After trailing for a few years, I find the most ideal LSU variants for my PNW(southern Canada) zone are :

Improved Celeste "Not"
LSU O'rourke

These 2 variants are evaluated based on earliness, good taste, reliability, good productivity & spoilage from rain. No greenhouse help needed. Hence if anyone in my zone are looking to add new variants, these 2 variants are highly recommended. My Improved Celeste "Not" ripens earlier than O'rourke.

Question: Is Improved Celeste "NOT" just Celeste?  Just curious considering the "NOT" on the end of the name.

Improved celeste not is O'rouke. Improved celeste is improved celeste. And o' rourke is o'rourke. Both are top tier lsu figs. Some of the rare varieties you read about are just that rare. Not to say they are not awesome. .... its they come with more problems like souring splitting etc. Gold and purple are awesome too. And last to ripen but best in flavor is lsu champagne. Well then you got lsu black lsu st Gabriel red yellow that are also top contenders. So you need about 10 to 15 lsu varieties to cover the spectrum.

My LSU St Gabriel is closely similar to my LSU Improved Celeste "Not". Hollier is awesome tasting - in my zone it taste better than Red, Yellow, White Honey etc. Just unfortunate that bulk of it ripen with the onset of much cooler/ rainy weather. Adriano told me that Hollier is very good tasting for his zone.

Thanks for sharing the information.

I started rooting Improved Celeste and O'rourke about two months ago, they are growing well. Putting hope on ripening some figs next year. Also started rooting Hollier a few week ago and has visible roots now.

@Vanfig -- I hope you have Granthams Royal. Just superb for our zone. Its available over at Vancouver Island.

Indeed, I heard a lot of good things about Granthams Royal. Particularly, you mentioned she beats the most popular PNW fig, Desert King.

I was looking for this baby for quite a while. Fortunately, just acquired cuttings a week ago and started rooting right away. A big hope for 2018!

I am in 6b, but I would give Hollier/LSU Hollier a try.

I thought it was very good, early and produced first year from cuttings.

It tasted like O'Rourke, great sugar sweet, but about twice the size

I am also zone 6b and Hollier is becoming my favorite fig.  The flavor is really good and it's color doesn't attract the finches like the dark Hardy Chicago's do.  Hollier ripens it's fruit the earliest of any of my figs, and the trees are the first to go dormant.  For a late season fig, Verte is still my favorite since it doesn't attract the birds and the flavor is excellent, even with cold rainy weather in October.  I was even getting good ripe verte figs in november this year and that has never happened before.  

Ed O'Rourke started breeding figs at LSU in the 1950s, and many were given out to growers - but they weren't officially released until fairly recently.  http://www.lsuagcenter.com/portals/communications/news/news_archive/2015/june/headline_news/figs-remain-popular-louisiana-fruit    The fig previously known as Improved Celeste was re-named O'Rourke.  But there was a lot of confusion and many sources offering "O'Rourke" were providing a different fig.  This imposter picked up the name Improved Celeste NOT.  The real O'Rourke/Improved Celeste has distinctive leaves (see pictures - http://figs4fun.com/Links/FigLink239.pdf ) and habit (the leaves can droop for no apparent reason).   It sounds as if Paully might have a clue to Improved Celeste NOT's true identity.   "My LSU St Gabriel is closely similar to my LSU Improved Celeste "Not"."  I hope you'll let us know what you think after watching them both for a while, Paully.

I brought in two "O'Rourke" trees from trusted sources - both were bogus - and many other forum members were also trying to get the real thing.  A savvy gentleman from Texas, Figluvah,  solved the problem.  He contacted LSU, and got O'Rourke cuttings directly from the source!  Then he very generously made sure that it was widely circulated.  We owe him a big Thank You!  So, if your O'Rourke doesn't trace back to Cecil's cuttings, there is a good chance that you have Improved Celeste NOT - even if it came from a reputable source.

Important piece of info I missed out in my comments regarding my Improved Celeste 'Not' is that It Ripens Earlier than Florea. Any variant
That ripens earlier than Florea with superior taste is a Bonus for my PNW zone.

Paully - have you trialed LSU Tiger?   For me in Western PA, which also lacks a long hot growing season, Tiger was a better fig than O'Rourke in the only season I have had both to compare.  Tiger was a little larger, sweeter, and just as productive.  My ICON was in it's first year and did not produce much until very late, so cannot compare it yet.  My Tiger started ripening just one day later than Florea and a few days ahead of O'Rourke.  The above were potted plants, O'Rourke in 3rd year, Tiger and Florea in 2nd year, so things may change as they get older.


Just to add a little history from what I have read on this forum - what fignut posted above is correct.  Ed O'Rourke's stated goal was to create an "improved Celeste" fig.  Celeste was used as the common fig (female) parent for most of his crosses.  Over the years, and I think especially near the end of the program, a number of the multitude of figs under trial were passed out to get the opinions of others and, I believe, to keep them from being lost when LSU ceased support for the program.  Some may have been taken without knowledge of those running the program.  Many of these LSU program- derived figs being passed around in those days were known as an 'improved Celeste', not as an official name but as a descriptive term.  LSU later selected one of these, which they felt was one of the best, and released it as "O'Rourke".   The improved celeste 'Not' referenced above, I believe was from a known nursery and being sold by them as "O'Rourke" but was not the same as what LSU released as "O'Rourke".  Some fig experts on this forum opined that the nursery involved assumed that the improved celeste variety they had was the same improved celeste variety released by LSU as "O'Rourke" but it was not.  Then, on this forum, people began calling that improved celeste variety "Improved Celeste O'Rourke Not" or ICON, which is a good fig, felt to be earlier than O'Rourke.  I believe that is a better name for it than 'Improved Celeste Not', as it is truly an improved celeste from LSU breeding program, but it is NOT truly O'Rourke.  Hope this does not add to the confusion.  :)

Thanks for the backstory Ed.  i didn't realize Improved Celeste referred to more than one fig.  Sounds like ICON is a more accurate name.  A little less confusion!

Yes, I do have LSU Tiger. I like it. Unfortunately due to its lateness that coincide with my Fall salmon fishing hobby, I have given it much less focus.
The other key issue here during Fall is related to fruit flies --- too many fruits ripening & the flies have their "happy" days. I have trial many LSU
variants except for the cat series & Buddy Lee. The standout based strictly on earliness is ICON & O'rourke.
I like the name ICON.