Dalmatie

In the French garden centers, it is possible to find at least two distinct varieties of fig trees that are named "Dalmatie" ; one with green-violet fruits and one with green fruits. The following description is exclusively related to the green-fruited variety, as described for the first time in 1904 by Trabut.

This fig tree is supposed to originate from the island of Lesina (Hvar), in the Dalmatian coast (Croatia).

Dalmatie is a small-sized fig tree, with weak growth and little vigor that has a “bare” appearance, as the branches have little or no ramification and few deeply cut leaves.

The resistance to cold is very high and is probably also increased by the lack of vigor of the new growth in Spring and the fast hardening of its wood in Summer.

The tree bears many breba fruits in Spring, but they really can’t stand temperatures variations which make them massively fall. Besides the excellent taste and large fruit-size, this fig tree should not be grown for brebas production as the rare fruits that ripen delay the subsequent heavy main crop significantly.

The main crop fruits are very big and look enormous when compared to the small size of the tree. The fruit is very dense, sugared and surprisingly, if it rains a little before harvesting, then it becomes juicier without losing its qualities. When perfectly ripe, a drop of sugary honey flows from the eye.

The main crop of this variety is late and may not ripen; therefore suppressing all the breba crop, while at the size of peas may reduce the ripening time of the main crop by one to three weeks. In addition, the number of new sprouts that the plant produces must be controlled, because they also slow down the fruit maturity. The ideal case is to let these sprouts grow only those years when the warm season starts earlier than usual, to add or renew some branches that will eventually bear new fruits.

To conclude, this amazing, small-sized fig tree, highly resistant to cold, deserves a little space in the garden for the production of huge and excellent main crop fruits.
 
General data
Origin Croatia
Synonym(s), local names San Pietro, Du Japon, Blanche Navello
Tree type Common
Crop Biferous
 
Tree morphological characteristics
Shape Erected
Vigor Weak
Ability to produce suckers Medium
Height after 10 years 250 cm
Width after 10 years 200 cm
Minimum width 150 cm
 
Branch morphological characteristics
Branch color Brown red
Caliber Medium
Buds Red, pink
 
Leaves morphological characteristics
Leaves Small
Lobs 7
Depth Very deep sinuses
 
Adaptation outside the Mediterranean area
Cold hardiness Excellent
Wind resistant Excellent
Pot culture
 
Breba crop
Yield Almost none
Fruits dropping High fruit drop
Alternance Weak
Sensitivity to splitting Very resistant
Crop begin date (day-month) Valleiry:24-07
 
External characteristics
Skin color Green, yellow
Skin thickness Thick
Shape Pyriform
Stalk Breaks off readily
Stalk shape
Neck Quite long
Neck color
Eye Big, opened
Eye color
Average weight (grams) 150 g
 
Internal characteristics
Pulp color Light red
Seeds Felt, many
 
Organoleptic evaluation
Texture Juicy
Sugar Very sweet
Taste Excellent
Perfume Medium
Organoleptic descriptors  
 
Main crop
Yield Good
Fruits dropping No fruit drop
Alternance None
Sensitivity to splitting Resistant
Crop begin date (day-month) Valleiry:28-09
 
External characteristics
Skin color Green, yellow
Skin thickness Thick
Shape Pyriform
Stalk Does not break off readily
Stalk shape Short and medium
Neck Long
Neck color Green, yellow
Eye Big, opened
Eye color Light red
Average weight (grams) 93 g
 
Internal characteristics
Pulp color Dark red
Seeds Felt, many
 
Organoleptic evaluation
Texture Pasty
Sugar Sweet
Taste Very good
Perfume Medium
Organoleptic descriptors Honey, Strawberry