Some of my favorites for Houston

[Brandon87]

I haven’t been that active in a while, just thought I’d drop in and say hello. I started out with around 60 varieties to try out about 6 years ago. I’ve got it narrowed down to my 20 or so favorite. Some were fantastic if everything was perfect (like BM kk) but just didn’t work out well in our rainy/humid climate. Anyways thought I’d share a few pics and name my top 5. I don’t have pics of everything I’ve kept but maybe this will help someone else decide what to get if they live in conditions like mine.

My top 5 in order are Smith, Adriatic JH, CDDN, Hollier, LDA if no rain within 2 days of ripening.

What are your top 5, and what is your region?

[goodfriendmike]

Those look great! Welcome back man

[Newbie2figs]

Welcome back to the forum!

Mario
9A Tx

[BrandonP]

Battaglia is as good as Adriatic JH for me (both are great), but Battaglia is maybe a little larger. Both are better than Strawberry Verte here (more complex, less splitting).
Mt. Edna's like MBVS and St. Rita really stand out as great in our environment. MBVS may be my favorite considering all aspects (early, cold hardy, prolific, great fresh and dried, split resistance, breba crop, vigorous growth). All around awesome.
VdB, Smith, Celeste, Improved Celeste, and most LSU figs are each good here.
Socorro Black is a family favorite, while I-258 gives such a unique, complex taste I would not want to be without it.
Don't have a CdD fig yet to comment. Like BMkk probably, Preto is great but splits much too easily.

[Bellefleurs]

Brandon, you need to add a CdD to your collection. CdD Gris is my favorite.
Reach out to me around cutting season if you need some.

[Brandon87]

BrandonP I have a friend that is just getting started in College Station, if you ever want to sell/trade anything let me know. 😜

[BrandonP]

Bellefleurs Thanks, will do.
Brandon87 My wife would love it if I found a new home for some of my potted duplicates! I have a number of extras of great unknown locals (likely Celeste), Improved Celeste, Green Ischia, Strawberry Verte, LSU Purple and more. Containers from 5 to 30 gallons.

[Bellefleurs]

I’m in Houston as well.
Its really great to hear feedback such as yours because I where you were before you narrowed your favorites down. My favorites so far have been CdD gris, BMKK, Paretjal Rimada, Bourjasotte B/N and Smith. I still have a bunch that haven’t ripened yet and my trees are young.

[Otis]

I think many of us, except the hard core 'collectors' will eventually follow that path.

[Brandon87]

Bellefleurs I have cddb and cddn. My CDDG was unfortunately the one from Herman back in the day that ended up not being true to type. Is it that much better than Blanc and Noir?

[Bellefleurs]

My CdD Blanc hasn’t yet ripened. Both Noir and Gris are grafted (although I also have Gris, Roja, and Rimada in ground). I do find that Gris is sweeter than Noir.

[Brandon87]

Bellefleurs, I might have to get with you for cutting season 😜

[Rudypayraise]

Great of you to let the forum know which ones work better for rainy/humid conditions. Figs look good.

[FigTex]

Thanks for sharing! I really enjoy these top 5 lists, especially when someone has so many years of experience and varieties under their belt.

[TNJed]

Thanks Brandon, these reports are very helpful especially for southern figgers. Salce is one that we don’t hear much about - what is the flavor/any special characteristics for that one?

[Brandon87]

TNJed, it’s very good when the confitions aren’t too bad. My #2 honey fig after Hollier. I consider my Scott’s Yellow to be the same as Hollier. If they are different, I can’t tell. Salce is like a complex mix between Honey and Sugar. I started out with 6 or 7 honey figs and I’m about to narrow it down to just Hollier/SY and Salce. Salce is really a roll of the dice sort of like my LDA where if it rains while ripening it’s all over. When it is good, it’s great. My champagne I tried to kill this past winter and it grew back to 15 feet high. I’ll try again this winter. If anyone needs any Champagne cuttings for pickup let me know.

[BrandonP]

What don't you like about Champagne? Splitting or something else? I have it, but it is only in its second year.

[arachyd]

Thank you for the flavor description. I literally just finished eating and making notes on the first ripe Salce from my 6-year-old in-ground tree a few minutes ago. I was having a lot of trouble determining exactly what I was tasting. Honey/sugar nailed it.

[Brandon87]

6 years to get your first fig? I got some off mine in the first year. 2nd year probably got 100

[Brandon87]

BrandonP to me it’s just average flavor. Not really very sweet at all. Not much flavor either. It takes up a huge amount of space(twice as big as my 2nd biggest tree even after chopping it down early spring). It would make some good rootstock though. I much prefer Hollier and Salce flavor if I want honey figs. About the only thing good in my eyes is that it doesn’t spoil as easy as Salce.

[BrandonP]

Thanks. Mine is growing like crazy. One of my biggest trees too. I will probably have to prune it significantly this winter.