Blue Celeste - Reviewing "the One" Fig Tree

Zone 7A - Greater Philadelphia
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[@Viva_la_natura]

"Blue Celeste" is the second tree I ever purchased here in CT and I find it's the leaves of the tree that have a deep blueish green hue. It is such a solid fig that I put it inground; it's not bothered much by the elements of the northeast but the wildlife approve of it big time. I've heard people just say it's a regular celeste, but this fig is better than my improved celeste. I enjoy Blue Celeste more than most of my Mt. Etna varieties.

[@jamesfrederick.]

It’s funny wen I was young I didn’t like living in north Ca because I like rain and snow and a colder climate in general but now that I’m a fig grower “saying yeah I’ve not gotten single drop of rain in like 4 months” its almost a brag lol

[@denniskatinas]

Epigenetics is very interesting indeed. The same genetics can have different sets of expressions. I tasted my first Blue Celeste yesterday, I found it dried up on the tree behind my tomatoes. It was very enjoyable considering the young age of the tree, also a much smaller fig than yours. It also has gnarly branches and slow growth, I'll cut it down at the end of the year probably. My Blue Celeste is from Brusset, France.

[@bobh4686]

I started growing mine from cutting this winter and it’s been one of the slowest growers. Same misformation as you report. But on the plus side, it’s pretty productive for such a small plant. I’m not going cut it down though.

[@PO-po5de]

Great info, thanks!

[@justsayin5106]

Ripened my first celeste figs this year in North Mississippi, I waited till they were perfectly ripe and deliciously sweet and they had a flavor profile I can only relate to a subtle grape.. I also had some brown turkey that the birds got into at peak ripeness, I managed to taste a few, and they tasted very very peachy.

[@PO-po5de]

Ross, what does "baud" mean after fig variety name?

[@sunnysharma1701]

Baud Pierre is a french grower. The 'Baud' indicates that the plant originates from his collection in france.

[@eyeone2]

Ross If you were a fig which kind would u like to be? Lol

[@carolgebert7833]

He's a Brooklyn White

[@lonegoose2844]

How do we get one ? Is the real question

[@RossRaddi]

You may find one on figbid. I've got some trees for sale right now if you're interested in a different variety. See the description.

[@alessandro21686]

Does this variety/strain hold its fruit early on or will it drop most for a few years?

[@RossRaddi]

The whole dropping issue I think is just due to a lack of light internally. A lot of varieties do this and I'm not convinced a specific source of a fig will matter. The sunlight available matters more.

[@jedd.5407]

Ross, you mentioned "Fig trees you're getting rid of." so what is a fig tree/fig that you definitely aren't impressed with and definitely sending down the road? Just curious. I'm dropping my Hardy Chicago and Texas Ever bearing lines. I just don't see any good results after three years and all the attention I've given them. It's probably the weeks of 90+F temps and 50 to 60+ humidity. They just aren't doing very well here in central North Carolina. Thanks for your videos! I got a LSU Hollier from you awhile back and it's growing great.

[@RossRaddi]

That's surprising. HC should be one of the best. What's your definition of "good results."

[@jedd.5407]

@@RossRaddi I have three Hardy Chicago trees of five to six feet in height that are three years old this season. They are container grown in 25 Gallon containers in well-drained soil, and mulched. I finally got two figs to stay on and ripen this year. They were not of the greatest tasting. So, fruit numbers wise, and taste just were not anything like LSU Purple, or any of the LSU varities. This year we have had 90F and 60+ humidity for over 50 days. The LSU trees (Gold, Hollier, Champaign, Celeste and a few non-LSU cultivars like Makedonia Dark, Adriatic JH, and Lynnhurst White have produced exceptional fruit. ). The Hardy Chicago seem to get hit with fig rust harder than the other trees. So, I think some trees just do better in our area. We are in the sand hills area of NC. Thanks for asking. Persimmons do well here too!

[@irishfruitandberries9059]

If they are genetically identical then could there be a potential for blue or black, for example, Celeste to revert to being standard Celeste depending on growing conditions?

[@orionsector]

I wonder why no one has crossed a Celeste and a Black Madera...

[@imamGlistecom]

They are both females. To get seeds to get a new variety, you need a male and a female.

[@RossRaddi]

Exactly. You need a caprifig and a female. The question I have for breeding is which caprifig to use. I imagine that it's equally as important as the female.

[@sislertx]

U can always.tell.a.real.gardner by their nails..they always have dirt under their nails.

[@alanmercieca3086]

Do you have the usda blue Celeste? The 'Croisic' fig cultivar (In the USA it's called "Gillette"), it's figs have that white part starting at the eye as well. What that is, is this, the more perfectly ripe the fig is, the less of that white there is, as the fig ripens that white part disappears. A fig expert back in the day called the figs of 'Croisic' a highly developed caprifig, that fig expert said that the white part of the figs is the male part of the fig flower, as you know 'common figs' and ‘San Pedro figs’ don't have male parts of the fig flower. So it appears that Celeste has a male part to the fig flower that gets digested by the fig ripening process. The 'Croisic' fig cultivar is a very rare type of fig cultivar called 'edible caprifig', and the way that I understand it is that a regular caprifig can not ripen, in a way it's a defective 'edible caprifig'. This leaves me to wonder what kind of fig is Celeste really! Speaking of Celeste, did you get the 'Slidell' strain of Celeste? That appears to be a great one.

[@TheBeeCommander-o9x]

Slidell strain? I live in a town called Slidell La

[@alanmercieca3086]

@@TheBeeCommander-o9x Actually the Slidell fig variety, it was found in Slidell Louisiana. It sounds like the figs themselves are like the figs of Celeste, only sweeter, and with a slight strawberry flavor.

[@TheBeeCommander-o9x]

@alanmercieca3086 I'm doing a study comparing old celeste trees all over the area...there are a ton

[@TheBeeCommander-o9x]

@alanmercieca3086 I've been collecting cuttings from celeste in the area...there are alot...and alot of different taste profiles

[@alanmercieca3086]

@@TheBeeCommander-o9x I used to have Slidell Black (Slidell Blk), yet I gave the tree to a friend before I could try the fruit for myself. Sadly the person who knew the owner of the original tree passed away last year. Yet, there are two people in the state of Georgia that might still have it.

[@rawfoodwriter]

Wtf is this guy on? 🤣

[@thatguyty96]

figs?

[@mweber5459]

Fig passion ❤️‍🔥