Celeste Fig, also called Blue Celeste, Celestial, and Little Brown Sugar

Celeste (Blue Celeste, Celestial, and Little Brown Sugar) cultivar is probably the second most common fig in the southeastern United States, after Brown Turkey (Brunswick, Eastern Brown Turkey, Har­rison, Lees Perpetual, Ramsey, Texas Everbearing).

It's a small fig.

Celeste is almost as widely grown as Brown Turkey. Of the old standards, it is considered to be the best tasting and very good to excellent. Celeste has a tightly closed "eye," making it resistant to dried fruit beetle and rain entry, which can cause fruit to sour. Will drop unripe fruit in hot weather, but it is so outstanding in overall quality that it is worth some loss. Fortunately, Celeste ripens well before most other figs, allowing harvest before the worst heat.

This is the most popular cultivar in southern Louisiana and grows well in Florida. It is a very dependable producer of high quality, small to medium sized figs even in unfavorable/wet weather due to its small, tightly closed eye. The very sweet flesh has a rich, honey like flavor and is reddish amber in color. The eye remains green until the fig is almost ripe (unlike Brown Turkey)

The fruit is small to medium in size and purplish bronze to light brown in color. The flesh is bright pink, very sweet. Celeste is referred to as “sugar fig” on account of its sweetness. The outside skin is purplish-bronze to light brown and the flesh is rose-colored.

Celeste is known in the South as the "Sugar Fig". A Southern tradition, long-lived and hardy, Celeste's reputation comes from many generations of people that have grown this fig. The "eye" at the bottom of the fruit is small, keeping insects out.

Celeste figs have a compact growth pattern, usually reaching a mature height and spread of 7 to 10 feet (2-3 m). Excellent for container growing. They should not be pruned heavily, as this can reduce fruit production. They produce their main crop of fruit earlier than most other fig varieties, usually in early summer.

Scott Head grows more than 20 fig varieties, here is his video about Celeste:



Where to buy:

https://wellspringgardens.com/collections/figs/products/celeste-fig

References:

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg214
https://www.pepesplants.com/fig-trees.html
What Is A Celeste Fig: Learn About Celeste Fig Tree Care https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/figs/celeste-fig-tree-care.htm
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ficus-carica-celeste/
https://www.gurneys.com/product/fig-celeste
https://ediblelandscaping.com/products/shrubs/Figs/CelesteFig.php
https://www.figdatabase.com/variety-details/89/celeste

No comments: