Mine are Vinhateiro Português (Portuguese Wine Peach) and Sanguine Vigneuse (Wine Blood peach, a french variety), both are excellent, the first one with harder flesh. I never tasted Indian Blood peaches, so i can't compare.
I don't know the one's from China you are referring to, but descendants from Korean white peaches were selected and are being sold as the Ice Peach line (i've managed to get a couple of trees and they are quite different, very sweet and tasty)

Regarding varieties and space. I know what you mean. It's starting to get quite difficult to manage. Not considering figs, I have collected more than 3 hundred varieties of other fruit types. My problem is time, not space.

Oh well, maybe when i retire i can fully enjoy my fruit trees, especially my figs. Can't wait :-)

I see you are from Portugal. Yes, Your peaches look excellent! Awesome, wish we had them around here!  Indian Free is a red peach but flesh varies from year to year.
The ones from China are
Sanguine Pilat
Sanguine Tardeva
Sanguine de Chateauneauf

One day I'll ask for scion from him. All peaches come from China, and the names probably have more to do with who brought them back.  Originated in China, where the peach was discovered in the first place.


Indian Free


Some years the peaches are less red.


Sorry hijacked this thread, my apologies, back to figs!

SAS,
I live just south of Austin (Kyle). What are your favorite in ground varieties?

SAS:  This addiction is quite normal and less expensive compared to other "hobbies", such as hot rods, boats, motorcycles, and telescopes.  And yes, one would think that how can telescopes be an expensive hobbies?  For one thing, people will not stop with just one scope for every observation situation, and will not settle for a good one.  They tend to chase the "ultimate", "the best", and "the most collectible" ones which often run in the thousands or more, and match them with the most stable mount/tripod(hint: $$$$).  You get the picture...

My perspective on this has always been, if you can go ahead.  Nothing wrong with that.  If one starts to be aware of the issues, then that is how addiction or temptation/desire will begin to fade/or dampen.  The pursuit of the best tasting figs can be a little elusive when there are many factors affecting the quality of the fruits.  I have seen a lot of videos commenting that the ripeness may not be at its best, thus may not be as good.  Heck, tell me what you are trying to achieve in this type of comparison tasting videos for us who can only watch from afar...And if you are trying to compare the new varieties with the ones from your memories of the past, good luck...

Amanda,
I could speak about the trees, that I've tried in ground so far, which are about six varieties, but know that If you have some type of irrigation, then any should do ok. The problem that you might run into is winter damage. It's so severe in some cases, that it might kill your entire tree to the ground level even here in TX. But the good news is that without any protection after two years, except perhaps for some mulch , most should come back stronger than ever before.
It will take several years for your tree to get established. About four to five years if you could wait that long. Anything less than that and results are unpredictable. Once established production should start or should increase. (Some trees do not produce before four or five years).
I Initially I planted what you can call some hard to get trees at the time, and they are taking too long to get going.
I know someone who has an Alma in their backyard and it's doing better than any of my trees.
It all depends on your priorities, but location and type of soil is very important. Within three years her tree reached a height of over seven feet, while my trees remain dwarfs.
I started by planting all three Col de Dame figs and the best performer in terms of the least winter damage is the Col de Dame Gris. The Col de Dame white(UCD) is the most consistent prolific tree and one of the best tasting figs that I know of, but ripens its fruit very late (as late as October/November).
* it appears, that my Col de Dame Gris will be more productive than all my inground trees for the first time this year.
If you have the space and want lots of figs, it's hard to beat a Celeste, and the birds cannot get all the figs.
I planted a whole bunch of other varieties in a non irrigated area and those are still under evaluation. Some did not make it while others are struggling.
For comparison, I'm posting some photos of my Col de Dame Gris and Blanc, taken today. The first three are of the Col de Dame Gris from different angles in order to show productivity this year which is relative and the last one is of the Col de Dame Blanc. These were planted if I recall correctly in 2012.
I did not mention the Col de Dame Noir, or the Black Madeira because they area even smaller than those two. They might produce a couple of figs here and there, but need even more time to get going.

@Shien, By growing more than one variety, I'm trying to extend my fig season. In the end it's all about having fun.

Practicality rules, should I say? :-)

Thanks, SAS! I guess I just lucked out starting with a Chicago Hardy 🌱 It's 3yo and doing well, IMO -
it's throwing out a double crop this year, 1st ripe fruit on 6/14!
I'm thinking about putting a Celeste and a Brown Turkey in ground next.

Do you think it worth the risk to graft on in ground figs? I don't love the hassle of potted plants....

Beautiful trees Sas! I have several CDDG but none in the ground. Think I might at least plant one of them in the ground, you got me excited looking at the beautiful trees you have! : )

With less that two years growing figs, I already have 26 varieties growing. That's a lot more than I expected when I first started. My goal is to put three varieties on ground. Two of them will be my best two varieties, the third one will be a tree that I will graft multiple varieties into it. Maybe I will keep a maximum of 5 varieties on pots.
That's my goal, let's see if I can keep my plan.