Boysenberry Blush

[Bellefleurs]

Fruitgrower
Today I picked the first ripened boysenberry blush fig from my grafted (multi variety) in ground tree.
A couple of days ago a bird or squirrel scraped the fig through the protective bird netting so while I probably could have waited another day to pick the fig I was reluctant to tempt fate.
This was a VERY large fig. I didn’t weigh it but it was larger than Battaglia Green and even the CdD Gegantina that I picked last year from the same grafted tree.
This fig that was ripened in Houston TX wasn’t as ruby red as those shown ripened in California but this fig was INCREDIBLE.
Among those sampled today (Black Madeira, LSU purple, Alma, O’Rourke and Battaglia Green) Boysenberry Blush was our favorite.
The flavor was very sweet with a complex berry flavor. The skin was exceptionally sweet.
As figs typically improve with maturity, I would have to say that Boysenberry Blush lived up it’s legendary reputation.
It has earned a permanent spot in my collection.
Many thanks to Fruitgrower for discovering this fig and for sharing it with the community. 😊

[aaron]

Wow! High praise! I’m glad to hear it. My little tree is trying to set a bunch of fruit. Can’t wait to try them!

[Wunga]

Is it common for dirds to pick at green fruit?

[Halligan-]

Yep, seems like it

[cvarcher]

Oh yeah, I just had a a sweet Diana that I had to pick early because a cardinal pecked a hole into it. I check my figs several times a day and in the morning it was fine showing cracked skin and swelled. By Noon it had a hole into it! My Boysenberry blush is full of large fruits (NY) .I cant wait to taste them!!

[Bellefleurs]

You are in for a treat!

[Evdurtschi]

Let them ripen completely. They improve a LOT the last couple of days.

[RosyPosy]

This is really good news! Everyone in non-wasp land who got one is breathing a sigh of relief, lol. Hopefully, it gets out more and more!

[Halligan-]

Great looking fig!
Cant wait to see what else it does for you!!

[Fruitgrower]

Bellefleurs , awesome! So glad you got to try this fig and even more glad you enjoyed it! I think you are the first person to try a main crop BB outside of California, very nice! I have some newly found seedlings that will be fruiting soon or have already fruited. A few of them are looking really good so far, after I try more I will figure out what to send you to test. You are a skilled gardener, the kind of tester I like. Enjoy your BB's, looks like I have a few ready to ripen here, looking forward!

[Bellefleurs]

I feel thankful to have been given this opportunity and I appreciate your trust. 🦋

[ieatfigs]

That looks like it needs more than another day. Maybe 3.

[Bellefleurs]

I’ll keep you posted.
The back side had a really dark red area closer closer toward the eye. I expect for this one to get a lot darker with ripening and even age.
I have a few fig varieties that ripened amber or light pink last year but dark pink this year.
The surprise with this one was the intensity of the flavor along with the extra sweet skin.

[Fruitgrower]

ieatfigs, kinda funny, I have tried many figs at many ripeness. Most are not great unless fully ripe, a few, including BB are wonderfull at many stages, having just richer, more complex flavor. These are the Very Best figs, and the ones that are the most regarded.

[ieatfigs]

Bellefleurs Fruitgrower nice!

[TNJed]

Congrats Denise it looks great!

[Pdiscool]

Awesome news all around!

[tinyfish]

Do we know how it grows in lets say Canada or more specifically Toronto area...

[drew51]

I have one in Michigan. I didn’t really push growth so it will be next year before I have fruit.

[ZingsFigs]

Thank you for sharing, it looks really great. How many do you have grafted onto that tree ?

[Bellefleurs]

I have 10 varieties grafted onto this tree.

[Evdurtschi]

That is such great news!!!! Thank you for sharing.

DcSteve Looks like your little tree should do better in the future. :-)

[DcSteve]

Evdurtschi Hey Thank You for tagging me on this....
Bellefleurs Thank you for posting your pics from the great looking plant you have that we all agree could produce great, accurate fruit....
I am also very happy to read that many regard you as a skilled grower, which is great and very important in this situation. Because I think that the color of your pulp is what I thought mine would exactly look like if it had all its potential to ripen as a plant. A more pink instead of red pulp.

The main point I wanted to bring up with my review post, was the “Potential” of this fig ripening out of wasp country. The fig I ripened was on a tree that is very small and young, but I believe potential can be shown by the color of the pulp. I may be wrong and I accept that if time proves me wrong.

But let’s view the pics all in one place to see ....

The first pic is the one from my original post
The second pic is the one from above in this post
The third pic is from Figbid

I may be wrong, but I think Denise’s nicely ripened fig on a strong plant looks very similar to mine and I believe she does no have the wasp.

[Evdurtschi]

The most important thing is the taste and it sounds like this one was a high quality fig that beat out a few other well known and proven varieties.

There are only a few figs that even come close to matching the same color without caprification. I ripened some BB that I am certain hadn’t been visited by the wasp and they were still better than many other top tier varieties ripened in the same conditions.

I tagged you bc I wanted to let you know not to give up on it yet since your first review didn’t sound promising and it was nice to see a report from one that WAS high quality.

[swethakyadav]

Denise doesnt have the wasp and we have also had some rain in Texas over the last week. I would have to mention that this was on an older tree graft while Steve's seemed to be a rooted cutting. So I guess it needs to be more mature to belt out those amazing figs and the grafted tree definitely has an advantage in this case.

[Netstars]

I get caught up in the excitement of new seedlings that are being introduced.
Step one is finding out if the variety is common.
Thank you for confirmation of this Denise.
I am growing BB and it is nice to hear it is common.
We need to be realistic with our expectations.
Jon’s picture of BB is absolutely beautiful.
Remember, this is a fig that was ripened in a warm, dry area with the fig wasp.
The majority of us do not have the fig wasp. Many also do not grow in warm, dry areas.
It would be very surprising if we ever see the same beautiful fig without the wasp.
That does not mean BB could not be a very good fig without the wasp.
I am hoping BB becomes a permanent fig in my collection.
Those of us growing BB need to keep posting pictures and giving honest reviews to the fig community.

[Evdurtschi]

I agree fully about the need for reviews from all people. That said, it is extremely important not to judge one based off a first fig from a small tree. That isn’t an accurate representation of the figs quality in the vast majority of cases. I have many varieties that were not impressive their first year and would have been culled if it wasn’t for the reviews of other, more experienced growers.

[Fruitgrower]

I am finding it takes at least 3 years for figs, and fruit in general to reach their full potential. Some varieties I have had 4 to 5 years now twice the size and better quality than years past. My Thermalito is a good example of this, this year they are averaging 80 grams and just insanely delicious. Many others are following suite, so give them some time. The BB picture I have above came from the mother tree, and to this day the very best fig I have eaten, perfectly ripened and memorable. While I do not expect them to look like this out of wasp land, the one I ripened last year bagged was still a good looking fig, just not as good.

[cvarcher]

its sure growing great here in NY. I have at least a dozen fat little orbs!!

[Bellefleurs]

Your tree looks beautiful and healthy.

[Netstars]

Looking forward to your review this year. I hope you love it!

[Fruitgrower]

Very nice looking tree Corrado, hope you enjoy the figs!

[cvarcher]

Thanks. As long as the furry little guys dont get to them first!! I'll post a guard when the time comes.

[DcSteve]

Netstars I completely agree, very well stated
Evdurtschi I also agree, Definately cannot confirm a fig authenticity from one fruit off a small tree 👍

My initial post on this fig and this current post still are stating exactly what I did all along in different ways. That it is just pictures of what has ripened and what our plants look like fr different parts of the country as information. I agree and believe it is good to get the info out there.

[It Could use another day]

how does this compare to white madeira?

[Fruitgrower]

I am growing both figs. They are both top notch/quality figs. The difference is BB has a deeper, more complex/intense flavor. Kinda like a wow factor. Can't go wrong with either though, amongst the very best figs!

[It Could use another day]

does this fig split?

[Bellefleurs]

So far none of my figs have split.
I have a few still on my trees and one is swelling so I expect for it to ripen soon. The eye appears to be very tight on this fig.

[cvarcher]

Same here, so far no splitting . We willl now get hurricane tested. Each month I use Serenade anti fungal. Its holding the rust off considering all this humidity and rains.