The breba and fall crop can be quite similar or different depending on the variety. It this case it seems that they do have differences. You can use Tanglefoot around the base of the trunk to avoid the ant problem.

Yes, some varieties do taste better than others, but figs tend to improve as they mature, so yours may taste some better after another year or two of production. Many of us here are fig variety collectors, always on the hunt for that perfect fig.

If your plant is still very, very small, you might pull off the fruit to help the plant direct its energy towards becoming established, otherwise wouldn't worry.

You may have had one of several issues going on this year. The late frost set your tree back. I had an Alma that froze to the base last winter. It grew very little this year and produced no fruit. Another reason for slow growth may be that it has been establishing its footing in the ground. I would expect that next year you will see more substantial top growth.

My Celeste has small fruit as well. The difference in taste between "just about ripe" and "ripe" is quite marked. You may not have let the earlier figs ripen long enough and the later ones may not have had enough heat to fully develop flavor.

There has been a few discussions about removing figs to improve tree growth, especially on young trees. I have one tree (a three foot whip of an unknown variety) with nodes about an inch an a half apart, but when the tree had fruit on it, the nodes were less than a half inch (and in some cases much less) apart. I don't think that you will need to do any fruit pruning next year. Celeste does not have much (if any) of a Breba (on last year's growth) crop. Mine starts growing the Main (on current year's foliage) crop of figs around the March/April time-frame. You should see significant foliage growth before that.

If it were my tree, I would definitely give it at least one or two (especially if growing in tree form) more season before labeling it a dud.

~james

Thanks so much for sharing the great information, and your experiences with your own trees! I especially liked the link to finding that "perfect fig". So, fig crops are variable enough to the point that season to season can produce very different fruit. Interesting... Guess I'll stow the axe for now. ;-) I'll keep my hopes up for a decent tree -- at any rate, mine looks like it'll produce a whole lotta somethin'!

Thanks again!

Bruce C.

I don't have "improved" version, but have several Celeste variants.

Your plant used a lot of energy in its first flush of leaves, which it lost, with no benefit in return, so it is probably trying to recover from that loss.

Celeste should be very sweet, but must be fully ripe. Mine usually hang on the tree at leat a week after first sign of swelling and color change. They will usually start to dehydrate on the tree, and get even sweeter. First year figs, and for a 2nd year sometimes, are not necessarily representative of what the fruit from a mature tree will be like, because of juvenility, and becasue they often "ripen" later in the season that more mature trees would.

Some trees also need a fertilizeer shock to get them growing. My Black Madeira grew and inch or two a year for several year of growth and is much more productive.

In a couple years, when it has grown more, perhaps you can send me a couple twigs and I will grow it side-by-side with my other Celeste Experiment trees, to see how widely they differ.