'Dalmatie (BC)’ ('Elegant Berry, Adriatic Berry' flavor fig)
The 'Dalmatie’ that was once sold at the 'Belleclare Nursery' is the real genuine Dalmatie, so it was often distributed as ‘Dalmatie (BC)'.
A lot of confusion had occurred since the 'Belleclare Nursery' had falsely sold it under the name 'Vasilika Sika', so some people who noticed this error after getting it, they distributed it under the name Vasilika Sika (BC)', which was like saying that it's what the 'Belleclare Nursery' sells as 'Vasilika Sika', yet it's not the real thing. Which in reality I think that created a lot of confusion.
VS was one of the people who distributed the 'Dalmatie’ cultivar which was sold at 'Belleclare Nursery', so some people called this cultivar 'Dalmatie (VS)', yet that added to the confusion, since some people thought the (VS) was supposed to be an abbreviation for 'Vasilika Sika' when in reality it was just a name abbreviation for one of the people who distributed it.
VS also distributed the real 'Vasilika Sika', for that reason the real 'Vasilika Sika' was being distributed under the name 'Vasilika Sika (VS)', that is why his initials wound up in the name of both different cultivars.
‘Dalmatie (BC)' is not the same thing as 'Vasilika Sika (VS)', 'Vasilika Sika (VS)' is the real 'Vasilika Sika', and had no ties to the 'Belleclare Nursery'.
'Vasilika Sika (VS)' which is not the same as' Dalmatie’, is a notch better tasting, yet it ripens 2 to 3 weeks after 'Dalmatie’, and it's figs are shorter than 'Dalmatie’.
What a messy name confusion took place, the real ‘Dalmatie' was being called 3 different names, and it was getting mixed up with a different cultivar. Calling this cultivar Dalmatie (BC), and calling it nothing else would lesson all the confusion.
Adding to the confusion, Raintree Nursery' used to sell a strain of 'Brunswick' under the name "De Damaite", which featured a description for 'Dalmatie’, which at one point caused a lot of confusion. 'Brunswick' is very similar to 'Dalmatie’ in a lot of ways, yet 'Brunswick' has amber fleshed fruit, and is not red fleshed, 'Brunswick' fruit splits, sours, and gets attacked by insects much more often, unless it's planted in a 'fig tree perfect climate', like in Israel, there 'Brunswick's fruit is one of the best tasting and highest quality figs in the world 'only in a near perfect climate'. 'Brunswick' figs have larger eyes, and thicker leaf fingers.
'Dalmatie’ was originally found growing wild on the 'Dalmatian coast', on the Croatian island of 'Lesina', which is commonly called 'Hvar'.
Apparently at some point 'Dalmatie’ had become common in 'Greece', many people know the cultivar as 'White Greek', although since many people in 'Greece' call all white figs cultivars in Greece 'White Greek', many different white figs cultivars in 'Greece' get called 'White Greek', because many people in 'Greece' only know of two figs existing in their country, White fig, and Black fig! 'Dalmatie’ also found it's way to Italy, France, and so on, under the name 'Dalmatie’.
'San Pietro White', also known as 'San Pietro (UCD)', that is the same thing as 'Dalmatie’, sourced from Italy, yet it has a bad case of 'FMV', and so you should avoid growing it. 'Stella' that is also the same thing as 'Dalmatie’, it too has FMV, and that FMV appears to keep it's production low. So it's best to not get 'Stella'.
Like I said above, the strain of 'Dalmatie’ sold at the 'Belleclare Nursery', they sold it under the name 'Vasilika Sika', after all it highly resembled the Greek fig cultivar known as 'Vasilika Syka Aspra', and since the strain that they received originated from Greece, it was falsely identified as 'Vasilika Sika', yet as documented by Greek gardeners 'Vasilika Syka Aspra' is a fig with a much shorter neck than 'Dalmatie’, well most of the figs it produces are, maybe someone at 'Belleclare Nursery' had seen a long fig or two, and further assumed that the 'Dalmatie’ they were given was 'Vasilika Syka Aspra'.
'Dalmatie’ is a cultivar that has slow vegetation growth that can make it dwarf like, yet after a long time it can get full sized, it's width and it's height grows to be 6 1/2 feet - 9 3/4 feet. At well over 10 years old this cultivar can reach 19 3/4 feet in height. It's buds are 'Red, pink'.
'Dalmatie’ also has a lot of leaf variability when it is a young plant, the leaves of 'Dalmatie’ have 5 deep narrow, and long lobes, plus 2 thumbs 'when the tree is older'.
This cultivar takes about 3 years to start producing figs, yet once it starts to produce a crop it does so reliably every year. The 'large' to 'extra large' sized fruit of it's breba crop is low production, the 'medium' to 'large' sized fruit of it's main crop is high production!
The flesh of it's yellow/green long pear shaped fruit is a deep dark strawberry red color, with a powerful sweet to very sweet complex/rich strawberry jam flavor, accompanied by a slight honey taste, as well as accompanied by a pleasant fig aroma. At their best this cultivar's soft figs are so juicy that their juice easily drips from them, younger 'Dalmatie’ trees may not produce as juicy figs! The fruit of this cultivar has little to no seed crunch. The skin of it's figs is thick and tough.
One disadvantage of a cultivar like 'Dalmatie’ having such large figs, is that it's fruit doesn't ripen as evenly as smaller figs, requiring them to take more time to ripen properly, yet it's figs ripen faster than you'd expect such sizable figs to ripen! As it's figs ripen the area around their tiny eyes gains a brownness, they are best when they are soft like a marshmallow yet firm, when their neck feels soft, when their skin cracks, when the area around their tiny fig eyes turn brownish enough, and when they droop as if they're barely hanging on. A moderately pink colored fig honey might drip or flow from the eyes of it's figs, ranging from days to a week of it leaking, then it's perfectly ripe. The eyes of it's figs are so tiny that they will not allow insects to enter. Some people seem to find that the figs of this cultivar are perfectly ripe before all that leaking, that difference might be caused by a difference in climate, or by age of the tree? If this cultivars' figs are hollowish 'then they're not fully ripe. If you have to eat figs of this cultivar not fully ripe, not soft all over the figs then store them in a sealed container/zipper bag over night, do so in a refrigerator, that makes them more evenly delicious, as well as thicker and richer!
'Dalmatie’ produces at a young age, usually either the same year rooted, or the year after.
This cultivar can produce good to great figs even under cool rainy conditions (nights of 40's and days of 50's for 2 weeks) without tasting watered down, and it's fruit is way better under ripe than the fruit of many other cultivars are. This cultivar is split resistant. Cool weather doesn't easily interrupt this cultivar from ripening it's figs. Dalmatie is an early cropper, new figs starting to show up some time between early August, and sometime in September, it's figs continue to ripen into late October, or until hard frost hits. In a short season climate the main crop of this cultivar might not ripen in time 'if all the breba crop is not removed'. Preventing new vegetation growth will also speed up fruit maturity.
The cold hardiness of 'Dalmatie' is equal to that of 'Mount Etna like figs'. It's excellent cold resistance 'might be in part due to the fast hardening off', of it's wood 'while the cultivar is not dormant', as well as this cultivars' slow start at 'restarting vegetation growth' in the spring. One person's 'Dalmatie’ was hit by -7.6 degrees Fahrenheit (-22 degree Celsius) in winter of 2016/2017, then hit by harsh hail and snow in March 2017, all of that causing the 'Dalmatie’ tree to die to the ground, after all of that it survived, and it fully recovered!
'Dalmatie’ and 'Longue d'Aout' are not the same cultivar. 'Longue d'Aout' ripens earlier, each has a different taste.
The mutation created stain 'Ciccio Nero' was the result of 'a mutation of one branch' of a 10 - 11 year old 'Dalmatie' fig tree. 'Ciccio Nero' has brown fruit. It's figs are a little bigger, not as sweet, or as juicy as the figs of 'Dalmatie' are. On the most part the figs of 'Ciccio Nero' and 'Dalmatie' are nearly identical. 'Ciccio Nero' appears to have found it's way to Italy, found there by the name of 'San Pietro dark'.
