Italian Numbered Figs?

TorontoJoe

TorontoJoe

Administrator
Certainly many of you know this but for those who don't..... 

As the story goes, back in the 1980's, Dr. Giorgio Grassi, was doing work with the Istituto Sperimentale per la Frutticoltura. (Institute for Experimental Fruit Growing) in order to stimulate economic development in the Mezzogiorno (southern Italy). Part of that work was in cataloging many fig varieties and determining suitability for cultivation. 

My understanding is that there were many synonyms, and that he ultimately catalogued them with the numbers... 

Later, and I have no idea how they found one another..... Todd Kennedy, a resident of the San Francisco area collected and brought a bunch of them back to the US. The result is the iconic cultivars that we know today as the "Italian Numbered Figs". The most famous of which being the I-258

ITALIAN NUMBERED FIGS

Enough history.... this thread is not about that. I've grown I-258 for years and I love it. My question for all of you is, what if any of the other Italian Numbered Figs are you growing and how do they rate for you?  I'm wondering, this many years on....  which are still being actively grown and where.

*I appreciate that there may be some correction in my account of the story by the "smarty pants" among us.... Please feel free to correct anything if I'm off.
 
Per T. Kennedy, "from group of figs collected by Giorgio Grassi throughout Italy, gave numbers, later gave some names.

Apparently Grassi lost the origins of each. I would have liked to know where the originated.

I grow # 258 and haven’t seen others for sale or talked about much.
 
Very cool to have some back story, I'd like to try some other...had some but left them in the fridge way too long and was unsuccessful rooting them.
May try again this coming cutting season.
 
This seems to happen a lot. There are not that many collector's. And those that do collect only collect certain varieties. And sometime's stop collecting or can't take care of there trees. Either way. Not much is written about why this tree is no longer mentioned. Did it need the wasp? Was it just not good in certain areas? To further this. I once had quite a few Surge unk trees. I think I still have one small one. It is a smryna type I am sure. But it was talked about a lot a one point. Talking about it. Makes me want to make sure I have an extra. Why? Because of post like this. There are many in this group. Been awhile since any one mention them.
 
I read that Kennedy donated specimens to the US National Germplasm Repository but I don't see mention on their website.
 
It's been a long time but I think @"Figaholics"#29 may have had a bunch of them..... Harvey? Are you still growing many of these?
 
No surprise that there is not much info left.  Any fig collection will get diluted.  Look back at all the LSU mess.  

When in circulation, all wholesalers, garden center, hobbyists and amateurs can make mistakes.  There is no yardstick to verify any.

Most of the varieties mentioned in Conde's book have been out of circulation.  

If someone digs up an Italian 189, we would have no idea if that is genuine.
 
Harvey in the past has had quite a few of them for sale. I grow I-376 in addition to I-258. The description of it in that document is not quite accurate to me. There’s no way it’s Panache, not even close, so I find it curious that is listed there. Unless there’s another Panache? I’ll have to do some research on that…

I’ve never rated it more than a 3 out of 5, but it does produce fairly well. Taste is nothing noteworthy for me at this time.

Here are some I just pulled off this morning, late season puny ones, but it’s a visual of one version of them. They’re actually a little lighter, not quite so dark, but the indoor lighting messed with my camera.



Click for original
IMG-2003.jpg
 
Inflorescence said:
Harvey in the past has had quite a few of them for sale. I grow I-376 in addition to I-258. The description of it in that document is not quite accurate to me. There’s no way it’s Panache, not even close, so I find it curious that is listed there. Unless there’s another Panache? I’ll have to do some research on that…

I’ve never rated it more than a 3 out of 5, but it does produce fairly well. Taste is nothing noteworthy for me at this time.

Here are some I just pulled off this morning, late season puny ones, but it’s a visual of one version of them. They’re actually a little lighter, not quite so dark, but the indoor lighting messed with my camera.



Click for original
IMG-2003.jpg
Click to expand...

Thank you. Exactly the sort of feedback I was hoping for. I’m hoping Harvey has the opportunity to share the fate of some of the others
 
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