I have a(nother) planting site that is below a stone retaining wall, the bottom of the tree will always receive sunlight only from 10 am to 2 pm. Once the tree grows past 6 ft. it will get full sun up top. I want to plant a Gino, but am worried that it might not be the best choice because I read that Gino is a smaller plant, so it would spend longer growing in the shaded zone. But maybe it will get all tall and leggy like other figs I have seen in the shade?
Any thoughts are appreciated, I am digging out the rosebush that is planted there now later this week.

Hi Brent,

Dig up one of your other figs that grows tall and put the Gino's in it's place and the other fig in the rosebush's place, maybe?

Just a thought,

noss

Gino is too good of a fig when ripe ,to risk planting it in shade and by doing so,the plant will make less fruits in zone 7 ,which is normal.
No fig in zone 7 will produce a good harvest in the shade.
If it was  zone 10 yes,it would have helped a little shade!

Man!  Gino is one amazing fig tree!  I love the flavor and taste of those figs!  Beautiful looking tree when the figs start to ripen!  Here are a few pics of mine which is in planted in my orchard now.  But I got 2 more in 20 gallon containers.  Flat out a good fig to have!

Fair enough, thanks for all the advice. I was excited about the spot because it is so protected, but what good is that if the figs don't get ripe?

Noss- Think I might pay a visit to an abandoned tree that I know of that is over 20 ft and edit: air layer that bad boy! a trunk for that spot. Good idea, I can still pick the figs from above the wall and then prune it down every winter.

Herman- Thank you for the advice, I would hate to do this fig a disservice. edit: I will keep this one in a pot.

Dennis- Great looking plant, I have planted 2 Gino's in an ideal spot already and can't wait to try some figs.

Can anyone compare Gino's fig to say Hardy Chicago or Black Marseilles? What makes Gino's stand out? Flavor, size, production, color- anyone with more details or photos on this fig? A kind and generous F4F member shared a nice Gino's tree with me and I'm curious to know more about this fig. Thanks guys (+ gals).

Hello Dr Leion, I'm sure VS will chime in. Here is my observation. I have all 3 of these growing side by side in my orchard beside another good fig....Don Fortis! Gino is just as hardy as HC, MVS and DF. Gino's figs are slightly a tad bit larger, rounder and more prolific than these others except DF. I'll look around and see if I have any more pics.

Thank you Dennis. Your feedback is well appreciated.

Well it has darker interior exterior,and I like the taste and flavor better,compared to HC and Marseilles vs Black.
Don Fortissi Black in my opinion ,is identical to Gino"s fig,as I grew them side by side for a while and ,they both have bluish Leaves ,and very Black fruits,much darker than HC and Marseilles vs black

Is the Gino's a slower-growing fig tree?

Thanks,

noss

Yes I forgotten to Mention Gino is slower to grow and it will remain a smaller tree compared to Marseilles vs black and HC.
In my opinion Gino is a fig that is as close in quality of fruits as possible to Ischia Black.
I had a few fruits of Ischia Black and can tell you the interior exterior is as close as it can be in color except Gino is round,and of course I would estimate Ischia Black can be higher in taste and flavor by a notch when not infected by the extreme fig mosaic virus case.
So far Gino is the substitute of Ischia Black in my Garden.

Herman, do you consider Gino's fig better tasting then Kathleen's Black fig????

No,but if Summer is hot and long they will be at the same level of quality of course totally different in Flavor and Taste.
And of course if Winter is Mild Kathleen black will have a lot of extra large Breba while Gino,only a handful,plus Katleen black makes larger main crop,so ,comparing the 2 is like eggs and nuts,compared.

Herman, how old was your Gino's fig before it started having that bluish cast to it's leaves?

You know Herman...Gino and Don Fortis might be the same!  Both are in my orchard about 12 feet from each other....Hmmmm.  I need to go check this out.  My Gino is younger and smaller than my Don Fortis.  I hope they are the same that way I can move Gino from the ground to a pot and add a new tree in it place.  Hmmmm.

Dennis, Herman's mature Gino's fig has a bluish tint to it's leaves. are you saying that Don Fortisi's fig also has a bluish tint to it's leaves, also? 

Robert,I noticed the Bluish leaves only when was about 4 years old and was planted in between Italian Honey on left side and English Brown Turkey on right side.
at that point I took a picture and I could see all theree figs in the pix,and Gino had Bluish leaves while the ones on the sides had normal green leaves.
That is when I went farther from the tree line and look at them and yes I could also see that Gino had bluish leaves while the other 2 ,green normal leaves.
Don Fortissi Black was in a different row and one year younger.
When Don Fortissi grew at about the same size as Gino,it too had bluish leaves.
Dennis:Tho these 2 figs look similar and make similar fruits,I think that the adaptability to cold is different with Gino being hardyer.
That is because tho they come from Italy,they came from 2 Different sources,and one person might have been living in Northern Italy while the other in Southern Italy,so they adapted differently to cold.
I made a mistake when I said they are identical,because they look very similar but adaptability is different

Herman, I believe in a previous  post you had mentioned that the VDB from Raintree is in fact Gino's and less hardy. Do you believe that over time this cultivar can adapt to the cold just as well?

 Pete

PHD :I had a Violette de Bordeaux originating from Raintree that was Identical to Gino,but that was true in that particular year,because Raintree order plants from Wholesaler,and at the present Time they  may have Genuine Violette de Bordeaux.
Not only That ,but it might have been that they sent a Gino fig ,instead of Violette de Bordeaux by Mistake,and that was not done with every sale.
It is a fact tho,that my Friend Antonio Esposito bought a Violette de Bordeaux from Raintree ,and gave me cuttings and when I grew them ,i noticed ,that yes the plant was identical to Gino fig.
Later Antonio got cuttings from my Gino fig and his conclusion was the same as mine ,in that the plant he bought from Raintree was identical to my Gino's fig.
He never complained to Raintree because Gino is just as good tasting as Violette plus is better in rain.
After that he acquired Violette from Fred Born,and from Edible Landscaping so now he keeps them all.
As about Hardiness ,the plant from Raintree is not as hardy as Gino's fig,I concluded after about 5 Winters here so in the Fall of 2011,I sold the mature plant to a farmer in Virginia,that bought many figs from me and of course at a fraction of what they were worth.

Herman, thanks for the info. This year a friend of mine gave me a small tree that came from his mother tree . He told me it was a VDB from Raintree. However the leaves look more like Hardy Chicago than VDB, so I believe my tree is in fact a Gino or possibly Hardy Chicago, I guess I will find out this summer when I taste the fruit.
 Pete

Forgive my ignorance but aren't there a lot of Ginos?  I know there's a Geno.  Any way for us troglodytes to tell which one you're talking about?

Herman2 introduced the variety, the full name in Gino's Black. I do not see it in F4F database, but am pretty sure H2 will  continue to sell cuttings and trees in the future.

Here is the pix I am talking about.
Observe the side ,green leaVES,figs compared to Gino
gino fIG,IN CENTER!

That is a very impressive photo Herman. Thank you.

Awsome photo Herman, I like the shape of the leaves also. They make a pretty pattern.
"gene"

Very pretty color on plant and also i like the shape of those leaves.
Thanks for the pictures once again.

Herman,
Are you sure that this pic was not doctored?
I do see some blue-hase around.
Or is it your camera setting?

Different types of cameras pick up colors differently because of the sensors. Also, the black bird netting appears hazy. I see the color difference on my trees, they are not as distinct as that though, yet. Nice red buds too.

I can assure you it was not doctored in any way.
yES THERE IS A NET OVER THE gINO FIG BUT i DOUBT THAT IS WHY IT SHOW BLUISH LEAVES!

Herman2 -- any chance you can chime in on your current evaluation of Nero600M against these figs like Gino & Fortisi especially in the area of taste, earlyness and productivity. Thanks for the interesting info provided above.

Generally these small figs are pack full of flavor & they are my wife's favourite.

Thanks, Herman,

My little Gino's tree is very pretty in shape of the tree as well as the shape of the leaves and as young as it is, the leaf color is a darker green with less yellow to the color.  The tiny figs on it are a bluish color right now, as well.  It's not as pronounced as the blue on your tree in the photo, but it's different from the others.

I noticed it was a petite tree, very refined, but I find it very strong.  I'm so happy to have this tree.  I don't see any signs of FMV on it, so far.

Thanks for making so many delicious figs available to people,

noss

Ok Herman;
It makes perfect sense now. I was not aware that there was a net. The haze I saw was the net itself!

Nice bush trained fig tree. 

Well George There is a net on it because ,The Gino was the worthy one between the  three trees in the pix.
The Italian Honey and the English Brown Turkey had only a few fruits on them at the time,and so they were not  worthy to place a net over them.
Noss:The Gino become a little Bluish in leaves color later in August when the fruits are getting ripe.
At this point now it only has dark green leaves and some new one are light green,similar to most other trees.
But later when leaves get older in August ,yes it develops a faint bluish color,that it is apparent in when taking a pix,compared to the nearby trees.

Hi Herman:
Comparing the Gino's with MBVS and Hardy Chicago, can you provide any details about the size of the fig, shape, taste, production? Pardon if you've already posted on this.
By the way, my MBVS is absolutley loaded with figs this year. Looks like I'll be able to savor some brebas as well. Thank you for you valued info.

Leon, it is similar in size, shape,for me ,other people find them larger.
What is different for me is that they are darker inside and out ,I like the taste better,and so I prefer it over any of the ones you mentioned.
I confess,the darker a fig is inside ,outside the more i like it.
Yet when it comes about productivity of good quality fruits so far nothing surpassed MVSB,in my garden ,no matter which cultivar I compare it to.
Marseilles vs Blk ,is also loaded here so I am convince this is the fig ,if one wants a large harvest of high quality fig fruits.
MVSB,produced fruits from the first year ,as  a rooted cuttings ,and every year without interruption no matter how rainy and how cold the Summer was.
Yes Marseilles Vs Black is somewhat related to Hardy Chicago,Gino,Tacoma Violett and Sal (gene strain).
They are part of a family of early main crop figs,and must have been selected from wild seedling that grew in a common area,possible Italy.
Each one is somewhat different to the other,as for Example:
Tacoma Violett,has leaves like Marseilles vs Black,fruits same shape,but when it is getting ripe ,the outside color is ,smoky,mixed up with a beautiful violett,much different than Marseilles vs black which when ripe is dark purple here.

Thank you for the added info Herman. I'll try to post pics of the MBVS brebas when they ripen.

Yes Leon,Mine has many Breba(About 15),because this year it was mild Winter.
My MVS tree was  unprotected,but at 14*F ,some Breba made it,so,I will have some ripe in JUly.
And what is most important:Breba on Marseilles vs black was just as tasty as main crop,if not a touch better,for me.

Up to now, I believe that if you only had room for one fig tree and liked dark figs,