Growing Figs & Fig Production

Overview

• Figs are deciduous trees that can grow 20 to 30 feet or more in height. They are tolerant of pruning, and in home gardens figs can be trained to almost any height that is convenient for picking. The dried figs found in grocery stores are different from most of the varieties available for homeowners to grow. These are mostly "Smyrna" type figs, which require a special pollinating insect to produce fruit and are only grown in commercial orchard operations. Figs grown at home are usually for fresh consumption, although some varieties, such as "Black Mission," are excellent when dried.

Growing Requirements

• Figs need at least 6 hours of direct sun each day to produce good fruit. They are extremely drought tolerant after they are established and are most at home in poor, gravelly soils, similar to the rocky Mediterranean hills where they grow wild. However, they are adaptable to almost any soil type provided the drainage is good and pH is between 6 and 6.5. Fertilizer should be applied lightly, if at all, and can actually reduce fruit production, encouraging excessive vegetative growth instead.

Propagation

• Figs are perhaps the easiest fruit trees to propagate at home. Unlike most fruit trees, they do not require grafting and are readily grown from cuttings taken in late winter when the trees are fully dormant. Cuttings should be 8 to 12 inches long and between a 1/2 inch and 1 inch in diameter. Stick them into a rooting medium such as perlite or sterilized potting soil with half their length below the surface, and roots will begin to form as the leaves emerge from the dormant wood in spring.

Best Production Practices and Varieties

• One of the keys to good fruit production is to plant varieties that are locally adapted. Figs suited to the humid and colder conditions of the southeastern U.S. include "Brown Turkey," "Celeste" and "Kadota." In general, figs thrive in the hot, arid regions of the west where "Black Mission," "Conadria" and "Desert King" are some of the top varieties. "Osborne's Prolific" is one of the best varieties for coastal areas with cool summers. Figs do not require specialized pruning for good fruit production, but they should be pruned to control size just after harvest in late summer to prevent eliminating a portion of the next-season's crop. Heat is important to ripen the fruit; plant against a south-facing wall or adjacent to a concrete patio or parking surface to generate large, fully ripened crops.