Hi, my name is Larry and I live in Brookfield Wisconsin (just west of Milwaukee), which is zone 5a or 5b. I am growing a total of twelve fig trees of four named varieties and one unknown fig tree. All are in flowerpots except for one individual Hardy Chicago fig tree planted in the ground outdoors -- a few inches from my house foundation. The potted fig trees are wintered indoors in the basement and kept dormant. The one plant of Hardy Chicago is winterized under a large pile of wood chips from November to April and grows about seven feet tall every year from the base (with half a day of sunlight). The fig varieties that I now grow are: Chicago Hardy, Sals EL, Brown Turkey, Olympian, and one unknown fig variety. I will be receiving three new potted fig tree varieties any day now in the mail: Desert King, LSU Purple, and Petite Negri. I am looking to add Florea, Nero 600, and Marseilles Black VS, if anyone would like to trade or sell so that I can grow these varieties this year too. This forum has been exceptionally helpful to me in successfully growing fig trees here in Wisconsin. And I thank everyone who has written on this forum for me to have learned so much from. I look forward to reading more in the future. And I am hoping to find other fig tree growers living near me to visit and to also have visit me.
Please help me identify my unknown fig tree. The original tree is growing in Austin Texas and is about 20 feet tall and about 18 feet wide. The owner says that he does not know the variety name and that the tree has one crop of fruit per year that begins growing when the leaves begin growing in the springtime. He sent me the photos last year and said that the figs are about the size of a golf ball when ripe. I was able to root three dormant cuttings taken from that tree, that he sent to me in the Autumn of 2015. And I rooted and grew them indoors that winter under florescent lights at 72 degrees Fahrenheit. One of the cuttings made two figs right away before the roots were even formed. These two fruits finally ripened in the summer of 2016 and tasted very sweet and delicious. The flesh was pink and/or red. I think that the eye on the fruit was always closed. I don't think that the fig wasp was necessary for fruit formation since I live in Brookfield Wisconsin where I doubt fig wasps even exist. My trees have begun to grow new leaves already this year and the figs on them are definitely breba figs from the dormant stems and not forming on the new green growth with the leaves (at least not showing any figs growing there on the green stems at this point). My friend who sent me the cuttings said that the tree only has one crop of figs, but then again it gets dry there in Texas in summer (and he does not water the tree) so I would not rule out a second crop being possible with good irrigation, although I doubt it. I am not sure what to add. Hopefully the photos will provide more details. Please ask me any questions that you might have. Thank you for your time, I am grateful for any educated guesses as well as any wild guesses that anyone can provide. I will research any and all variety names that anyone suggests to me as to what my unknown fig variety might be. Thank you very much for your time and for your suggestions as to what fig variety this tree might be.