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Growing Figs: Annual Care, Tasty Varieties, and Helpful Resources

© Jojo Sigurgeirson

Figs are great for a small garden. They take up little space, are easy to care for, and produce some of the most delicious fruit.

Best Conditions for Growing Figs

• Fig wood is hardy to -15 degrees Celcius, growable in areas as cold as zone 8 with little protection.
• Figs like lots of sun to ripen; plant your figs against a south-facing wall. A microclimate that allows warm air to sit in a pocket in your garden is excellent fig-growing territory.
• Figs only need minimal pruning. For pruning tips, see here.
• Provide excellent drainage. Too much water at the roots can make the fruits split.
• Figs can grow in poor sandy mixes. Providing broken pot shards or stones under the roots will help restrain the growth, resulting in a dwarf and highly productive tree.

Annual Care for the Fig Tree

In early spring, the fruits will form on the branches before they flower. By May, the tree has fully leafed out. Be careful; fussng with its branches can cause the young fruit buds to drop. The fruits may start dropping by June. This is normal but can cause quite a mess; wasps may also be attracted.

By July the fruits are ripening. The holes at the end of the fruit will open slightly. Figs may also change colour depending on variety.

Some varities have a trickle of sap that attracts pollinators such as ants and wasps; however, garden figs are self-pollinating.

The second crop grows on wood produced this year. It will ripen unaided if your temperatures stay above 15 degrees C for a few months. An indian summer can help this process along, but most enthusiastic fig growers do one of the following:

• Drape a make-shift greenhouse over the entire tree. This can be made of clear plastic, a light-coloured tarpaulin, or corrugated fibreglass sheets.
• Put a paper bag over each developing fig. Tedious, but works well.

Dealing with Pests when the Figs Ripen

Birds are the most common pest. Fishing nets work well. Nets can also help keep racoons out, but they must be very strong nets tightly wrapped.

Common Fig Varieties

Adriatic (Fragola, Strawberry Fig, Verdone, White Adriatic) - From central Italy, small to medium, skin greenish, flesh strawberry colored. Good, all-purpose fig, but no good in mild-summer areas. Large vigorous tree leafs out early; subject to frost damage. Prune hard to force new growth.

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