I-258 Fig (Italian 258) - A Bag Of Jelly And Strawberry Pancake Syrup

In this video, I taste test the I-258 (AKA Italian 258) fig. I-258 is a medium to larger-sized fig, and is known for its thick, jammy interior and rich, intense berry-like flavor. The I-258 has been my most vigorous and productive fig this year. It is also one of my most delicious to date, rivaled only by Smith. The interior is like a thick bag of jelly mixed with strawberry-flavored pancake syrup. Because of its incredible vigor, incredible production and incredible flavor, it has been my #1 fig so far this year.
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ABOUT MY GARDEN
Location: Southeastern NC, Brunswick County (Wilmington area)
34.1°N Latitude
Zone 8A
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© The Millennial Gardener

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Follow me on Twitter @NCGardening for garden updates and photos! twitter.com/NCGardening

[@mehdiimran]

I had not idea which fig varieties to choose in humid south. Thanks to your detailed and in depth videos. I have all those varieties you recommended. Celest, chicago hardy, olympian, i258, smith, RDB and 35 more varieties. You got me hooked on figs damn you . I already bought #15 pots . 5 months ago i had no idea about growing figs and after watching your videos i think i am an expert😂. I already rooted 8 varieties using your cup method , paper towel method and now using fig pop method. The only problem is now i am broke.😊

[@Moonlight76876]

What great job you are doing, with learning to grow that beautiful fruit and most importantly teaching all off us. You truly are a Great Teacher.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you! I really appreciate that. I am glad the videos are helping.

[@atlas928AZ]

Well I just started my fig wish list and I-258 is officially the first one on it. I’ll be stocking up on cuttings this winter for sure. Tiger Fig has always been my favorite but time to explore into other varieties I can’t find in stores, nurseries, or online. Thanks for sharing your passion and success with fig trees!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Out of all the figs I've had so far this year, the only two I am certain are worth my space in-ground are I-258 and Smith. The I-258 is truly outstanding - big figs, rain resistant, split resistant, vigorous, prolific, fairly early - it has it all! It is a tough fig to find, though. You have to be diligent on Figbid or offer trades for it on fig forums. The only guys I know that carry it are Bill @ Off The Beaten Path Nursery and Wills on Willsfigs.com. Bill usually gets his cuttings in October, and Wills in December.

[@atlas928AZ]

Awesome, thanks for the info!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

@@gofigure4920 I think what really makes figs crack is actually getting heavy rain on the fig itself. Water pouring on the fig skins seem to make them burst. If you get heavy rains in the summer, no fig is really going to do well. Some just do better than others. In truth, figs need rainless summers to be really excellent. I found I-258 to be one of my best performers with our summer thunderstorm issue we have here on the NC coast, but some still exploded. But you compare that to, say, Black Madeira, where 80% of them burst on me.

[@planetfeelgood17]

What a beauty! Right, an Italian 58~* & A Sweet~Honey~Fig~* it is then!! Big Thanks!! So Inspiring!! 🌟🍀🌟🍀🌟🍀

[@mred3608]

Fantastic fig after only 5 months. Lucky you for having such a superb fig to taste test.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

mr ed it is all in the careful planning 😀

[@ToddKirst]

My mouth is watering so bad right now! Great Job!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you!

[@agustinastclair2203]

Nothing like the taste of a good fig 👌

[@kzev]

Amazing! Congrats

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you. This variety continues to impress me.

[@shopmanabc]

Do you have cuttings of this variety for sale?

[@vinitasaowalak9156]

I 258 is so beautiful. It looks juicy and sweet.

[@Spirits_And_Swords]

Beautiful fig

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I-258 is one of the best! Thanks for watching!

[@carlosrivera4660]

Enjoy your i258 unbelievable wow

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Carlos Rivera I think the Black Madeira is still 30 days out.

[@tristancarter7917]

Man you are proof you don’t have to wait years to get good fruit from a tree. You should do a pruning video come fall as well. Your i258 and Smith is all a man needs lol Congrats on your success with figs

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Tristan Carter thank you. I will be pruning my trees into a single stem in late fall and will be sure to film it.

[@Dalicat]

I am so impressed with the 258 and especially of your tenacity. You're doing it so carefully, economically and your explanations of your process and the results are wonderful. You've helped me twice with the information at speedy reply's, which is so appreciated. I do have a question, I plan to get a hold of a 258 for my garden in central Florida. I am about 5 miles inland to the east coast. I could plant it in the ground, or do container plants. Your area looks quite large, so why do you grow in containers? Is that the better way to go? Do you plan on planting your 258 in the future?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you, I appreciate the kind words. I am growing in containers to trial them. I do have a nice space, but I want to grow many, many things - figs, oranges, lemons, bananas, palms, persimmons, strawberries, raspberries and my typical large vegetable garden. When you break down how much I want to grow, I will only have room for 1-2 dozen fig trees. I am trialing them in containers to see what does very well in my climate. The I-258 is doing well here, and definitely has earned its place in-ground. However, I can't say it'll do well in yours. You should grow it in a container for 1-2 seasons and fully expose it to the elements and see how it performs to see if it should earn a permanent spot in your garden. I am going to cull a lot of my plants that don't perform well, as well as the doubles, when the time comes. What winds up permanently in-ground will be quite different from my collection, now.

[@MinhTran-ol9wg]

MS. Susan I live in Tampa Fl my I258 do really well in the ground and I also have in container either will do u good . love my I258 I like it better then my Black Maderia

[@nickross101]

Hey there! I enjoyed watching this video, and it played a role in my deciding to purchase some I-258 cuttings online. They arrived about a week ago, and I began the process of rooting them. The thing is, I am unsure if they are actually I-258 cuttings, and was wondering if there is some way that I can verify them based on their leaf structure. Any input you may have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your attention!

[@adamcnessesq]

Figs on pancakes sounds awesome. Drizzled in honey. Better yet. Ho cakes. I258 is on my list.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Adam Ness this fig is so good eating anything with it would take away from it! It is hard to describe how good it is. Really amazing.

[@alfredobrown]

Hi. I am wilmington too. I am interested in buying one of these. Do you sell? If yes, what time of year?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Cutting season here doesn’t really start until January. I’ll have cuttings likely available after Christmas.

[@alfredobrown]

@@TheMillennialGardener thank you. I have marked my calendar.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thanks for watching! I’ll make an announcement when the time comes.

[@idahogardengirl942]

Yay!!!

[@tylerwernli1193]

do you use that tomato water soluble fertilizer 18 - 18 - 21 and the diluted fish fertilizer while there are actual figs on the tree? I watched your other video on that, and appreciate all your videos.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Yes. After my fig trees set what I believe are "enough" fruits, I retire the Bloom Booster 15-30-15 and fertilize with 18-18-21 for the rest of the season (roughly 60 days before first frost is when I start to really slow down/stop fertilizing). Figs need a consistent food source to ripen all those fruits, which takes a lot of energy.

[@elenamazzullo3399]

Hello! Do you now have fig seedlings for sale that are suitable for growing in New York - early ripening - if you have one, how much does it cost? My husband is Italian and I want to make a gift for him:))

[@bluegrassdiggers9030]

"I'll have what she's having"

[@telotostelotosi1555]

Dear my friend, Do you sale your fig trees cutting. Shah

[@TheMillennialGardener]

telotos telotosi I plan to sell what I can this winter, but since these trees are so young, I don’t expect to have very many extras. I will announce when I can provide extras. It probably will be December or January.

[@Spirits_And_Swords]

Do you do trading? I have some really good unknown Greek and sicillian. I have family that bring back cuttings every time they go on vacation to their mainland.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I offer cuttings on Figbid, usually in January. I will announce when the time comes.

[@Spirits_And_Swords]

@@TheMillennialGardener For sale or to trade, or both? I became recently a member there, I used to be in the figs for fun a along time ago.

[@Spirits_And_Swords]

@@TheMillennialGardener I ment to say I am in ourfigs.com I searched you there but I couldn't find you there.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

@@Spirits_And_Swords this is my account: www.figbid.com/Listing/Browse?Seller=TheMillennialGardener I don't have anything listed now, but I will in the winter time. I only have the capacity to ship half a dozen orders or so a week because I'm too busy otherwise, so once I start populating, it goes on for a long time.

[@itsarni]

The REAL NAME of this fig could be: FICO DEL VESCOVO - rare variety found near the city Foggia. I checked some italian books about figs with pictures and descriptions and this one resembles I-258 most.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Many different figs with the I-XXX moniker exists. A person brought many of them over with different number designations. I don't think anyone will ever trace it back to the source. There are many figs that appear similar.

[@itsarni]

@@TheMillennialGardener I know the story with Kennedy and Giorgio Grassi. Check page 86 of „Atlante dei Fichi di Puglia“ Google it. It can be found. ;)

[@cmt6136]

are there other fig varieties that have as much honey as Italy 258 does???

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Honestly, there are tens of thousands of fig varieties out there, and I've only tried a few dozen. I'm sure there are others that rival I-258, or even exceed it, out there somewhere. I-258 is extremely syrupy, and I think that's because it's such a large fig. It's usually really hard to find such a good quality fig that's also large. For me, the I-258 fig has produced more honey than any of my others. However, I've gotten some nice honey in Black Madiera and Bordissot Blanca Negra. I've also seen videos of Bordissot Negra Rimada, and that one can load up on honey. But I-258 is my most reliable fig if you like syrup.

[@josiahmoeller8821]

Is this the same as black Italian?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

It is not. I'm not familiar with "Black Italian."

[@josiahmoeller8821]

@@TheMillennialGardener okay thanks. I have a friend who sells trees and he said he’s getting a whole stock of black Italian which he’s never had before. So I was trying to do some research to see if it would be worth the purchase, there is vague info about it online

[@justicebinder6544]

What zone are these hardy in?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Figs can be planted in-ground from Zones 6-10, although Zones 6 and 7 will require some winter protection, or they will usually die back to the ground every year. Figs can be grown in containers down to Zone 5, but you'll need to overwinter them. Most growers in Zones 5-7 grow in containers and overwinter them, and most growers in Zones 8-10 plant them in-ground. Figs can do very well in-ground in Zones 6-7, but it will take some work since you'll want to wrap them or protect them somehow.

[@justicebinder6544]

@@TheMillennialGardener thank you! I’m from Missouri, zone 6, and will likely pot up any figs I get since I’m also short on space. Your videos are very helpful.

[@baltasarbarbosa6890]

Do you sell cutting in the winter Please let me know I will by from you Thank you

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I will have some come the winter, but I won't have a lot of hardwood from these first-year trees. I'll make sure to sell what I can.

[@TTNN9]

@@TheMillennialGardener I would like to have it as well. Thanks.

[@FutureJ23]

Dude. Sell me a cutting 😭. I neeeeed

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I'll be sure to announce when I have extra this winter. These are first year trees, though, so I won't have all that many. I'm sure I'll have more as they mature. There are a few up on Figbid, but prices can vary. www.figbid.com/Browse?FullTextQuery=258