This time of year again. Last year everyone mostly agreed that I have improved Celeste. One more time. Lol mostly three loved leaves some five. Just going by fruit what you think

Hi Richie,

 I have IC from Mountain figs growing. It is slow growing, along with Golden Celeste, it is also a knotty twisting plant with many nodes. Hoping for a first fruit this year.

 The O'Rourke grows faster with more "normal" growth. I did get fruit but do not remember the neck being as long, or the fig being squat shaped. From memory I think it was more oval.

 Have you tried Hollier? A very nice fig and larger than the O'Rourke. I thought it had more juice and the texture was not as thick. 

 It is worth noting these are now second year plants in buckets where you probably have established in-ground trees.

 Newbie opinion, Mike.

Richie,did you just pick those?All my celest figs are still small.Lots of them,just small .I heard the improved Celeste
is an early fig.

I have a proven O'Rourke that is producing brebas right now. Your figs resemble mine in some ways,but while mine does have a three lobed leaf once in a while,you really have to look for them. If yours has mostly three lobed leaves,I would think you have an Improved Celeste. Also, those five lobed leaves have a very distinct shape when compared to IC. One other thing is that IC sometimes has some single lobed leaves. Maybe some photos of the leaves would be more conclusive than looking at the fruit. Not trying to sound like an expert,just making observations from my own trees.

Mike I haven't had hollier yet but will this year.
My tree is in ground about three years old and yes the fruit was just picked and pictures taken right away and then eaten and shared with wife and pups. Mario last year peps here said Improved Celeste. Will add pics tomorrow after work. Raining for days now and figs ripened in the rain and no splitting.

Richie,

I can not get past how hard it is to find a true O'Rourke in the very place where it originated!  Very frustrating.

From what I've seen, ICs have from one to three-lobed leaves and an occarsional five-lobed leaves and the figs look like yours, but I'll tell you-the figs in your photos look like they'd be scrumptious.

I've got ICs that have a greenish tint to them when they ripen and some that are brown like yours.  They're all good.

Where are your newer pictures of the figs?

noss a.k.a. Vivian

This is an orouke leaf from a tree kindly given to me last October by Navid.

bamafig--This doesn't look like any of the tree leaves I've been told are O'Rourkes, so far.

I know Gene has an O'Rourke.  I'll see if he will take a picture of his tree and post it.  That sure is a pretty leaf.

noss

This is the O'Rourke at the LSU fig day in 2013.

Beautiful tree, love the structure on it much more than Pons's trees.

Leaf from my tree started from cutting from above tree.

Noss here are my brand new pics 😊😄 just took them. Figs are just beginning to ripen. Leaves are mostly three lobed. Well right now all are three lobed but sometimes you get five. Thanks everybody for your replies
Richie

Richie,

Those are beautiful trees and the fruit looks delicious.  Mine don't seem to have such long necks.  Do the brebas tend to have longer necks and are they larger?  The one larger fig at the bottom left seems to be growing from a leaf node and it has a longer neck.  Mine look like bells, usually.

My ICs have from one to three-lobed leaves with some five-lobed leaves.  Seems like they are just the opposite of what the O'Rs are.  I looked at the O'Rs carefully when we were there for the fig field day and saw some rare other lobed leaves on the O'Rs, but I had to look for them.

I love the flavor of the ICs very much.

noss

My Improved Celeste differs from LSU O'rourke.. the Improved Celeste is slightly elongated,
ripens earlier than O'rourke. Both are equally good tasting. My Improved Celeste ripens main
Crop earlier than Florea. It's early ripening traits were observed by an ex member Herman2.
It's interesting to find my Improved Celeste as very much similar to another named variant
LSU St Gabriel.

Richie, based on the pictures of your plant and fruit I am convinced it is Improved Celeste. 

Last year everyone thought the same as you Blackfoot So I need ororkie When I go to visit my daughter I will stop by and take some new pictures and a nice cutting

Has any one ever heard of a Mega Celeste, hmmmm.

Mega Celeste is the same as improved Celeste I believe

Mega Celeste is a California fig unrelated to the Louisiana bred figs.

I thought the same thing figpig, I heard some where in this forum a while back that they were the same. Thanks for the corrections though agrarian.

Mega Celeste is its own type of fig.  I've never seen one.

How do they taste?  Do they resemble a Celeste?  Do they have an open eye?

Sometimes people ask if they are the same as a Monstreuse fig, which I've never seen, either.

noss

Noss & agrarian. Had no idea they weren't the same. I wish I had one. Two years ago I got some mega Celeste cuttings from RAF but I wasn't that good at rooting and didn't make it. Have to talk with him again.

I've never seen,much less tasted Mega Celeste either. I simply passed along information I got several years ago from a now forgotten source. If it's a supersized celeste you're wanting, the LSU Tiger fits that bill. If it's rarity you're after,then I guess Mega Celeste is what you want. LSU Tiger is bad about splitting in rainy weather,but in my opinion those figs that don't split don't taste very good in rainy seasons anyway,so they could just as soon split.

Richie,

I can see why people might think that's another name for the Giant Celeste.  I'd vote for LSU Tiger, but Dr. Johnson said that was a real problem about the name.  If you have an LSU Purple and an LSU Gold, for me it seems like LSU Tiger would have been a great name for that large fig.  Tigers are huge cats.

Then you have a Monstreuse.  Don't know how you spell that.

It's too bad the Giant Celeste has such a large eye and splits.  Just think about a big Celeste to eat--Yum!

agrarian,

That's an interesting philosophy on figs you have, there.  ;D

noss