Mt Etna

ktrain said:
Is NdE considered an Etna?
I have it but have not had figs from it....yet.
But I though they were VERY small figs fully ripe.
Click to expand...

To me it seemed to be. It produced a load of figs and they were very good…. But yeah…. Really puny. I didn’t even bother keeping Little Ruby for this reason…. I think that’s an Etna as well, no?
 
TorontoJoe said:
To me it seemed to be. It produced a load of figs and they were very good…. But yeah…. Really puny. I didn’t even bother keeping Little Ruby for this reason…. I think that’s an Etna as well, no?
Click to expand...
Never had Little Ruby, I do have a lot of NdE this year, if it's that small I probably won't keep it.
Especially if it's Etna-esque. :)
 
ktrain said:
Now I grew Crozes for a couple of years, one year it seemed to be "like " an Etna and another year it didn't.
I wasn't really that impressed with it, but maybe I should have given it more time.

I have read arguments that it is not an Etna, while others have said it should be classified as such.
As for me....I tend to lean on the side that says it is Etna like in looks and flavor.
Click to expand...
I've questioned that as well. The leaves are very much like Etna; they look and feel the same, with a gritty/rough surface and the characteristic white dots all over them. However, my Crozes seemed to ripen a bit earlier than other Mt Etnas last year and tasted better to me than other Etnas. Primarily because of the peach flavor, which we all liked. In general, I found Crozes tasted better then my other Etnas. Of course, taste is very personal, but still. Both of my Crozes trees were in their first year last season and produced two flushes of fruit. Both were outstanding to me. Also, they were larger than my other Etnas. I want to see how they are this year, as I've had some varieties that were larger in their first year but then decreased in the following years. I can't wait to taste them again this year, but they probably won't ripen before August since I didn't give them a long headstart.
 
TorontoJoe said:
I’ve never grown this one. If you can take pics some time I’d love to see the interior
Click to expand...
Here are a few from last year taken at different times.

berries-13.jpg

berries-14.jpg

berries-16.jpg
 
ktrain said:
Now I grew Crozes for a couple of years, one year it seemed to be "like " an Etna and another year it didn't.
I wasn't really that impressed with it, but maybe I should have given it more time.

I have read arguments that it is not an Etna, while others have said it should be classified as such.
As for me....I tend to lean on the side that says it is Etna like in looks and flavor.
Click to expand...
I suspect our areas may be too hot, which ripen some of the fruits too quickly, and makes them lose some of the flavors. Try to put it among the trees or on the east side so it is shaded from the west or wherever in your yard that is the coolest.

I even start fig shuffling in summer to move some trees inside when the night is hot.
 
Ikibahd said:
I assume the qualities that make them similar are:
1. Dark green, rough leaves
2. Dark colored (when fully ripe) fruits with red interior
3. Taste of “berry”
4. Prolific production (and often precocious)
5. Mid-season ripening
6. Reliably produces figs even after full die-back in many situations/ locations
Click to expand...
Sigh.. That probably covers half of the figs I grow. The other half are green, probably not Mt Etna by definition, may be it falls under Adriatic if red inside.🤔
 
grasshopper said:
I suspect our areas may be too hot, which ripen some of the fruits too quickly, and makes them lose some of the flavors. Try to put it among the trees or on the east side so it is shaded from the west or wherever in your yard that is the coolest.

I even start fig shuffling in summer to move some trees inside when the night is hot.
Click to expand...
I got rid of Crozes 2 years ago I believe.
However, I do think some varieties just don't do good after certain temps.
I have noticed lots of trees just stop growing in the high temps and just sit, some aborting the figs.
 
Figgin' A said:
I've questioned that as well. The leaves are very much like Etna; they look and feel the same, with a gritty/rough surface and the characteristic white dots all over them. However, my Crozes seemed to ripen a bit earlier than other Mt Etnas last year and tasted better to me than other Etnas. Primarily because of the peach flavor, which we all liked. In general, I found Crozes tasted better then my other Etnas. Of course, taste is very personal, but still. Both of my Crozes trees were in their first year last season and produced two flushes of fruit. Both were outstanding to me. Also, they were larger than my other Etnas. I want to see how they are this year, as I've had some varieties that were larger in their first year but then decreased in the following years. I can't wait to taste them again this year, but they probably won't ripen before August since I didn't give them a long headstart.
Click to expand...
Second year fruits smaller than first may have to do with roots outpace the potting medium.
 
bushdoctor82 said:
I find these conversations interesting. I agree with @Ikibahd list. I also associate Mt. Etna types with a knuckle(s) coming off the central lobe, but it is not always present.

So far, we have a French, Greek, Lebanese, Maltese, Italian and Sicilian figs all coming from Mt. Etna. What other countries produce these figs?
Click to expand...

While I've seen what we often describe as "Etna" type trees actually in the area of Mt. Etna.... I also observed a bunch of other types there. I no longer associate this category with the region, but rather with a genre of figs with similar characteristics. The same as I do with "Adriatic" types.... many of which come from all over the place including say, California
 
TorontoJoe said:
That interior looks spot-on to me. I little more elongated in the first pic but the pulp, colour, seed and skin thickness to me is classic Etna type
Click to expand...
Despite my questioning at times whether this is, in fact, a Mt Etna, I am going to agree with you and others who think this is a Mt Etna.
 
grasshopper said:
Second year fruits smaller than first may have to do with roots outpace the potting medium.
Click to expand...
It's possible, though most of them go into 15g pots by 7-8 months of the first year, or the following year, so there is plenty of root space. Crozes was up-potted to 15g. Interestingly, my 1st year I-258 grew some really large figs, in the 65-110g range, which clearly was not normal, I think some were breba type figs, which is common for first year trees. The size was normal - in the typical range - the following year.

My newly rooted Crozes actually set a few brebas at the bottom of the trunk. I posted pictures on the other forum last year, and most agreed it was not main crop but breba. Those were very large. The rest were smaller, looked like typical Crozes main crop, but clearly larger than other growers had experienced. I recall a few growers complained that their Crozes were a 'small' fig, which was not the case with my Crozes. That's another reason I want to see how it turns out this year, is it going to maintain the size or get smaller, similar to what other growers reported as their 'normal' size.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top