Jujube's my new obsession

I'm at about 300 fig varieties and counting. I'm sure I'll add a few more along the way. However after picking up the Massandra Jujube from Restoring Eden and a couple of grafted ones through the forum. I have a new appreciation for this fruit.

They have a crunch like and apple and when they dry it tastes a little like a date. The sweetness is by builds after every chew.

So far I only have the following:

Li,


Lang,


Massandra - So Far this variety is the earliest and very productive.


And a couple of unknowns but I think it's time to get a few more. I need to dump a couple of apple and asian pear trees to make space but it should be worth it.

Here's a list of known varieties. I may just be adding a few more from this list in the years to come.

Autumn Beauty
Abbeyville
Black Sea
Coco
Chico
Contorted
GA-866
Honey Jar
Mango Dong Zho
Shanxi Li
Sihong
So
Sugar Cane
Ta Jan
Tsao
Tigertooth
Sherwood
Sui Men
Winter Delight

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say these are all the same fig

I"m sure a handful of people may disagree but based on my experience and research.

I'm going to put it out there that

English brown turkey = olympian = Gene's Vashon = Marlow = Chiapetta / cosenza. Look at these photos and judge for yourself.

English Brown Turkey: (Photo courtesy of Timo)




Gene's Vashon:
 



Olympian
 

Marlow:
 


Chiapetta:
https://www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-home/31557-unk-chiappetta-aka-cosenza-breba




Morena Gustissimo
http://www.shop.zahradnictvolimbach.sk/en/gustissimo-morena-fig-tree

update:

Add these figs to the list.

Bornholm Nexoe Left and Bayenfeige Violetta Right

Fruit on my Unknown 3 Lobe 2018

A few yrs ago I discovered this large tree in Seattle. I took couple cuttings for my own personal use and it has finally produced some fruit after a couple of yrs.

I've been calling it the "3 lobe fig" for years now but after this week I think its some kind of verte / green ischia type fig.

Ripens about 3 weeks later than the Desert King. The skin is quite leathery and the fruit much smaller than the Desert King. 

The size is roughly 22 grams.

The flavor on this fig is really good, very sweet with strong concentrated berry tones. I didn't care for the leathery skin as much. It reminded me much of the verte fig.

 3 lobe unk. (Verte?) Breba (8/23/18) - 2yr old plant

Taste: 7.5

Sweetness: 8

Size: 3 (22 grams)

Productivity: 1

Total = 19.5

Tasting the LSU Jack Lily Fig 2018

I got my Jack Lilly from Ryan in Lousiana.
1 Crop

Picked 8/22/19

It did not fruit last year but man has it exploded with productivity this year. There was anywhere from 3-6 figs per branch.

The beautiful thing about this fig is that it has a month long ripening period. So I'm eating at least 1 jack lily everyday for an entire month. It get's better each time I eat it.

 

Almost 40grams

I originally got this fig because of reports of being super juicy. After tasting these for the first time. I did not get the impression that it was juicy at all. I would compare the flavor to a Lattarula, just much more concentrated and syrupy sweet. It's a good fig by all accounts. Just wouldn't make my top 10 though. The productivity of this fig though is highly desirable.

Jack Lily (8/22/18) 3yr old plant

Taste: 7

Sweetness: 6.5

Size: 4  (39 grams)

Productivity: 4.5

Total = 22

The longer I let these ripen the better it tastes. The sweetness and juiciness improves the more ripe it gets

Jack Lily (9/05/18) 3yr old plant

Taste: 7.5

Sweetness: 7

Size: 4  (39 grams)

Productivity: 4.5

Total = 23

Tasting the Olympian Fig 2018 & my thoughts of climate affecting fruit

I've always been a big advocate of putting a limitation on naming "NEW" fig varieties. It's a proven fact that figs are highly adaptable fruits. They can grow in a wide array of climates. However depending on the environment it grows in the color and fruit shape can be severely affected. 

Check out the Breba on my Grantham's Royal for example. HERE

Based on conversations with my friends who grow figs in Singapore. Black figs sometime do not turn black being grown in a tropical environment. The variance in fig appearance can be quite drastic even within the micro climate of a backyard.

So let's not be too hasty in naming a discovered fig because it looks slightly different from a fig you found through google.

I think there are 4 factors to verifying a fig. 

1. Experience with a true variety
2. Leaf shape
3. Fruit shape
4. And taste

It's hard to ID any fig through pictures alone.

So let's look at the figs below.

Olympian from my tree

Olympian from my brothers tree

Marlow Fig

Gene's Vashon

These all have different names but in my honest opinion they are probably all the same fig. With that being said. It is still a very good fig. Big meaty, melony fig that grow great here. However if you have one of these you do not need the other.

Olympian: Breba (8/24/17) - 4yr old plant

2 crops

Taste: 7.5

Sweetness: 7

Size: 6 (55 grams)

Productivity: .25

Total = 20.75

Tasting the Grantham's Royal Fig 2018

So great news on the Grantham's Royal Fig AKA Dauphine. I left it out for the winter in a pot and it still produced a nice breba. Which makes this another great fig for in ground growing for the PNW.

Picked 8/22/18
Breba Only

I got 3 figs this year on this plant. It's a San Pedro type so you can remove any main crops of this fig.

The fruit had a much different shape though compared to the breba from 2017. The 2017 Breba was much sexier in my opinion. I think it was because it ripened in the greenhouse last year.

2017

2018

Weighs in at 42grams half the size of last years breba. (77)

It took few years before I got ripe fruit from this fig and it wasn't always reliable. The first yr it dropped all of it's fruit. The 2nd year 75% of the brebas were bad or split. And the 3rd year it's improved but now the brebas are only half of the size of last yrs fruit. 

Is it a good fig? YES!

The sweetness and flavor have definitely improved moving into the 3rd year. Sweet honey and light berry tones. Very rich and lingering syrupy texture.

Granthams Royal: Breba (8/22/18) 2yr old plant
Breba only

Taste: 8

Sweetness: 7.5

Size: 5  (42.2 grams)

Productivity: 1

Total = 21.5

Other fruits around the garden

I know I can get a bit wrapped up around figs but I do have other fruits as well.

Akane Apple

Kiwis

Kens Red Kiwi

Oh and this strange unknown breba

Italian Plums are almost ripe

Rubinette Apples ready for the picking