![]() Louisiana United States. Developers: O’Rouke, E.N., Department of Horticulture. Comment: Developed through the Lousiana State University Fig Program. It tolerates heavy pruning so you can easily sculpt your Celeste into the shape and size you desire. This dwarf fig tree often looks more like a shrub than a tree. Louisiana United States. Donors: Robichaux, Roland, Robichaux’s Pharmacy and Gifts. Comment: Donated to NCGR, Davis 3 cuttings received. Accession was developed. Celeste figs are purple-bronze with a smooth pink flesh that is speckled with tiny seeds. It bears good quality fruit on a young tree. This accession bears 2 crops per year, more productive, and has a very pleasing flavor and a very attractive reddish/brown skin color. Cold Hardy To: Unknown at this time.ģ0% larger than Celeste, which is LSU’s best fig (per Robichaux). This is a very impressive new type of Celeste tree. It did hang onto its very first three figs the summer of (2012), and they appear to be at least one third larger than the standard Celeste fig fruit. We will be testing it to see if it is as cold hardy as the original Celeste sugar fig trees are. This tree, which grows 10 to 15 feet tall when mature, is hardier than most fig varieties, tolerating cold and hot weather with proper fig tree care. Sink your teeth into this fruit, and you’ll meet a sweet, honey flavor. ![]() Since we still only have one tree, we will keep it inside its first winter, until we can make a back up. The Celeste Fig Tree produces a rose or violet-colored fruit with a brown tint. So, to make sure we had the true one, we got our start from a well known knowledgeable fig collector. There seems to be a lot of confusion as to which is the true Improved Celeste. The breeding of this fig was to produce a better Celeste. But, the fig breeders at LSU wanted a Celeste that was not only bigger, but a Celeste that would not drop its fruit in its early years, like most Celeste figs do when stressed. Robert Harper in Connecticut: Celeste has been one of the gold standards for cold hardy figs, for over one hundred years. The Improved Celeste (O’Rourke Not) or ICON is a variety with provenance not intermingled with O’Rourke. Note there are several varieties that are improved celeste types (ie. Can fruit 1st year after dying to ground. Thomas Mayer and the other was, Mark Simon. When I bought improved Celeste trees from three local growers, they made sure I knew that they were improved Celestes, not O’Rourkes and they were affiliated with the people with the fig program at LSU for many year, so they knew and wanted me to have the correct name of the trees. Maybe they are going to release an Improved Celeste because, though the O’Rourke is an improved Celeste that they chose for the official improved Celeste, improved Celestes are not all O’Rourkes. ![]() I don’t recall hearing anything about an improved Celeste, but I didn’t hear everything Dr. The problem has arisen because not all were officially released. LSU developed many varieties from the original Celeste. Johnson said they were going to release the Scott’s Black and the true SB is red inside-The one that will be released. Celeste variety was one of the focused ones because it is a great fig variety with few major flaws which they wanted to get rid of. ![]() Noss: At the Fig Field Day at the Burden Center near LSU, Dr. ![]()
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