Not to discourage you, but before you believe anything on TyTy's website, you should do a search for them here on the forum. It will be an eye-opening experience. 'Nuff said.

that nursery has had a bad rep.

a Texas Blue Giant, perhaps...
http://www.naturehills.com/texas-blue-giant-fig

The Patrick's Supergiant fig that I ordered from TyTy years ago was a Brunswick, also known as Magnolia.

Think I will steer clear of them... too expensive anyway.. this is a photo of a fig that came from a cutting that was given to me by someone on this forum. I was told it was a German Giant... If it is or isn't I'm HAPPY !! Sweet !!
Thank you whoever you were :>)

There are no sufficient words to describe what a lousy reputation Ty-TY has with fig growers, and gardeners. Their claims are exagerated, and you will be lucky if you get what you ordered. Mislabeled fig trees are very common, and customer service handling complaints will cause you blood pressure to reach stroke levels.

Big figs usually have very little flavor, and almost always, photos of breba figs are shown in the ads. Main-crop figs are usually much smaller. Don't be fooled by the thoughts of growing giant, delicious, figs.

"Patrick's Super Giant" might be the over-rated "Texas Blue Giant". I spent two long years waiting for my "TxBG" to produce figs. They were horrible! Half the crop dropped off the tree, and the figs that did ripen, had an insipid, bland "flavor" if you could call it that. A real "zero" in my book. Save your money and buy a real tasty fig variety. Your "German Black Giant" might turn out to be a far superior fig.

A forum search will give you plenty of information about fig varieties, and reading past postings is very informative.

By the way, if not too much trouble...can you post more pics. of the "GBG" figs, and shots of your tree. I'm also growing this variety, but I'm finding very little information in print, about this fig. You ARE growing "German Black Giant" are you not? How old is your tree, and how many years did you wait for figs? Any critiques about this variety?

Good luck, and happy growing.

Frank

I am not an advocate of TyTy. The varieties that I purchased from them years ago were known varieties called by other names. Nero Caesar, White Italian and Tennessee Mountain Fig were all Celeste variants and Patrick's Supergiant was Brunswick (Magnolia), not Texas Blue Giant. I also have Texas Blue Giant in my collection (purchased from Fannick's Nursery in San Antonio, where the fig has been sold for generations). Brunswick leaves and the fig are quite distinctive and do not resemble Texas Blue Giant leaves or fruit. A picture on the TyTy website of Patrick's Supergiant years ago was more representative of Brunswick. The color and the shape of the fig in the current picture of Patrick's Supergiant on the website are not as easily recognizable. Whether it is the same fig, I cannot say. Brunwick produces larger figs for me than does Texas Blue Giant. However, very few are as large as a teacup and none have weighed half a pound! In our Central Texas climate, both are large, sweet, good-flavored figs. Heat, plenty of sunshine and an optimal amount of moisture (not too much, not too little) are very important in influencing the flavor of a fig.

Mountainman...

Glad to read your follow-up posting. Good information. I learned some new facts.

Nice to know that your "Texas Blue Giant" worked out well. In my case....the wrong fig in the wrong climate. This variety needs a long, hot summer to ripen, I guess.

Thanks,

Frank

Frank,

Interesting to read your posts. It is nice of you to point newer members of the on-line fig community in the right direction. It's always helpful to know how fig cultivars perform under different conditions.

Best Regards from Texas,

Joe

this is a message I received from TyTy after inquiring about the Patrick's Giant fig....

The Patrick's Giant Fig Tree was engineered at the Coastal Georgia Experiment Station in Tifton, Georgia by Dr.Harmon. I hope this information helps and feel free to contact us in the future with any other questions.

There's an easy solution to test whether Patrick's Supergiant is the same as Brunswick or Texas Blue Giant or whether it was "engineered" at the Coastal Georgia Experiment Station. Run a DNA test on Patrick's Supergiant (or DNA Tests on a group of Patrick's Supergiant)and determine which varieties they are most closely related to in Ficus Carica.

*Ahem*

Anything TyTy says is to be taken with a salt-mine's worth of multitudinous grains of salt.

Bronx Figs
I have a TX Blue Giant thats a couple of years old. This year it produced about a half dozen very large figs that IMO, were very tasty. They weren't as sweet as the figs that I get off my Celeste, but very good just the same.
Barry

Don't be fooled. I once worked for these idiots in TyTy. I once was filling a very large mail-order of exclusively Pat's Super Giant Figs (doesn't take very long to get expensive with these things) and I could not find them anywhere on the nursery. I consulted the manager and was told that they did not exist. He instructed me to send "brown turkey" figs. So, this poor guy spent about two grand on some common figs that TyTy had about twenty bucks invested in. I've got a million more rip-off stories about these guys.

If you want a dependable and quality nursery I think one of the best out there is Just Fruits and Exotics in Crawfordville, Florida. They're a small operation, knowledgeable about what they sell and are just really nice people to work with. They carry quality plants and stand behind what they sell. And no, I don't work for them or have any kind of interest in the place. I just know them to be a very good nursery for fruit trees of any kind. www.justfruitsandexotics.com

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