Fig ID Please

Hello,
me again, the fig novice. Don & I thought our 2 fig trees which were given to us by the same person, were the same variety. Today I discovered little brown figs on the tree that has not given us figs before this year.

Here is a picture, my other tree was Id'ed as a Madonna and we get lots of big green figs off that one. But I am excited to see the difference in the other figs from tree 2. Could these be brown turkey? They are yummy, taste more like a plum than the green figs.

Help is greatly appreciated.

Susan

Susan, there are dozens if not hundreds of fig varieties, so it is very hard (and risking inaccuracy) to trfy to identify a fig varety from a picture. Just look at a few a fellow in Canada is growing -

http://www.adrianosfigtrees.com/varieties.html

I will say the picture doesn't resemble the Brown Turkey fruits I have seen.

Thanks. Not a real helpful site. If you are in the USA you can ask questions. But thanks anyway.

I only showed that site for the pictures to illustrate the wide diversity in types. Here 's another grower with pictures -

http://www.figtrees.net

and another -

http://www.raintreenursery.com/catalog/producttype.cfm?producttype=FIGS

You might be able to trace the trees variety by asking the person who gave it to you where it was obtained. If from a nursery, you'd have a better chance of an accurate identification. Also, you could ask a Master Gardener group or a county extension agent.

Thanks Yuska. I will do that too. Usually it is faster to get some folks here to give insight.

Susan
It looks exactly like my LSU purple and brown turkey but as Yuska states it could be any of a very wide variety of purple figs. Reminds me of my daughter’s dog pound adoption venture .For several months they compared the newly adopted dog to known breeds by eye color, curved tail and hair color but the bottom line was that they fell in love with this poor pup from the dog pound on character and loving obedience. If you like this fig then it is easily propagated and equally easy to change venue by grafting. If you like this fig and want to keep it then what importance would a name improve the taste of a ripe fig? Name, variety, cultivars, how about Susan Purple?
Oldude

Oldude, I like it!!
Susan Purple. Who would know the difference, huh? I am taking lots of cuttings to root and make babies cause I want alot of these trees. It is awesome! Seems to be a slower grower than my green fig tree and as you can see by the photo gives much smaller figs. But this is the first year there is a good supply of them. I am so excited, cause for 3 years we thought we had 2 trees that same variety. Now we know they are different. It is much sweeter almost a plum flavor to it, very rich. Yummy. I am correct in my knowledge that I take cuttings in late Winter Early Spring while still dormant and just put in a good potting soil in pots, right? I have a greenhouse so I thought I would put all the pots in the greenhouse. I have a heat mat should I put the pots on the mat while establishing roots?

Susan
Figs are such an amazing fruit that you just have to put them in a category all by themselves. They don’t need bees for pollination but bees do love to feed on the overripe fruit.
It is recommended that 8- 10-inch pieces from two to three-year-old wood about three quarters of an inch in diameter be cut in winter or early spring. They can be placed in pots in a warm location, or they can be set out in the ground where they can remain permanently. They will need to be kept moist, but not wet. Figs like good drainage.
I don’t know if you knew this but, the outer wall of the fig "fruit" is really a specialized stem, and in the cavity, a number of tiny flowers sprout. This is known botanically as a syconium. They won't do well if the temperature goes below 20 degrees for an extended time. So it would be best to keep them inside for the hard winter and set them out in the spring after freeze danger has past. Mature trees can usually survive but may have some damage that will affect that year's crop.
Figs need plenty of sunlight to have maximum fruit production, and they prefer morning light so as to dry off the leaves. Celeste, which is the most cold hardy, and is very productive and is my favorite fig.
You really need to be vigilant when picking figs. Here in the deep south figs picking begins in the second week of July and picking every couple of days is best to avoid overripe figs. If you see clear liquid seeping through the center orifice of the fig it’s too late because internal fermentation had started. Soft texture and color are key to ripe figs so you need to check every day.
Figs in the Deep South and probably in North Carolina can grow to 20’ tall so you will need a fig-picking tool. You can do this by cutting a V notch in a 12-16 ounce tin can, which is attached to a pole. The V needs to be sharpened so as to cut the stem of the fig when pushed upwards.
Fig season does not last very long, maybe three to four weeks and they are gone. Birds and bees will take their share of the croup so you need to anticipate this by planting 30 to 40% more than you consume. If you pick every day you can reduce the percentage of waste to birds and bees. I apologize for rambling along here but if you want a bulletproof great tasting fig, it’s Celeste
Oldude

Thank you so much. Great informationa dn clear and concise. I am starting cuttings because I hope to be moving back to my home state of Massachusetts at the end of next Summer, so I want to start some for future planting. Our two trees are about 5 years old so old enough to take cuttings. From the sound of it I guess I do not have to use root hormone or anything other than stick them in the potting mix and keep warm and moist, not wet.

Thanks again for all the tips.

Susan