Fig Tree Blanquette - Ficus carica

The Blanquette or Marseillaise Fig Tree (Ficus carica) is a self-fertile variety that produces small fruits with a yellowish-green skin when ripe, with a fine flesh and excellent taste. This variety is particularly well adapted for warm regions. It is deciduous, hardy, and thrives in sunny conditions. Plant in autumn or winter, avoiding frost (or in spring for colder regions).

The Blanquette Fig Tree produces small fruits with a yellowish-green skin when ripe, with a fine flesh and excellent taste. Figs are used in sweet dishes (tarts, clafoutis, compotes) or savoury dishes paired with goat's cheese, dry-cured ham, or foie gras. After harvesting, refrigeration is not recommended as it alters the fig's aroma and can cause the skin to suffer from humidity and condensation. The best way to enjoy them is fresh, eaten directly under the tree, to preserve their honey-like fragrance.

Among the varieties of fig trees, we can distinguish:

- Uniferous varieties, which produce a single harvest per year, usually in early autumn

- Biferous varieties, which produce two harvests per year, with figs called 'flower figs' appearing in early summer on last year's wood, and autumn figs developing on the current year's branches.

The Blanquette variety is a uniferous variety, producing figs around the month of August. The harvest should be done in several stages, as the figs ripen.

This variety is self-fertile and parthenocarpic, meaning it can produce fruit without pollination. It does not require other fig trees or the intervention of the fig wasp, the only pollinating insect of the fig tree, which is too sensitive to survive in cold climates.

Originating from Turkey and Asia Minor, the Fig Tree (Ficus carica) belongs to the Moraceae family. It is a small, vigorous deciduous tree with a rounded and erect habit, often with a twisted trunk, reaching 3 to 5 metres (10 to 16 feet) in all directions. The leaves are rough, bright green turning yellow in autumn, finely velvety, relatively large (sometimes 20 cm (8in) long), and with a long petiole. The lamina is deeply divided into three to seven lobes, usually five, of variable shape, with a velvety underside and prominent veins. The wood is soft and spongy, the bark grey and smooth. The root system of this small tree is powerful, spreading in all directions. The Fig Tree is often considered one of the most beautiful fruit trees. Its unique foliage gives it an ornamental aspect and provides a shaded space, which is very pleasant during summer heat. Plant the Fig Tree against a wall to protect it from cold during harsh winters, with a south or southwest exposure, alongside fruit-bearing pomegranate trees, white mulberry trees, and Japanese medlar trees in warm southern regions. In more northern areas, it can be associated with quince trees, Akebia quinata, and feijoa trees, which are also hardy and exotic. Take into account its adult dimensions when determining the distance at which you will plant it. Although the roots do not damage modern constructions, they can cause damage to dry stone walls or walls made with weak mortars, in the old-fashioned way.