The article made me want to live in Hawaii. I have heard that some cultivars will fruit three times in the south if we have a long summer. But in the article they said the trees fruit all year round in the lower elevations. I could live with having to prune 2-3 times a year if I could pick fruit all year round.

I liked that they gave statistics in their links for the different measures they took to keep birds from eating the fruit and the relative measure of success for each.

All in all it was a good read and the links in the article were worthy of reading too.

It is not a rumor that some fig cultivars will ripen three crops (not counting brebas) in the South....it is a fact which I've seen in my yard too. A few of the LSU bred figs have this property. LSU Purple and LSU Improved Celeste are two of the named varieties that are almost ever-bearing. One of Dr. Rourke's goals was to improve the productivity of Celeste and Hunt......he accomplished that goal.

What most forum members do not know; is that, LSU Improved Celeste is actually replacing many older Celeste trees in orchards and other business ventures. LSU Improved Celeste is so productive, they can actually turn a profit. For newcomer Improved Celeste to replace the Celeste strain, which was the standard bearer fig cultivar in Louisiana for hundreds of years, says a lot about Dr. O'Rourke's untouted success.

Ken Love should give those two varieties a try in his Hawaii plantings. I'm almost certain that LSU Purple would be a dynamite fig growing in that tropical environment. In my yard.....it is the first fig to begin growing in the spring and the last fig to go dormant in the fall.

Dan

For these three-crop figs, how is the flavor between crops? The brebas I've eaten on the few distinct figs I've eaten (since paying attention) have been different from the main crop, usually to the lesser. Do the three-crop figs have three similar tasting crops?

I guess I better add LSU Purple and LSU Improved Celeste to my short list of things to get along with Herman2's Marseilles vs Black.

The third crop of the Improved Celeste does not taste as good as the first two main crops, but it still is perfect for making fig preserves.....which for some is a side business in La.

Dan

Next year or year after as your young trees mature and get in tune with the natural cycle of your environment, those trees should produce well for you.

If you carefully read the article which is the subject of this thread and other reports written by Ken Love, you will see that LSU Gold does well in all areas tested in Hawaii.....and the fig is in demand by local chefs. It is a beautiful banana yellow fig with little to no discoloration. A large, sweet fig with nice eye appeal will always be in demand.....especially in the u-pick-it operations.

I have a lesser known cultivar called Jack Lily. It too is a large banana yellow fig like the LSU Gold. It has a shape that is more pyriform than flat. These are still ripening in my yard too. Still another little known LSU variety that I have ripening fruit now looks like a yellow Hunt fig. It is a brightly colored, closed-eyed fig that is almost ever-bearing. It looks like an LSU Improved Hunt fig to me......time will tell.

Dan