This one is a must have,for anyone that wants excellence.
To My taste buds ,as  tasty as it can get.
Getting ripe for about a month,a few every day.
What is significant,is that finally I have a fig that have all the good atributes of Classic Celeste,is third bigger in size and most of all does not drop any figs period.

So what is it? Since it is not O'rourke, is it Lsu giant (tiger)?
Thank you

A Celeste fig doesn't be to be improved by Orourke team to be Improved!
It Is improved because some (not Known),horticulturist,experimented by crossing Celeste Mother tree with male trees obviouselly Persistant Male,and then selected this one and possible a few more.
This one is one of them and a very improved Celeste Fig
He Bred out the behavor of the mother tree to drop fruyits when it doesn't like something,and it has a larger fruit!
That is progress and improvement.

Thank you. I guess I learnt something new again. I was wondering if you are going to sell cuttings of this one eventually. I have a celest and love it, but it drops a lot of fruit.
Karla

Karla :My Tree is very small,if you want to buy cuttings or a tree,go to George Michaleff,that is where I got mine.
George Michaleff sells on Ebay,as "Figsnstuff"

Thank you I appreciate your time. It seems than people on this forum are always willing to share with someone new and not so knowladgeble. It is very nice.

Karla

The Improved Celeste "Not' O'Rourke is the best tree in my orchard without exception. 

Vinnie

When I ask here, in Louisiana, if anyone has an O'Rourke, I get shown the Improved Celestes.  When I tell them, no, I would like an O'Rourke, I'm told that they are the same.  Without exception, this happens.

I really want an O'Rourke so I can see for myself how it's different.

The Impr. Celeste that I have ripened one fig and it was out of season, but it was still delicious.  I had thought I might get rid of that tree, but I'm keeping it and hope it's nice and sunny when it ripens.

Is there anyone who has a true O'Rourke and knows it's a true O'Rourke and can compare it to the Impr. Celeste for me?

Herman, or  Vinnie, do either of you have O'Rourke trees, as well?

Hi Karla--It's name is Improved Celeste, as far as I know.  Not O'Rourke.

Thanks,

noss

I have ORourke from LSU.  If you are interested in one let me know.  It is my understanding that most if not all improved celeste out there are a product of ORourke breeding program at LSU.  The one they call ORourke was the one they liked the most, but there are others from that cross.  Infact, the reason they called one of them ORourke was to distinguish it from the other improved Celeste that leaked out.
Jeff

Hi Jeff,

I certainly would like to get an O'Rourke tree.  Please let me know the details.  You can email me if you'd like.

Thanks,

noss

Herman and Noss, I have 2 O'Rourke trees and one Improved Celeste.  The fruit on my O'Rourke does not look like the fruit Herman displayed.  My fruit has a different color.  Its more of a greenish gray.  This could be due to climate and soil condition.  My trees are in containers.  See the second picture. My celeste is more red in color.  But both figs are red inside and taste the same.  I have an Improved Celeste which is the same age as  one of my O'Rourke.  The fruit is larger and a little bit more purple like Hermans.  Look at the third pic....the one with all the figs.  Those in the top left corner are my Improved Celeste.  I may have picked them a day early but they were very sweet.

I do not have an Improved Celeste O'Rourke, I only have the ICO "Not" the pictures that Herman posted are accurate for the ICO "Not."  They have a distinctive elongated neck and have a carmel brown color when ripe.  The really nice thing about the ICO "Not" is it is very easy to determine when they are ripe.  The unripe figs stick straight out and the ripe fruit droops dramatically.  By the way I acquired my orginal ICO "Not' from George.
Vinnie

Hello Herman,

Just dropped into this fig forum and saw your thread. I just had to add a few comments to yours from my growing experiences with LSU Improved Celeste Your taste buds agree with mine. IC is indeed a very good tasting fig.

Yes, Improved Celeste is at least 33% larger than its Celeste mother, does not drop its figs, has a rich figgy taste to it, and is much more productive than the mama Celeste from which it was bred. IC is an EVERBEARING fig and will produce figs until cold weather makes it go dormant. Everbearing is a very nice characteristic that some fig cultivars have.....LSU Purple too is an everbearing fig.  The everbearing trait might have come from the papa tree as there are some other little known LSU figs that exhibit this everbearing fruiting characteristic.

IC figs hang on real well to the tree and can turn into an absolutely delicious sweet jammy fig with a very rich figgy taste........if the weather allows.  They handle rain quite well, but can have splitting problems during hurricane type rains......not a problem for a fig that fruits throug out the season. Also, IC  makes an excellent fig preserve.....much better than regular Celeste figs do. IC is proving to be a money maker for some growers in South Louisiana. 

IC is in fact replacing Celeste trees in South Louisiana at the u-pick-it fruit orchards. Let me repeat that as it is very significant...... IC is replacing Celeste....the once queen fig in Louisiana.  This is sure proof that Dr. O'Rourke succeeded in improving the Celeste cultivar for La.'s small fig industry.

Hi Dan, Just asking how would you compare LSU Improved Celeste with your Celeste BR.
                       Stay Well,
                               Anthony

Hello Anthony,

They are completely different figs. Celeste BR is a very good strain of a regular Celeste. Its taste lingers on the tongue and palate for some time after eating it....not all fig cultivars have this particular characteristic. The IC, on the other hand, is a hybrid fig. I find that it has a much more intense "figgy" taste than most of the Celeste that I have tasted. Celeste BR has more fruit note flavors in it. I really like them both.

For those of you who have Improved Celeste in ground, can you post pictures of Improved Celeste's leaves?