Heirloom fig varieties (forum)

Danny333 starts with ...
Hi all,

I went to the Perth garden festival on the weekend and picked up a fig called “Purple Vigilante”. Has anyone grown this fig? How does it compare to the common ones like Black Genoa and White Adriatic?

Other varieties I saw were Harbargen Large, Sicilian, St Dominque Violette and Jenny Smith Blue.


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Time: 16th April 2018 1:46am

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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi Danny

This fig cv is not well known. Even dedicated fig org doesn't even have it in their collection. The reason it is not well sought after even though it's been in Australia since 1935 is because maybe the taste is not superlative compared to the more common purple fig varieties like St Dominique Violette and Violette de Bordeaux. But to a fig lover and dedicated fig collector most figs are worth having in their collection. Just one of my early morning thoughts....

Happy gardening :-)

Time: 18th April 2018 5:22am

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Original Post was last edited: 18th April 2018 6:38am

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David01 says...
Hi Danny333,

This Fig may be popular in WA but rare in Victoria. Cheers

See the link below:
http://www.thefruitforest.com/fruits-vegetables-and-herbs/heirloom-figs-2/

Time: 18th April 2018 6:06pm

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Danny333 says...
Hi Fruitylicious1 & David,

I bought the fig because the label said strong flavour. St Dominique Violette was going to be my next choice. I’m hoping that Purple Vigilante doesn’t turn out to be a dud.

What are your favourite varieties?

Time: 21st April 2018 2:13am

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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi Dan

You will know it in a year or two. Please report on the taste test result when you come to that point coz we might encounter the rare fig cv in our exotic fruit journey somewhere.

As Always....Happy gardening :-)


Time: 21st April 2018 2:48pm

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Original Post was last edited: 21st April 2018 2:50pm

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David01 says...
Hi Danny333,

I had 3 common Figs White, Black Genoa and Brown Turkey. All three had been removed after 25 years as they grow too big and too much trouble to clean fruits and leaves drop. Now I only keep few small Brown Turkey grow in pots. You need to workout what you like as taste is very personal choice. Cheers

Time: 21st April 2018 4:31pm

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Original Post was last edited: 21st April 2018 5:29pm

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Jez says...
I didn’t know about the garden festival, where was it?
I have purple vigilante but was from a cutting that I rooted last autumn so can’t comment on taste. Your one looks a lot bigger so I guess you’ll find out before me. I’m slowly getting a fig collection going, I like the taste and how easy they are to grow. For some reason the fruiting season just gone weren’t as nice as previous years.

Time: 22nd April 2018 5:49pm

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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi Danny

ATM i have 3 fig cv's namely; black picone, dwarf fig brown and LSU Gold. They are still juvenile, though i allowed them to fruit this season. I was beaten by my wife, my eldest son and the birds to the first harvest so I can't really describe the flavor. Maybe next season if I am lucky.

Happy Gardening :-)

Time: 22nd April 2018 8:19pm

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Original Post was last edited: 22nd April 2018 8:21pm

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Jez says...
Hi Danny,
It’s okay.... Regarding where the festival was, I used google :)


Time: 23rd April 2018 5:34pm

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Danny333 says...
Hi Jez,

The garden festival was at McCallum Park in Victoria Park. I bought my Purple Vigilante from Joe at the Tass1 stall. If I get any fruit from it next year I’ll be sure to give a review.

David, how come you chose to keep the Brown Turkeys over the other figs? Are they easier to keep small in a pot?

Sad to hear the bad news Fruitylicious, you’ve gotta be quick when the figs are ripe!

I’ve got an unknown variety off a friend that fruited this year I think it might be White Genoa or Exell, I’ve attached a pic.
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Picture: 1
Picture: 2
Picture: 3

Time: 24th April 2018 2:45am

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David01 says...
Hi Danny333,

My figs trees were over 5 meters and most of fruits eaten by birds and fruits drop are difficult to clean. However, Fig grows in pot to about 1.5m can be netted and easy to control. I keep Brown Turkey as it tastes better than other two. Based on your photos it is not White Genoa. Cheers

Time: 24th April 2018 11:36am

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Original Post was last edited: 24th April 2018 11:58am

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Danny333 says...
Hi David,

The tree is still very small, less than a meter so the fruit might not be representative of a mature tree. The fruit is very sweet with good flavour and turns yellow when mature. My friend gave it to me thinking it was White Adriatic, which it obviously isn’t . Any ideas what it might be?

I like Brown Turkey too but the ones I grew in the past always had a problem with the figs becoming dry inside. I might try growing them again in pots and see if it makes a difference. The commercially grown Brown Turkey figs are pretty good here and are twice the size of the Black Genoa figs.

Time: 26th April 2018 2:37pm

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David01 says...
Hi Danny333,

From the photo I think it may be Excel. Brown Turkey needs more water to get moist and it is easy to control if you grow in a pot. White Adriatic is one of the best Fig which has red juicy pulp. Have a look at the Diggers to see any Figs you like. Cheers.

https://www.diggers.com.au/shop/fruit/fig-trees/

Time: 27th April 2018 12:38pm

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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi Danny333

It's more like an excel fig due it's yellow skin and amber colored flesh reminiscent of a kadota fig. Both white genoa and adriatic have darker reddish meat.

Happy gardening :-)

Time: 27th April 2018 1:25pm

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Danny333 says...
Hi David01 and Fruitylicious1,

I think you’re both right, it probably is Exel. I have some more fruit on it ripening at the moment and will take a picture when they are ready to see if there’s any difference. The new fruit are larger than the first crop.

I also have a neighbor that has what I think is White Adriatic, it is a very good fig
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Time: 30th April 2018 2:07pm

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Danny333 says...
Hi everyone,

My Purple Vigilante figs are starting to ripen so I’ve attached a couple of pics. They are nice large figs so hopefully they taste as good as they look.

I’ll let you all know how they rate in flavour in a few days when they’re fully ripe.
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Time: 30th January 2019 11:33pm

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WazzaMort says...
Hi, I have two Purple Vigilante there is nothing wrong with them. They are similar size to Black Genoa. They grow well and fruit well. 8/10

Time: 1st February 2019 2:04pm

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Danny333 says...
Hi WazzaMort,

I tried a Purple Vigilante fig today. I agree it is about 8/10, a very good fig well worth growing. I’ve attached a pic of a Black Genoa for comparison. I found Purple Vigilante to be superior to Black Genoa in every way except maybe productivity, but my tree is still young.

The flavour of Purple Vigilante is stronger, sweeter and more complex. The exterior of the fruit is a little lighter in colour than Black Genoa and the interior is a darker red instead of pink. This fig is definitely a winner in the flavour department.
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Time: 3rd February 2019 9:38pm

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Lien says...
Hi everyone,new to forum,love figs and have a few varieties.
Am interested in obtaining some cuttings for black vigilante, black mission, and the tigerella striped variegated figs, anyone??will be happy to buy or swap, I live near Mildura Vic. And figs grow very well here. Cheers.

Time: 27th April 2019 11:49pm

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David01 says...
Hi Lien,

If you have Blue Provence and Violette then I can swap with you the Panache and one unknown dark brown/violet pink flesh size 45g. The panache scions I just bought from ebay will be available by next week but I can share with you one. Please let me know if you are interested. The attached photos is my fig and Panache from the seller on eBay. Cheers.
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Time: 29th April 2019 10:02am

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Original Post was last edited: 29th April 2019 11:16am

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nicgee says...
hi guys
new to fig trees.i have 3 varieties in my garden and we have a good feed each season. i have heard so much about panache figs here in perth, would someone local have a tree or cuttings for sale.
thanks
nic

Time: 15th May 2019 6:08pm

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