Herman,

If you could only plant 10 figs in your yard taking hardiness and flavor into account, what would they be?

Plenty of us NJ/ northeast figgies are now on the edge of our seats, especially us newbies.............................................
My only concern is what Herman's list will do to the ebay prices of those varieties LOL.

There has been too many of that sort of list.

We need more lists by Dennis, FMD, Jason!

Oh well, why don't I, someone who only knows one fig try for a SE Figs Top Ten?

If I had a half-acre, I'd plant
Black Madeira--late season boutique black
Smith--late season boutique white
Ronde de Bordeaux--mainly for early season production
JH Adriatic
Kathleen Black--early season boutique big
Barnisotte--late season big
Hollier--a Celeste type
LSU Black--super productivity
Black Celeste for the suger
Calvert/Petite Negri/whatever...

Well ,What is not very Hardy but super tasty,and so I can't place in the list:
Maltese Falcon
Violette de Bordeaux
Aubique Petite
Petite Negri
Madeira Black
Calvert
Verdal Longue
Ital 258
Col de Dame Grise
Col de Dame Black

These cultivars are reasonably Hardy and super tasty:
Malta Black
Kathleen Black
Tacoma Violett
Ischia Black
Stella
Vasilika Sika
Ronde De Bordeaux
Nero 600M
Adriatic JH
Improved Celeste

And this is  a list from fig I had ripe fruits here,of course there are others just as good that I do not have,or that I have but they are too young to fruit.
The figs that are not very hardy,can be grown just fine here but they need more care than the figs I said they are relative hardy.
The Fact of the matter is ,I have more than 10 fig cultivars that makes exceptional tasty fruits.
I also omitted the super productive and super tasty,hardy ,Gino's and Marseilles black vs,Atreano,Saint Anthony,and Vista Mission,because the list is not about productive hardy and tasty trees,it is about hardy and tasty cultivars,only.

Thanks Herman!

Your answer intrigued me. 

Top 10 hardiness and productive?

Top 10 hardiness only?


I really appreciate You taking tuw time to answer. 

Could you share the 10 most productive, hardy, and tasty please Herman? And could you also make a note of those that begin to produce figs the youngest?

p.s. Just because you are confident does not make you right Suzi! H2 knows his figs!

Most Productive Hardy and tasty here in my backyard:
Marseilles black vs
Malta Black
Tacoma Violett
Gino's fig
Atreano
Adriatic JH
Stella
Vista Mission
Sorry I do not have 10 old trees to compare for hardiness and production.
How do I know that Ronde de Bordeaux ,Nero 600m,Vasilika Sika,Improved Celeste,Stella,Col de Dame Grise and Black,Kathleen Black,are not very productive when they will be over 7 years old,at this point when they are in the forth and fifth year of life.
I do not know that so I can't state that they are not productive just because they do not produce a lots of fruits now.
All I know is that all these makes excellent fruits and so far are relative hardy.
Time will tell.
Top ten Hardiness:
All Etna type figs,+Florea ,Atreano,and most totally healthy figs that are totally free of visible,Fig mosaic virus ,earliest,to produce fruits: Mount Etna type figs again.
Youngest to produce tasty fruits:Mount Etna type figs
Mount Etna type figs are:Hardy Chicago,Black Portuguese,Marseilles black vs,Gino's fig,Tacoma Violett,Unknown #11,Jersey fig,Martini,Don Fortissi Black.

Herman,

This is fantastic information for new and seasoned fig growers, thank you so much!! I have all but 2 of those you mentioned in your hardy tasty group, including your younger ones. I have a question about one of them. This spring, following your lead, I planted Kathleen's Black in ground. I am a bit concerned after reading recently on this forum that many of the French figs are not very hardy and since Kathleen's Black may just be Noire de Carombe I am now concerned. Also I read recently where another member in a similar zone, had one die to the ground. Is there anything you did special to protect your Kathleen's Black? I know you mulch but not sure if you did anything else for this one. As a reminder, I am in Philadelphia which is 6a or b, can never remember.   

You are 7a or b now Barry, they updated a little while ago. Cities tend to be 5-10 degrees warmer than surrounding areas because of all the pavement etc.

Thanks Herman, very valuable information indeed.

BLB:My Kathleen Black has a 10 inches tall trunk and then it start branching out.
So it never froze to ground,and it was in ground in the second Winter of life with protection.
Now is about 5 years old and last Winter was not protected at all,not even mulch.
It made it with no visible damage.
I have a Maltese Falcon ,same age next to it,and it start branching from the ground because it was killed again and again till last Fall when I protected it even better and also the Winter was mild.
So yes Kathleen is visible hardier,compared to Maltese Falcon.
Kathleen is tender when young but after the 4th year it becomes a strong hardy tree.
It is healthy and willing to grow.
Of course if your Kathleen Black is infested with FMV,that is another situation.
The cold tolerance is not the same.
Mine is healthy.
The Noire de Caromb I noticed is similar to my Kathleen,but it got some extra with it(Mosaic virus),and that makes it a different tree.

I have followed your list of fig plants Herman, And got them Threw you. Now that I've seen with my very own eyes how healthy and productive you varieties are, this is proof. No sales pitch, just stating a fact.

luke


PS: Barry, I would at least put chicken wire with leaves for protection at min..My plans are to cover them up for at least 4 years old, by then I'll have my back ups in case of loss.

luke 

Thanks again Herman that is very reassuring. Luke I will protect it as it is only in it's 3rd year. I have 2 others in ground, which will not need protection, so only have KB to protect and will do it right.

I'm interested more in taste than hardiness, and I always enjoy the reading the lists of experienced fig growers. Since tasting a wide variety of figs isn't a possibility for many of us, these sorts of lists are extremely helpful in selecting varieties to try.

Hey Vasille do you have pictures of your Nero600m riped fig?Thank you.

Nero 600 M,is Similar to Valle Negra but it comes from Eastern France border with Germany,at 600 M altitude alpine climate,Instead of Italy.
So It is natural to be more cold hardy.
Also it is totally Healthy,and I have seen pixies by other people of Valle Negra showing Fig mosaic virus,and that makes it a different tree for cold climates.
The tree is very young,these pixies were taken last year,and I am happy to report it was on of the few that did not sour from massive rain amounts we had in 2011.
It only made a few fruits last year but here are some pixies,of what is to come.
Even my regular Celeste soured,and spoiled last year.

Thank you Herman and the other experienced growers for more valuable information.

Herman - What is the spacing you'd suggest for planting figs in a bush form?

Ideal Planting space between bushes for person that does not have a farm:12 foot,in between.
You can go less but you have to prune plant later in life to keep it small.
If you have a farm go as much as 24 foot,or more,so the sun will fall on plant in all positions,all day and one plant does not shade another.

Thanks Vasille nice photos.

Great information, as always.

Great info as i am in zone 5 s.e.Nebraska .

Austin, I grew up in SW Iowa - it's great that you are trying to grow figs in that area.  It sounds like Florea is a good bet.  Steve

COOL STEVE!
I am close to Hamberg , Iowa .
That's why Florea, is on my wish list ha ; )

I thought this would be an excellent thread to bump to the top.  Maybe we can get some more responses?  Perhaps Herman has an updated list?
I will agree that the Mt Etna type figs are the most hardy and productive, based on my experience.

Thanks - I reread the thread.  It reminded me of why I have acquired some of the varieties I have.  The one disappointment on this list so far though is Kathleen's Black!  Rooted in 2012, planted in one of the sunniest locations in my yard, and still have not tasted any fruit.  It always sets a large crop in mid to late July so the figs are too late to ripen.  This year, once again, it has not set any fruit yet, even with pinching.  It's disappointing because the mother tree was found growing in-ground in my area so it should be doing well here.  Of course, we had two nasty winters in a row with die-back, though not complete die back.  It's like the Chicago Cubs of figs - wait 'til next year!

I know what you mean, Steve.  One thing I have learned, is that you can propagate two identical cuttings from the same mother tree and have completely different results.

Steve:
Kathleen Black ,had a hard time ,in the last 2 Winters here,(Cold frigid Winters),and Summer 2014,did not ripe any fruits,and this year it refuse to form fruits ,no matter of pinching,so yes,
this cultivar has a hard time,in our climate ,when Winter is cold and Spring is cool.
In such conditions it will not form fruits early enough to get ripe till end of Summer.
I am talking about ,in ground tree,because if in pot it will ripe just fine every year.

Thanks for your comment Vasile.  So it is not just me having problems with KB grown in ground in zone 7.  I think I will give it one more year in ground and if I don't have success next year I may move it to a container so it can be protected better in the winter.

This was a great read for a newbie just starting to figure out what figs i want to start collecting towards the end of the year. Thanks for bumping this