New fig varieties on FigBid I've never heard of...

[DCoonsis]

Just came across some interesting new fig varieties Mammoth Jam and Banana Fig..are they a new variety?

[Michael]

I Googled Mammoth Jam fig just for the fun of it, and the only entry that came up was the tree listed on Figbid. $600.00 from a seller with a rating of 5 - just saying.

I know nothing about this, so I can only speak from my own opinion. If anyone wants to pay that much for an unknown variety, good luck to you. I'll pass.

[arachyd]

Banana fig is a real variety. There is more than one so I can't say which is the rare one. I have one that was sold to me as Banana but it hasn't fruited yet.

[bullet08]

have you try pinching?

[arachyd]

Yes but it's only a couple of years old. My trees take years to fruit because my property is very shaded.

[arachyd]

Just to follow up, my little tree did finally ripen 2 figs. They were medium-small, pale yellow, had hardly any seed crunch and the pulp was the color (not the taste) of mashed banana. These figs are extremely sweet honey figs with a soft skin so definitely not a Kadota. bullet08 pinching won't help. My property had extremely limited sunshine so my figs typically take a very long time to fruit.

[Rudypayraise]

I think there's a post Ive read here about the banana fig. Supposedly it was grown in Seabrook, TX since early 1900s. It was also found at nurseries in Houston under that name. There was some assumption that the Houston version was actually kadota being sold under banana fig but the real banana fig was yellow with red interior. I've never seen it and I'm from Texas. Now I'll have to look at the listing online. I'd like to know if any members know more on this or actually own one.

I checked the listing and the seller is from Conroe TX which is literally outside of Houston. Theres no description of the interior color. But if someone's selling a banana fig and it's from that area then it's definitely a great chance it's the real deal.

[ginamcd]

According to the listing the seller says they sourced Mammoth Jam from Papua New Guinea.

They are also selling one they call Purple Passion Fig that they say came from Cambodia. I found a F4F thread from 2016 on Purple Passion Fig -http://figs4funforum.arghchive.com/p...on-fig-8218486

[Bellefleurs]

I would consider neither the banana fig nor Purple Passion “rare”.
Both can be found at local nurseries in the Houston area. I was told (at two different locations) that the locals refer to Kadota as “banana fig”.
Purple Passion is a dwarf that grows vigorously. My tree is around 7 years old with a very thick trunk. It has a sprawling growth habit so it serves as the perfect rootstock for my “frankenfig”.
The fruit remind me of Brown Turkey and they are more red than purple.

[ginamcd]

Here's more on Purple Passion from 2012 and 2016where it says it was found on an estate after the owner died, and that it was sold by a wholesaler at some point. Some thought it was Brown Turkey and others said it was different - http://figs4funforum.arghchive.com/p...on-fig-5812996

[Bellefleurs]

Gina, thank you for sharing this additional information.
Several years ago I reached out to Treesearch Farms (the wholesaler who provided my tree) and requested more information about Purple Passion but they were unable (or unwilling) to share.
It’s a very pretty tree and the fruit reminds me of Texas blue giant, somewhat. Both are trees with a sprawling growth habit that produce large red figs. Not purple and not blue. Red. The fruit has a cavity (like brown turkey) and the flesh is light pink. It’s not as sweet as most of my other figs but it makes a nice jam.
Excellent rootstock for my more premium figs. 😉

[MJFIGS]

You need a mammoth bank account to buy these too 😅

[JMF75]

😂😂😂

[figgarooni]

Isn't it a little strange that there's no fruit pics? I imagine if I had this exotic oversea tree I legally sourced, I would at least have fruit pictures. He offers a description of the taste, so he's tried them before. Also the fact that most of his trees are common, but he has one super rare exotic fig. Lastly, the username snailfarts just exudes the professionalism of a 20 year fig hunter/farmer.

[ginamcd]

It's getting to where our advice to newbies needs to be that they can't always blindly trust what they see on Figbid as legitimate, and that they still need to do their homework, including vetting varieties/sellers here, before they hit the bid/buy button.

[TheMillennialGardener]

I would urge against buying any fig that "sounds new" that doesn't have a strong, well-known record or isn't a verified new seedling. Figs get renamed all the time, especially in other countries.

It's different if you want to take a gamble on a new wild seedling from California or from some breeding experiment in cross-pollination, but when it comes to figs with new names where they aren't well-known and don't have any background information, I'll pass personally.

[thedrpepperdude]

Hello all,
I got the banana off of figbid the other day. I had read the post about Seaside banana and was interested. I took a gamble just to see what this "Banana" was like. I am still new to figs having started only this year. I have about 20 varieties, mostly from figbid. Snailfarts plant was the nicest plant that I have received so far. This thing is 3 or 4 feet tall, dark green, and loaded with about a dozen figs. I have not received any bad looking plants but this one defiantly bigger and more mature than any of the others. The price wasn't too bad, around $60.
I saw the Purple passion a few days later and paid up for that one, mostly because the other looked so good to me. That is by far the most expensive plant that I have purchased @ $180. It came in looking as good as the other even though it had a rough time in shipping. I will most likely never pay that much again but I had the fever. I will take some fruit pics if I can keep the plants happy long enough to ripen. All in all I am happy with my purchases. I just went thru my figbid account and it looks like I have averaged $44/plant so far and I think I am about done buying.
I don't know Snailfarts or anything like that but I can say he sells good looking plants and packs them very well.
thedrpepperdude (Paul)

[2AngelsMushrooms]

Hi Paul. I'm glad you chimed in here. Clearly there is a lot of curiosity about these fig varieties. I hope you will post some photos on this thread when you are able. It would be very helpful. I hope you enjoy the fruit and I'm glad you received nice healthy trees. That's good to know.

[CaricaChris]

$800 starting bid or $1200 buy-it-now for a fig I've never heard of, especially from a new seller... I'll pass. I personally could never rationalize paying that much for a fig tree, but if someone is willing to pay that, good for them. I just hope they do their due diligence before purchasing.