I had a decent score for the Florea last year. I think it scored an 8. This year it has not been as good. Maybe because I ate the 2017 fig in mid August last year vs in September. My reviews get a bit tougher after eating so many figs. Usually by September the figs have to be amazing to get an 8.
So I made a mistake last year Florea is a single crop Fig. After reviewing the photos from 2017 all of the figs were growing on new wood.
The fruit this year grew in thick grape like clusters and again it was very productive.
This year it had a round appearance vs elongated. I don't know if that affected the flavor a bit or if I've been over watering it.
The taste was not as sweet or good as last year. I could be getting tougher on my scores but I was a little disappointed. This barley hit the the average for me this year. I do love it's productivity and reliability.
Fig Tasting: Late October Figs Rob's Genovese Nero, Celeste & Florea
Celeste, Rob's Genovese Nero, & Florea
Figure by this time of year the cold weather is gonna make the figs taste like crap but I couldn't resist and picked a few anyways. These score are not indicative of the true potential of these figs. If they had ripened with more sun and heat I'm sure they would receive a much better score.
So really the only purpose of these scores is to show why it may not be worth it to grow really late figs here in the PNW.
These 3 are an exception though. RGN has a Breba crop, Celeste ripens in late Sept. & Florea has a very long ripening time frame all the way into Oct.
Rob's Genovese Nero Main Crop (10/01/17) 3yr old plant
The Florea fig is a winner here in Seattle. So fa, the Brandon Unk fig is the earliest breba but the Florea has got to be earliest main crop fig. It's only mid August and all of the figs are near ripening.
This is a great fig for collectors in areas with short seasons. It's got my endorsement!
It is currently in a 2 gallon pot but I think I'll get this guy in ground. The taste of this fig is quite spectacular as well. I have a link to the tasting scores below.
Tasting Violette de Bordeaux, Florea, & Olympian Figs
The Brebas are winding down and these are about the last ones I'm picking off of my fig trees. Violette de Bordeaux
The Violet de Bordeaux 3rd yr in ground has finally hit it's maturity level. The figs are top notch this year in terms of taste. The color, texture, flavor and did I mention color of my VDBs this year were spectacular! The breba productivity kinda stunk though because I only pulled about 5 figs from this tree.
VDB for any Seattle grower should go in ground, you will be rewarded nicely with some of the best figs to eat.
This is a great fig! My 2yr old tree grown in a 2 gallon pot has proven to be incredibly productive. It had 10 figs on basically a single branch! I think it maybe a good candidate to go in ground here. It's definitely a keeper.
There's a real strong punch of sweetness and strawberry from the Florea. It's small but carries a big flavor stick.
Olympian
The Olympian has gotten better and better over the last couple of years. It definitely has adapted very well to the climate that we have here in the PNW. The brebas are large and very attractive with it's bright yellow necks.
The taste on these were less figgy than the Gene's Vashon, it was sweet and melony. My kind of fig. Very little seed crunch compared to the Gene's Vashon. I'm glad to have this guy in ground it will only get more productive with time.
