HA HA! Man this is great! I am sitting here just laughing! Ok, let talk!
Hey James, the picture you posted is a Texas Everbearing. TEVB has only 3 lobes! Ekaloss's pictures, leaf and fruit is from Celeste. James I have the same fig that you do. It came from Dave WIlson Nursery. TEVB figs are much larger than Celeste and they fool a lot of people! Danny also thinks your pic is a Celeste, but it isn't! There are a whole lot of people in Texas that thinks thier fig is TXEVB but the leaf pattern proves different. Plus TXEB ripens in June in my climate and in Texas too. I love my TXEVB fig trees! They are prolific! I can get 3 crops from my TXEVB fig. I posted pictures of mine last summer in another thread. See here --> http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/the-real-texas-everbearing-fig-6737134?pid=1281371677#post1281371677
I was waiting on Danny to post his picture but I think he forgot. TXEVB has a sweet figgy taste. Celeste does not. Celeste is sweeter and firmer. I like the pictures Danny posted last year when he toured the LSU orchard. As for The brebas on my TXEB ----they are round, fat and have a amber center. Later in the season, the main crop figs are little different.
Last year, I called 3 nurseries, Burnt Ridge, Rabbit Ridge, JF&E and asked them to send me a picture of the leaf pattern of their Texas Everbearing fig. They did. And guess what? One out of the 3 had the real TxEVB! How do i know? I grow them side by side! I called them and told them they were selling Celeste figs and calling them TXEB and to call their supplier. They said they would. I hope they do. I did my part!
Hey Danny, I am pretty sure that there are a whole lot of folks in the South, Both Southeast and Southwest-- that think their 3 lobed fig tree is a Celeste but it's not. Was there a picture of the TxEVB leaf? I don't recall that post and can't remember if it did.
To me, what I have found is somewhere down the line years ago someone got Texas Everbearing and Celeste mixed up. And we both agree they are not. True Texas Everbearing fig trees have 3 lobes not 5 or 7. Over the years, I've been collecting Celeste and Texas Everbearing. I have several from about 5 different sources that came from Texas, Ca, La, Fl, SC and NC. I grow them side by side with double tags so they are not mixed up.
When I buy a fig tree from a nursery, my first question to the seller is, Where did that fig come from? They look puzzled when asked, but are happily to reveal their sources. I ask them because I want to make sure they did not come from my source. In my database, I document at least 2 sources. Where I bought the tree and where THEY bought the tree. To me, this is important.
There use to be a guy that sold a lot of figs in my area. He moved on to other fruits but he told me all of his trees all came from Dave Wilson in Ca. I found that very interesting. Me, when I buy trees from Texas, most nurseries including Dalton Durio and a few others get their figs from Brazos Citrus Nursery in Southern Texas. I have quite a few trees from Brazos. They're a very good source!
Have you ever thought-- where does Home Depot, Lowes, and Tractor Supply get there fig trees? Just about every Lowes in NC, SC and GA, get all their fig trees from a nursery in Florida. Each tree that Lowes and HD sell has 2 tags, one tag with their store logo and tree price and another tiny tag with the nursery name, city and state where it came from. I pull off those tags and put both source name on the back of each of my fig trees. The next time you're at HD or Lowes, take a close look at their tree stock. You will see what I am talking about. It's the same source every year. I know because I called googled the nursuery name city and state and got their number. I called and had a long talk with the owner. He said, they supply every Lowes Hardware store in the Southeast with fruit tree. I asked him how do they get their trees and he said from years of dealing with the same seller using cuttings. He said they get cuttings and just stick them in dirt under a tent and feed it with plant food and water for 2 years, sometimes 3 years depending on the weather.
Tractor Supply also sells fruit trees. They don't have many but they do have some nice ones! Again, their trees have 2 tags, one with their logo and their selling price and another tag with the source nursery name city and state. They get all their fruit trees from a huge supplier near Memphis TN. I call that supplier too and they told me the exact same process as the supplier in Florida. They said, they supply all of the Tractor Supply stores in NC, SC and VA. Go figure!
Guys and gals, if you have a Texas Everbearing and a Celeste, please share pictures of it especially the leaf pattern. Looking at Jon's pictures of the leaf pattern of Celeste helps some too. Maybe there are 2 different strains of Texas Everbearing and Celeste! In all cases, keep record where your tree came from.