I find that plants in general take a long time to adjust to the ground, when planted in the ground, especially if they are sensitive to the cold winters, like figs are the first few years, in the climate that I live in. Yet I did once have a fig tree fruit the same year that I planted it. I do plant them right after last chance of frost.
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I think some varieties of figs are just poor choices for in-ground in my area. Alma for instance, has been in-ground for me for 5 years (two of them), but I don’t think I’ve ever ripened a fig from either bush. I’ve tried protecting it in the past with varying levels of success (though never complete success).
Here’s a post from @fruitnut from a few years ago, where he exhibits the same thing I see. Maybe in-ground works better in more ideal climates.
For now, I’m excited to see which of the figs come back strong and set fruit early enough in the season. Reservoir appears to be one of those varieties, which has me pretty happy about making so many copies of it. 
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Bob,
Did you ever try to figure out what variety it is? Honey? Sugary like Celeste? Mt Etna? Berry? Maybe a photo of the leaf, Time of ripen, and a ripen fig cut in half at the same time so maybe We all can try to ID it.
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I haven’t had the fruit yet, but was told it is a black/purple fig and the favorite (of several varieties they grew) of the grandson of the guy who planted it. Hopefully soon I’ll get to try some, as it was pretty heavily loaded last time I stopped by. It is a rental property, so I don’t get to it all the time.
There are some pictures of the leaves above, though I’m not sure what you would even look for when IDing a fig. I thought that the same plant could have different shapes…
But I will definitely post a pic when I try some ripe ones (both from the mother plant and one of the many potted children).
Of the 4 cuttings I found a couple weeks ago when cleaning out the scion-fridge, 1 was moldy (which I just tossed, rather than trying to save). The other 3 have now made roots, so it looks like a lengthy storage period didn’t hurt them much.
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The leaves look like an Etna type: Hardy Chicago, Marseilles Black VS, Gino’s Black etc. They have a buff appearance and rough texture, with more numerous trichomes than most other varieties, often with whitish dots visible like I see above.
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I’ve found that voles in my area seem to favor fig roots over the winter. So I’ve started planting my in-ground figs inside a “pot” of hardware cloth. That way roots can escape but the crown will stay protected… I hope.
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I have 2 HC in ground in z6 and I never get ripe figs but I have some in pots that are doing so much better. I eat off from these potted figs every year but the inground ones are disappointments every year.
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I picked the first half dozen a week ago. Before that, I got one or 2 early ripeners.
Today, I picked more than a quart and it didn’t really make a dent in the total number of figs on it. I bet that a fair number of them won’t have a chance to ripen. But in the month or more left before a frost, it could be pretty productive.
You can see the fig in the distance at the top of the pic.
Here’s a look inside them:
Does the above narrow things down any? They seem to be about 12 days later than the RDB which ripened at my house (a decent percent of the bush ripened, not just a one-off fig).
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Telling Etna types apart is basically impossible, they change so much based on weather and growing conditions, that does look like my various Etna types… except the center looks a little less red than what I’m used to seeing, does the picture show the true color?
In the past, when an unknown is found it gets a unique name if it is distributed, just in case it ends up being different in some way. And to keep some sort of order of course. Some people don’t like that, personally I think it is fine as long as it is not hyped up or misrepresented.
p.s. thin out unproductive branches to allow in more sunlight, which will warm the figs after cold nights and allow more to ripen before frost.
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I showed my wife the picture, as I’m color blind and not the best judge of “true color”. She said it looked close to what she remembered eating (she had half of them), though she spent more time eating, than admiring.
I guess I jumped the gun by distributing before figuring out if it matched something. But, it sounds like it may not be possible to know anyway (without some genetic testing), so I just got a jump start on it “Reservoir” is as good a name as any, after the street the property is on. I’ve updated the thread title.
I should be able to take plenty more cuttings this fall/winter, if anyone else wants to grow it.
In terms of taste, it is good, but doesn’t blow me away. My wife liked the pictured ones (which she said were very good) better than the RDB that I brought her earlier in the day. But she liked the RDB better than a Reservior fig I brought her at the same time. So I think it is more a factor of which is more ripe.
I think the place it shines is in productivity. Not just the mother plant (which is very well established), but most of the cuttings I took also had fruit. I haven’t grown all the Etna types, but Hardy Chicago seemed less productive and later when I grew it in the ground. But it is hard to tell with a sample size of 1…
I’ve already started planting cuttings of it at other rentals. I’ll be interested to see how well they bounce back from the winter.
That’s a good suggestion and I’ll take a closer look the next time I am there. I don’t recall there being many (any?) unproductive branches. But I could probably chop off those with small figlets which probably won’t have time to ripen.
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In general natural sunlight shows the truest colors in photos, in shade next to a white wall that scatters some light on a clear day is good, in the “sun” on a cloudy day, or the morning or evening when the sun is less intense.
The Etnas to me usually have a nondescript berry flavor, and a “marshmallowy” texture, with a decent amount of sweetness. I thought the same about HC, a little later and less productive than my other Etnas, it was just as early and productive as the others this year though. The genetic testing that has been done puts HC right next to a small group of other Etna types, though it isn’t clear why.
Naming it after the street is good, the truth is you can’t make everybody happy. I distributed one I found on Tatnall street, and after a few years of comparing it to others I decided it was in the Sicilian Red family, so generally call it Tatnall (Sicilian Red).
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I just showed this to my dentist and he’s “sure” that it is Brown Turkey.
A lot of different varieties of fig trees are sold under the name of Brown Turkey, I’d say over 1 dozen varieties, that is the confusing part!
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I pruned off quite a bit of wood, so please let me know if you’d like some cuttings. Please indicate if you have a preferred size, as I got a wide range of widths. Some may even be a bit too thick. Don’t be shy, as I probably won’t use more than 1/4th of this (at most).
I’m not going to go as far in protecting it this year- I just dumped a bag of leaves around the base (rather than 8+ bags of leaves and a cardboard & plywood structure with a few tarps like last year). Given that we have some 13-15F temps coming in a few days, I figured that I should get the cuttings. I think it would be OK at those temps, but no sense in risking die-back on wood for rooting.
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What’s your lowest winter temps?
At my house, it is usually in the 0 to -4f range, though there were a couple years with -8 or -9f. The house with this fig is further south by one town and only a couple miles from the shore, so I bet it is around 0f most years.
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Hi @BobVance I’ll be interested in some cuttings if there is some available ! Thanks for sharing, whatever they are they look amazing to me.
I’d sure be interested Bob! And if you are interested in anything on my trade list please let me know!
I’d be interested if you still have some. I have a few tradeable items listed below if you’re interested: Seeking Figs, apple, persimmon, currant
