Bethel Grove Gardens · Variety reference
Celeste
Biological type: Common (persistent)
Pollination: Unknown
Cutting reference$5.00
One-gallon reference$25.00
Reference estimates, not sale offers or mature-tree appraisals. Price evidence date not recorded.
No verified photograph yet
Fruit & growing traits
- Biological type
- Common (persistent)
- Crop habit
- Main; light breba
- Main crop ripening
- Early
- Flavor profile
- Sugar
- Fruit size
- Small
- Skin color
- Violet-brown with bloom
- Pulp color
- Amber to light strawberry
- Hardiness / climate notes
- Best-in-class humidity/rain fig; fairly hardy
Reported growth habit: Unknown
Origins & names
- Geographic origin
- Malta / Mediterranean tradition; SE-US heirloom
- Possible origin
- USA (Southeast)
- Synonyms / alternate names
- Celestial; Sugar fig; Malta (sometimes); → Malta
- Same or nearly the same
- 30+ names. Black Celeste = darker sport/relative. Blue Celeste USDA ≠ this. LSU O'Rourke/Champagne/Tiger/Purple = seedlings. Often mislabeled Brown Turkey in the South.
- Popular close brother
- Unknown / not recorded
- Known parentage
- Traditional; LSU female parent
- Reference year
- 1800
- First year (estimate)
- Mediterranean heirloom; SE-US by 19th c.
- What the year means
- Often linked to Malta. Present in the American South by the 1800s. Seedling year unknown. Female parent of 1950s LSU crosses.
Evidence & reference values
- Confidence
- Established heirloom; strain variation real
- Key sources
- FigBoss Celeste article; LSU; ChicagoFigs; Figaholics
- Condit page
- Unknown / not recorded
- Notes
- Core parent of LSU program with Hunt and caprifig C1. | Price: HD/Perfect Plants Celeste 1-gal ~$22–35; Fig Boss 3-cut $25
- Commonality
- Super common
- Market availability
- Big box
Imported catalog record; not individually reviewed. Separate names do not necessarily establish distinct genotypes.