Here is a question for people that have both. If you could only have one or the other, which would you prefer? Also please list the reason(s) for your choice if you don't mind. Keep in mind that my trees are all pot culture and that is the plan. By the way my luck is going with eBay it looks like I will only be able to afford one of these trees and I would like to spend my money wisely and enjoy my purchase.

  I dont have either one, but like you, I want one.  I've seen them both referred to as the best fig you'll ever aste.  They both have many, many fans and rave reveiws so I am trying to notice any negative remarks and I've only heard one so far.  I read that Blk Madeira will split in high humidity and rainy conditions.  I wish you luck obtaining either one or both.  
  I'll be folowing this thread. I'm glad you asked about it. 
Soni

Black madeira is very slow growing, and always stunted with FMV. Ronde de bordeaux is very fast grower and vigorous, and can be a lot more productive. They both taste good. 

Thanks Bass. I always look forward to northeast input.

I have my first RdB figs this season from 3-4 years old in ground tree…and I am little bit…hm, disappointed .Small fig, tough skin …yes, some level of sugar inside, but noting exceptional so fare.

I will wait…  

Johnnie, other than that they are both dark figs it seems that they don't have a lot in common.  Totally different leaf structure, RdB fruits main crop relatively early, B. Madeira fruits relatively late (and needs a lot ofmsun/heat), RdB tends to not show many FMV symptoms and is a robust grower while B. Madeira can in some cases grow very slowly because of FMV.  Finally, from what I have read B. Madeira is not nearly as cold hardy as RdB.  So if you lived in a mediterranean type of climate which is perfect for figs you might opt for B. Madeira.  But if you live in the northeast, and could only pick one, you might instead opt for RdB.

Thanks for the insight Rewton. Indeed the only other thing they seem to have in common is a rather steep price tag.

BM takes some work to ripen in the northeast. You either have to start it early in a greenhouse or fig shuffle all spring. It will also take a few years to get some reasonable production.

RDB will ripen in a standard NE season and is good trade fodder.

RDB in my opinion is not a great tasting fig, it is, however, a good grower, early producer and very productive. Taste is good, but I've tasted many superior figs. Taste is very individual, so this is just my opinion. I've yet to taste Black Madeira but currently have 2 trees with fruit growing. It seems among those who have tasted it to be their best tasting fig so I am looking forward to trying it very soon. It really depends on what you are looking for, production or quality between those 2. There are so many other excellent figs, why limit yourself to just these 2?

Jason- Thank you for your insight on these figs. I don't really have a way to kick off the season early so it's looking more and more like RdB will win out for now.

Barry- Thank you for your input on these figs. I am not limiting myself and have about 30 different kinds of fig tree at this point. I was just looking to purchase 1 high end fig at the end of this growing season to be ready for next spring.

Have both cultivars.
Black Maderia on personal palate i like more .
Ronde fast growing similar to Mission.
Both good producers of the figs, Ronde ripens earlier.


Here is the younger Madeira June 22 this season before going into bigger container then 2 months later in bigger container.
Third picture of the pair of Black Madeira's.

Wow Martin,it looks like once you gave those roots a bit of extra the tree really took off. Has your summer out there been as lousy as ours out here in the northeast? That's kind of my concern about BM is the sometimes lack of heat in upstate NY. I have read it really needs a good hot and long growing season. By the way how are these figs from a breba standpoint?

Yes its the same here weatherwise . I dont let breba hang on any of my plants for the most part a few here and there.
Have not tasted breba on Maderia that showed in past i took them off.

Thanks again Martin for all the info.

Black Madeira cuttings are easier to come by than RdB.

neither. i'll stick with VdB, and Paradiso Gene :) and if i have to choose one of those, i'll graft one of those on the other. 

While I think Black Madeira is a standard, I don't think necessarily that anyone should be so focused on "expensive" fig trees.  If you're not young, I understand going ahead and buying Black Madeira, but RdB is not really something to bust your budget for.  Even Black Madeira, there are a number of substitutes that should be as good, and it's not an uncommon fig as these things go, and there will be opportunities to get BM at reasonable prices or free.  There's just a lot of hype passed around for each fig variant that's not common.  Once you get past Mission, Celeste, Brown Turkey, Conadria, and Brunswick, there are a set of "good" figs that are healthy, like the Bordeaux variants, the various Adriatic types (of the berry version), etc, etc, etc...that will on any given day, beat just about any figs but the very best.  You don't have to pay much for Violette de Bordeaux or JH Adriatic...  And if you want something exotic, why not try something like LSU Champagne, or Raspberry Latte, or try out one of those UC figs like UCR 309-B?

 Shah types in part -Even Black Madeira, there are a number of substitutes that should be as good, and it's not an uncommon fig as these things go, and there will be opportunities to get BM at reasonable prices or free.

Hmm i have eaten lots of different types and have yet to find that substutute for Madeira But thats on my personal palate. But your right there will be plenty of opportunities to get one and the price will be the same as say Celeste plant in future.

I think Fico Preto's figs are similar to BM but FP grows faster and ripens earlier.

Jason, do you know if anyone in the mid-atlantic/northeast has planted either BM or FP in the ground and observed their cold hardiness?  I'm growing both and wonder if one could get away with it in MD along a south-facing brick wall.

I have Black Madeira but not RdB.  Black Madeira is an excellent fig.  The tree is slow growing but healthy and productive.  The foliage is nice.  The figs are large, sweet, juicy, and delicious.  Black Madeira and VdB are my two favorite tasting figs.  Black Madeira is juicier and larger than VdB, but they both have outstanding flavor in my opinion.

Pretty sure Herman2 had it in ground and he didn't like the result. I personally feel either one will be too hard to ripen in ground. I give them both a head start in my greenhouse. Here's the first FP almost ripe. It is already oozing honey.

Jason- I have heard this about Figo Preto as well but this fig seems more elusive to me than BM. I have also read that Italian 258 is very close in flavor profile as well but have had almost no luck locating a tree or cuttings of either. And when I have located them, I was demolished on eBay.


Shah- Believe me when I say I am not focused on buying expensive fig trees. I would truly love to spend less on trees as it would allow my cigar collection to not have as much competition. I kind of figured that maybe splurging on one expensive tree a year would not be a bad way to expand my collection. Unfortunately I am a guy with expensive tastes and hobbies so I try to put a hard cap on my spending habits.

Here are pictures of my 3 Black Madeira and 2 RDB (left to right) started from cuttings in February. I up-potted them in June to the current 2-gal pots using Foxfarm Ocean Forest soil. All cuttings are growing very well using this potting soil. All will continue to be grown in pots

Black Madeira can be obtained from UCD, if, one is lucky.

Don't have either but was planning on trying to obtain and root a RdB cutting this winter primarily because it is an early producer.

Beautiful pic there Jason. Also it looks like your trees are going to town up there in Saratoga Springs Scot. I have seen the Foxfarm Ocean Forest around here at a few nurseries. Are you using it straight out of the bag Scot? At this time I am using a 50/50 mix of Promix HP and pine bark fines with just a bit of worm castings and touch of dolomite lime for good measure.

Johnnie, I used the Foxfarm straight out if the bag, with a touch of Espoma garden-tone organic fertilizer mixed in with the soil.

Black Madeira is free. just keep ordering from USDA/UCA until you get one. like someone said when i first join the fourm, you just need one tree to make 100 out of it. last two yrs, i had one good cutting from USDA/UCD. both yr, they rooted.

RdB... not sure why it's so hard to get, but it's hard to get. but this one is easy to root, and grows like a weed. once you have one cutting that strike, you will have 100 trees. i'll probably propagate few more just to be on safe side next spring. or give away both cuttings.

Well I feel blessed, got 2 Black Madeiria with fruit and a Preto loaded too. My Italian 258 probably a year away from producing, but I will be happy to wait for that one.  I've already had RDB this year and while it was good, I wouldn't consider it in the class of premium figs for taste. 

I don't know why some think RdB is hard to come by.  It is sold very commonly on eBay and prices often aren't very bad.  Black Madeira prices are almost higher than RdB (except from NCGR Davis).  Jason has a rooted tree for sale on eBay right now.

My two cents. I don't have RdB, but I really like Black Madeira. Productive, late, good tasting and stands up pretty well to rain. Needs a lot of sun and fertilizer. I haven't found fig mosaic to be a problem here. I can't wait for this year's...

And now Kerry (DrivewayFarmer) has a RdB for sale. No Black Madeira currently being offered.

Have eaten both pot grown.  No comparison in taste, madeira superior.  But rdb grows much much faster and I have no doubt is much more cold hardy.  RDB wins in every category but the most important, taste

Going by what I have sampled over the last 2 seasons, my RdB may have to go to another
home. I hope to sample B.Madeira this season as I had it in the greenhouse since June. It is
a slow grower for yrs. This yr, it put out the most growth, likely loving the heat in the GH.

NOTE : RdB growth is strong, too strong as if it is on steriods.

I can confirm that RDB is a fast grower. I got mine from Kerry (drivewayfarmer) and it grew like a weed. I'll finally get to taste it this year, it has at least a dozen figs that should ripen and a few that still need to be cut off. No Black Maderia so no comment on that one yet. Some day, hopefully soon.

there will be a two yr old Black Madeira in 1 gal with figs on it on F4FF auction in 1st week of sept or so :)

Do not count Ronde de Bordeaux ,out as an inferior fig,because it is ,a superior tasting cultivar.
The people that had ripe fruits in the Northeast,included me,and lived on the east coast,we had the most horrible Summers,in 2011,2012,and 2o13,with huge amounts of rains in July and August,and cold September,so in those conditions the Ronde did not shine.
But whenever there is a period,of 5 sunny days in a row ,here on east coast,in August,then Ronde de Bordeaux produces a batch of the most delicious fruits on the face of the earth.
Also this year,surprise,it was ripening fruits very early,only 4 days after Improved Celeste,which is the earliest to ripe here.
So now that it is established as an early ripening cultivar,Ronde is compitting against other early ripening cultivars like:
Improved Celeste,Malta Black,Florea,and Marseilles black vs,and Gino.
Out of them,I would choose ,with my taste buds,as Number one,for taste:
Ronde de Bordeaux
#1,For taste and size:Malta Black
and after these 2 come the rest
So downgrading Ronde de Bordeaux,will be a loss for the Gardener community,because ,every garden should have one,especially in cold climates.
Madeira black is wonderfull for the people that got the climate for it.
Most of us in cold climates,get only a couple of ripe fruits in a season,while Ronde de B,will give us a full harvest,like a few hundreds of fruits,and that makes the difference.

We, grow and sell both. But, like Herman said, for the Northeast I think Ronde de Bordeaux is the best.

However, Martin says that he is getting very good results growing Black Madeira in a pot on his drive way.

I have never been able to get a sizable harvest from pot grown figs, like Martin does. They always end up getting stressed from to much heat, not enough water, not enough nutrients, or all three.

Martin could you detail how you get such good results using pots verses in ground. Are you using self watering pots, and what type of potting mixture do you use to provide the plant with all of its nutrient requirements?

Bob @ T. Pine - Connecticut Zone 5b/6a 

And in order to show my conviction from previous post,I went outside and Harvested,my ripe Ronde de B,and Malta Black,and yes ,I checked my Madeira Black(6yers old,one foot high),but only a couple of green fruits on it,so here they are,pixies.
I tell you:they are as tasty as they can get,no tough skin,nothing wrong,just deliciouseness.

Herman, the last time I talked to you, you were trying to determine whether or not Danny's Delight and Malta Black were the same fig.

Have you been able to make a determination yet?

Bob @ T. Pine - Connecticut Zone 5b/6a

Robert I deleted response to your question as i do not want to change the subject matter.

Robert:So Far,It seem they are different,because:
Danny Delite is not close to ripening,while Malta black is ripening all over the place.
I have an extra 2 years old Malta B,in ground,younger than Danny Delite and is ripening a handful of fruits this moment,while Danny D,do not,and it is older plant.
So I have to conclude it is different tho,the fruits last October looked and tasted similar.