Yeah I believe thats how LSU did their crosses. Something should work. It would be a neat thing to do on the side as an experiment. My parents know a family down in CA that have wild figs on their place(they grow a citrus orchard), i know some of them, i should try to talk them in to getting into something like that! 
But i doubt they have timeā¦
Wouldnt it be a similar process like was done to get a RosseyxDV male and use it to pollinate new kaki like to get RosseyxSaijo etc?
So cross a Florea x Male, get a bunch of 1/2 Florea male and at this point it would be great to trial a bunch of males and see which ones take the most cold, and then use the hardiest male to cross to say Malta, Etna, Florea, Improved Celeste. Etc. Then grow them out z6 you might get some common figs that make some worthwile fruit, as well as finding new males with cold hardy characteristics.
Yeah it would take time just like any breeding process. And I guess your chances of something significantly better cold hardiness than what we already have is a lot lower than the hybrid persimmon likelihood was. Is there a cold hardy wild fig say in Asia to begin with as a parent to tap in to as was tapped into D.Virginia to get great hybrids?
At ourfigs we are experimenting with crosses. I have Paradiso seed and they germinated quickly. I have about six seedlings now. The male is known but I canāt remember which? One that had the gene though for common figs. Itās a great variety. Iām not really interested in cold hardiness myself. I grow in containers and want the best tasting figs I can find. I love the Col de Dame figs and just ripened a Col de Dame Blanca/Negra. The earliest of them all. Itās starting to ripen now. I like Gris better but still is better than most other figs.
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In any case
Iād like to get a fertilized 2nd crop Fig of Desert King, to try up here.
Desert King does great
biggest flaw is susceptibility to rot
if we get a rare July rain.
There are wasps in LA. Seedlings can be found in several locations and various people have reported having the wasp.
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Good idea 
It is interesting to read this thread. Those names are all beautiful, but I get more and more confused as to which is which.
In the East and most other part of the country, when we find a fig variety that we canāt tell, we mark it with the street name like the āReservoirā, or town name, or girlfriend/boyfriend name and attach with āunknownā. Those new seedling varieties carry none of those conventions. Finders can name them whatever the way they want. Then they get distributed for $1,000 or so before they are tested as common or Smyrna. This practice clearly smells coin. Some say it is common practice in wasp country that some known mother fig trees would be quickly hacked to death by fig hungers after they are discovered. And some others would say that if you do not hack them to death, city governments will cut them down anywayā¦
Do not get me wrong here. Iāll be happy to trial some of them. During the mean time, I just do not think things will end well when someone found out that the fig tree does not do well in his region after spending $1,000 on a couple fig cuttings or a 6" tall plant in a 4"x9" tree pot.
Not sure I understand your concern about naming. In the East if you find a random fig tree, it is highly unlikely it is a seedling. Most of the times you should be able to track it down to a named variety. So, I understand naming it with a āunknownā tag. In California, there are a lot of seedling figs and if one is confirmed or likely to be a seedling (like Boysenberry Blush that Jon discovered) whatās wrong in naming it yourself? I donāt see a difference between that and seed-grown stone fruits named by nurseries or other growers. Iām sure all the existing/old fig varieties are named seedlings as well discovered in the past (except for a few that came out of breeding programs like LSU).
Iām saying ālikely a seedlingā as without genetic tests, itās not 100% guaranteed to be a seedling. However, growing on a riverbank among thorny wild blackberry bushes is most likely to be a seedling (as in the case of BB). Just to be clear - Iām not commenting on the price or market for seedling figs and only use BB as an example as I know about itās history more.
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As I said above, certainly there are some new seedlings in wasp country. The question is how long we should trial those new seedlings to make sure they are true to the type (common, Smyrna etc) before they get distributed. I see just the opposite. Naming it first without stating āunknownā, sell at auction site. Then let buyers determine their types. Here are some videos about the Golden Rainbow episodes. That was not related to seedling, but clearly new fig or old fig.
I get some friends in Greece and Spain. They see wild figs all the time. They consider them like just the orange tree in Florida. Sometimes they see some strangers in their towns to cut fig trees. They chase them away.
This is just my observation or my 2 cents. It is really none of my business with what others doā¦
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Thanks for the clarification. I understand your point now. Yes, it would be good to have a naming convention until a seedling fig is confirmed to be a Common/Smyrna/San Pedro, etc
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I saw someone glue a Kadota onto a BT and claimed it was a seedling. Sounds comical, but there was never any question at all about it because this person had elevated their social status by giving away plants and cuttings to supporters.
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Los Santos 2 A wild fig that seems to be named after the city it was found in appears to be common. Cuttings from wilds were given to me, note given as in free to trial here In Michigan. First figs were bland but it rained like crazy. I need 2 to 3 fruiting years to really give an opinion on it. Greenest fig I have seen when ripe. Most of the greens and Adriaticās have some yellow when ripe. Itās a first leaf plant so color may change with maturity. Nice strong healthy plant. Only time will tell if I keep it. Iāll give it three years to win me over.
The two other wilds Iām testing are green figs too. One was hard to root. Finally got a take. I also have seven seedlings from the female Paradiso to test if we can get a common. Seeds germinated quickly
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Drew,
The above fig looks like my Atreano/Lyndhurst White. Photo appears more pink/red than actual. How does yours taste?
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Atreano gets that purple layer near the rind on brebas sometimes, looks good but not a sign of tastiness ime. I am assuming the picture circulating of Los Santos 2 with the purple is a breba also.
LS2 is a smaller fig than Atreano. Also the fig has a CdD like neck and Atreano is completely different with no neck. They look nothing alike. I culled my Atreano because I didnāt care for it fresh or dried. LS2 flavor was similar to an Adriatic. I need more to ripen in better conditions. The tree has three or four more not ripe. Although first year figs can be nothing like 2nd year figs. Flavor can improve over five years on some fruiting plants. In a 3 gallon pot. Only an eastern exposure. Where I keep young trees to stabilize. It will get full sun next year. All I wanted to do this year is confirm itās common.
I do want a couple of big figs for drying and went with Golden Rainbow and Dalmatie. Iām right now getting about 50 figs a day itās keeping me busy! I have 4 full trays of figs drying now. I dry any fig I donāt plan to eat fresh. I give a lot away to my friends too.
Hereās a recent Dalmatie
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@RedSun , those two figs have one thing in common, they are both green, nothing else. There are thousands of seedlings around here, all different shapes, sizes and colors, I even found a striped fig seedling. But only a few are exceptional, most are dry and not memorable. So when I find a fig that I know is a seedling, that is exceptionally good, and cuttings have not been taken, I can name that fig, simple as that. Also, I have testers around the country that I send cuttings to, and many send me feedback on the quality, and whether they are common or not before selling any product. In fact, I have only auctioned 3 BB trees so far, and no other of my newer seedling finds, even though I know they are probably common figs. Some pics of recent finds, these are the exceptional onesā¦.
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Iām not saying folks canāt name figs they find. There is no fig regulation. Anyone can name fig varieties and sell them at FigBid. Iām no fig police. I just wonder what happens if every fig hunter names his/her own fig.
All we need is some Youtube social account, some audience, some followers and ātastersā. We have seen the Burgan Unknown, Robertās Golden Rainbow etc. I just find those gaming silly to me.
Sure some people have ruined the fig hunter reputation. But this is the reality. When money is involved, everything changes.
Seems to me the existing āsystemā of managing new seedling finds by type and quality works as well as, and is as non-invasive as, any other reasonable plan would be.
The only people who need to be concerned about the type (common/Smyrna) or quality of a seedling find are people interested in the new find. Those people make the market who set the price for these finds. And they benefit from active and (relatively) functional forums for discussion and comparison. All such forums contain entries from conservative interested parties stating that they will wait until the community has corroborated the initial claims and the market has become more affordable.
This creates an open and free exchange for people who are able to pursue their enthusiasm. I consider this better than having hidden back room ātestersā determining for me what is and is not worth my pursuit. But, I acknowledge that there is the possibility that that kind of system could potentially release higher quality fruits at reasonable frequencies. I just am personally a bit turned off by that kind of exclusivity. I want to run free in my hobby.
The downside seems to be people sometimes end up unhappy with the type or quality of their fruits. These people can be tomorrowās conservative voices of waiting for more information and better prices. But I donāt understand the level of concern about protecting naive buyers. Weāve all been there. Itās not so bad.
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The problem with these wild CA figs is that many of them are pollinated, while most growers in the rest of the country donāt have the wasp. Even worse, is the unrealistic expectations that buyers have who live outside of CA. These figs are RARELY going to perform in the East as they do in CA. That applies to many figs, not just the wild ones.
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Meet el gordo, one of my seedlings that produced for the first time this year. It had a couple of brebas and the main crop is still going.
The brebaās were rather insipid and I didnāt have much of an expectation for the main. However main turned out rather good.
The first of the main crop was the size of my entire palm, hence the name. Itās a potted tree that was treated better after the breba. I waited a day too long to harvest. I should have taped off the rather large eye it had.
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