The original cutting of this tree was a gift to the United States from the Agricultural Consul of Algeria during the first decades of the 20th century. United States Department of Agriculture’s accession records which account for every plant material legally entered into the United States, mention Sultan in 1930. Somewhere, though, in the back of my mind I am sure I read, in some archive or other, than it came in around 1913, just before the outbreak of World War I.
It is a Smyrna-type, which means it needs caprification, or fertilization. Common figs, such as the Mission and Brown Turkey do not. It is the fertilization that produces the large size and the nutty-tasting, crunchy seeds. This fig is incredibly sweet, with complex tones of honey and perfume.
The tree bears only one crop, in the fall. The fruit doesn’t ripen all at once, but over time, from about mid-August through mid-October.
The blastaphoga wasp which brings the pollen from the male, caprifigs, both of which are naturalized in California and some parts of the west and northwest.

1 year old, shipped bare root in spring according to your frost-free dates. LOCAL-PICKUP ONLY