If you could only pick one...

Steven J.

Steven J.

Well-known member
Alright, lets have some fun.

I know this is one of the toughest questions to answer, but it is o so fun to hear everyone's different answers.

Scenario:

There is an emergency. Your City/town has just been asked to evacuate. Suddenly, fiction has become reality and you are now in a "post-apocalyptic " world scenario. You grab your things, food, water, clothes, etc. And you head out the door without knowing when you might be allowed back into your home, if ever. As far as you know, you could be out in the wilderness indefinitely. On your way out, you see your set of pruners, and you have just enough time to get a branch off of one fig to take with you.

Which one do you choose and why?
 
I will start.

As for me, this is my first year getting fruit and I only got to taste a few. However, I think I know which one I would choose; Feather River. That fig has impressed me so much with its vigor, and ease of rooting. That must be a great survival fig for my area. The reviews are also great reassurance.
 
Your scenario was a reality for me. Not apocalyptic but felt like it. We sold our house in beginning of August. Buyers wanted to close end of August but gave us time limit to find a house. Found one September 15 and our buyer wanted to close September 23. We had exactly 1week to pack and move out. We had a 1600 sq ft house with oversized 2 car garage, big attic plus shed and was moving to a 900 sq ft house no garage no shed no basement. Talk about going nuts. Trees were the last thing on my mind but we took only 3 inground fig trees, Sal’s G, OC Celeste, LSU Tiger and our persimmon and Jujube tree and 8 container fig trees that’s all that could fit into the U Haul truck. Weird but the rest of the inground and containers and possessions we couldn’t take we don’t miss at all. But of the 3 inground fig trees I chose if I could only have 1 I would have chosen Sal’s G.
 
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This one was a little hard for me because I feel like I am forgetting an important variety, haha. Don’t get old, you lose your brains! 🤪

But if we’re talking survival here, we want early fruiting both in terms of season and growth, continuous fruiting throughout the season, a decent sized crop… Both Casolare and Kesariani come to mind. Joualle Ambre could be a third if there was time and all three are conveniently next to each other at the moment. JA is not necessarily the best tasting, but it produces and grows well.

The other options that come to mind are LSU Strawberry and SMGG— both earlier adriatics that produce a good crop. Not my favorite adriatics for taste, but still, this is survival here…

I have officially given you 5 varieties instead of one as a true fig nerd and collector does. 😂 So if I have to choose one, probably Casolare.

Feather River hasn’t fruited for me in 3 years!! And I have 3 of them, plus Yolo Bypass. So, I can’t say that would be my choice, I may die of starvation first if I take cuttings from mine. So I will have to barter with you for fruit if the time comes upon us, hehe.
 
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ktrain said:
I would assume that we would end up near our homes somewhere.
To grab something that will survive here through Georgia seasons...I'd most likely grab an Etna.
May sound boring but they are proven to be survivors and the taste is pretty darn good.
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Wise choice, that's why I chose Sal'G. It's now finished it's 5th leaf and first year it produced quite a few nice size figs and were absolutely delicious. Not to mention cold hardy.
 
ktrain said:
I would assume that we would end up near our homes somewhere.
To grab something that will survive here through Georgia seasons...I'd most likely grab an Etna.
May sound boring but they are proven to be survivors and the taste is pretty darn good.
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That is an excellent choice. I mean, from my understanding, many immigrants also made that choice.
 
Inflorescence said:
This one was a little hard for me because I feel like I am forgetting an important variety, haha. Don’t get old, you lose your brains! 🤪

But if we’re talking survival here, we want early fruiting both in terms of season and growth, continuous fruiting throughout the season, a decent sized crop… Both Casolare and Kesariani come to mind. Joualle Ambre could be a third if there was time and all three are conveniently next to each other at the moment. JA is not necessarily the best tasting, but it produces and grows well.

The other options that come to mind are LSU Strawberry and SMGG— both earlier adriatics that produce a good crop. Not my favorite adriatics for taste, but still, this is survival here…

I have officially given you 5 varieties instead of one as a true fig nerd and collector does. 😂 So if I have to choose one, probably Casolare.

Feather River hasn’t fruited for me in 3 years!! And I have 3 of them, plus Yolo Bypass. So, I can’t say that would be my choice, I may die of starvation first if I take cuttings from mine. So I will have to barter with you for fruit if the time comes upon us, hehe.
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🤣 5 figs! Answered like a true collector.

You know, I had no idea Feather River was such a late fruiter. That makes me want to reconsider. I guess if we are talking straight performance, I would have to choose Olympian. It is the only one that fruited like crazy for me its first year.

If the time comes, I would definitely barter 😁
 
Figgerlickinggood said:
Your scenario was a reality for me. Not apocalyptic but felt like it. We sold our house in beginning of August. Buyers wanted to close end of August but gave us time limit to find a house. Found one September 15 and our buyer wanted to close September 23. We had exactly 1week to pack and move out. We had a 1600 sq ft house with oversized 2 car garage, big attic plus shed and was moving to a 900 sq ft house no garage no shed no basement. Talk about going nuts. Trees were the last thing on my mind but we took only 3 inground fig trees, Sal’s G, OC Celeste, LSU Tiger and our persimmon and Jujube tree and 8 container fig trees that’s all that could fit into the U Haul truck. Weird but the rest of the inground and containers and possessions we couldn’t take we don’t miss at all. But of the 3 inground fig trees I chose if I could only have 1 I would have chosen Sal’s G.
Click to expand...
Wow! That sounds like quite a situation to be in. It sounds like you really did live it. It's so cool that you truly found some varieties that are your favorites, so much so that you didn't miss the others.
 
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If I was assured other sustenance and the fig would be just for, 'the best fig' - I-258

If I depended on it for nutrition and survival... producing the most figs to keep my family fed. Niagara Black or Impelizzieri. Probably the highest net weight of fruit per season in a pot.... for me

If I were bizarre rich and I got past the zombies.... escaping on my yacht to a safe island just south of sicily.... Nero di Rocca :)
 
TorontoJoe said:
If I was assured other sustenance and the fig would be just for, 'the best fig' - I-258

If I depended on it for nutrition and survival... producing the most figs to keep my family fed. Niagara Black or Impelizzieri. Probably the highest net weight of fruit per season in a pot.... for me

If I were bizarre rich and I got past the zombies.... escaping on my yacht to a safe island just south of sicily.... Nero di Rocca :)
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😂 It sounds like you have given this some thought. Those are some good choices. You should name your yacht the s.s. Mobile Nursery.
 
I think I would go with RdB. It's early, dependable, productive, and cold hardy. I really enjoy the flavor. It was one of my first figs so I also have some nostalgia for it.

The other reason would be that (assuming no fiery incident) I see lots of Etna's, Celestes, Sals, and even Adriatics growing in the area. I could easily rebuild with some of those but I've yet to see another rdb randomly growing in someone's yard.

Smith would be a close second, and probably #1 if it was hardier.
 
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