Here’s a list of figs I’ve designated as “keepers” (varieties to keep).
Are there any you feel different about, or would add?
Some of them require the wasp.
“Keepers” fig list (a Google sheet)
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I love my hardy Chicago. I am glad to see you left brown turkey off the list
Decades ago it was circulated as Hearty Chicago, but then a commercial seller changed the label to attract more customers. “Chicago” referred to a person, not a location. It’s a good tasting fig here.
Love that your “short list” of keeper figs is pages long. You have a few listed that are new to me and also a lot I’ve heard about or have. Of course, we all know taste is subjective and some that are good in one geographic region are terrible at other locations. I’ve got some cuttings of Malta Black growing and I’m looking forward to trying that one. Best tasting figs I’ve ever grown are Battaglia and I see it made your list. Hoping to get a bigger crop of them this year and add a few more bushes from amongst the 45 cuttings I’m currently rooting.
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Here’s some more keepers. I’m a bit fig crazy, so keep that in mind…
De la Gloria
Violette de Sollies
Eve’s Black Cherry
Joualle Rouge
Golden Rainbow
Harry’s Crete
Ponte Tresa
Col de Dame Noir
Figo Preto / Black Madeira
Tia Penya
Borda Barraquer
Balafi
Miralla
Del Sen Jaume Gran
Cosme Manyo
Ischia Black
Calderona
Eventually, I’ll have to let go of my orchard of figs. At that time, I’ll get more realistic about having a shorter keeper list by necessity.
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I only have brown turkey in my yard and have enjoyed its bountiful and sweet harvest yearly. I was surprised that it didn’t make the long list and then to find out someone else pointed out it was rightly left off the list…now I’m wondering what I’ve been missing out all these years with other varieties.
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Blue Celeste — I removed my tree, figs are too small to bother, flavor is ok, but not special.
Desert King and Panache Tiger are keepers for me.
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I have a short list of keepers:
VdB
Deanna
Smith
Cherry Cordial
There are potentially some others, but the tree is too young or I’ve only had one or two figs off of it.
Figs I will be getting rid of:
Excel
White Genoa
Peter’s Honey
Osborne Prolific
BB#10
For whatever reason, these figs do not resonate with us. It could be just where they are sitting in my yard, but we haven’t particularly enjoyed the fruit or the tree hasn’t done well.
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Brown turkey is considered more of a commercial fig, while any perfectly ripened fig is delicious, when it comes to “top tier” figs, its not as tasty.
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Zidi in Tunisia and Bursa Durdane in Turkey are considered top tier.
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I’ve heard a bit about Mary Lane but don’t see it on any lists so far. Any comments?
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I tasted Mary Lane at Prusch Park a couple years ago. I am not growing it. There was an old-ish man picking figs and I tried starting a conversation with him. He wasn’t very interested in conversation but a bit later he got to the Mary Lane Seedless tree and called me over. He gave me one fruit and said it was perfect, that any of the other fruit would need to sit on the counter for a few days. That dude knows his figs. That one fruit was perfect. Incredible jammy texture and delicious flavor. All the other fruit on the Mary Lane were fine but didn’t knock my socks off.
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Zidi was brought to Condit’s program in Riverside almost a century ago. All instances in the U.S. are likely derived from it. It is DFIC 36 at NCGR Davis.
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Great list, i’ve got a VDB and an olympia im waiting to try out. Kinda worried not seeing the olympia on your list.
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Out of my 40-something varieties:
San Miguel Roxo, Smith, Preto & a Sicilian family heirloom from a neighbor. (His grandfather brought it when he immigrated 100+ years ago)
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Do the Fig trees at Prusch Park have ID labels?
Nothing wrong with a Brown Turkey or a lot of other commonly grown fig trees. Many of the so called “top tier” figs are often over hyped and low yielding. Of course, there is always a new “must have” variety being promoted.
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Yes, I’d like to cull some from this list.
Some of them. And, famously, a Violette de Bordeaux (or something very similar to Violette de Bordeaux) is mislabeled as Black Ischia. This is regularly distributed at CRFG scion exchanges.
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That one is a petit Negri. Get distributed as Black Ischia??? ( with the 3 question marks) in scion exchanges
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