HOME      SITE MAP      OUTDOORS      GREENHOUSE      SEEDS   VEGETABLES A-CH      VEGETABLES CO-PA     VEGETABLES PE-W  SOFT FRUIT       TOP FRUIT       RECIPES      STORAGE

FIGS  (Ficus)

The common Fig has a long history of some 11,000 years, of being bred and cultivated in the Middle East. Probably, around that time, the early farmers noticed a chance genetic mutation which produced a self-pollinating female fig tree variety, which could only be propagated by rooting a shoot. In this all-female fig tree variety, the male flower parts do not develop. While we think of a fig as being a fruit, it is really a “false fruit”, as the flowers and the seeds have grown together to form a single mass where the embryonic flowers are actually inside the fruit. In most other fruits, such as apples, the flowers are outside the embryonic fruit. If it had not been for this chance mutation, we would not be able to grow figs in our climate, as the original figs had to be pollinated by a specific small wasp which had to crawl inside the fig to pollinate it.

While figs grow well outdoors in the South of England, they are more of a challenge the further North you go. But it is not impossible as I have seen a large fruiting specimen, just South of Edinburgh, growing outside against a West facing wall. The photos are of a small specimen tree growing outdoors all year round, but against a South facing wall in Glasgow. They need all the sun and shelter that they can get.

Fig trees will grow into very large specimens, easily 15 m high if you let them. I know of a house in London where you could lean out of a third floor window and pick ripe figs! However, if you want them to fruit well and be of a manageable size, you will need to restrict the roots. This can be done by using a very large pot or tub, such as are used to transport young trees, and sinking it into the ground. Alternatively, books frequently recommend using paving slabs sunk into the ground to form a large box and then filled with not too fertile a soil. Treat them mean and make them keen, if you want lots of fruit, rather than soft sappy growth. Fig trees in pots or tubs benefit from being fed a high potash liquid feed, such as a tomato fertiliser, perhaps once a month during Spring, Summer and Autumn. They will also need to be kept watered if there is a drought.

Figs will be ripe when they start to change colour from bright green to a yellow-green and then develop a brown tinge. You will also notice that they start to droop down and will go slightly soft if gently squeezed with finger and thumb. If left, they will start to expand and split and will attract the unwelcome attention of insects and wasps.

The fruit producing cycle is unusual, in that during the late Autumn of year one, they form very small immature fruits. Provided these do not get badly frosted over the Winter, they will reach maturity the following summer, and be ready for harvest during August.

During the Summer, the tree will start to produce another crop of figs, but these will be too small to reach maturity before the Winter starts in the UK. They will fall off along with the leaves in early Winter, as the Fig tree is deciduous. Sadly, this second crop of figs are hard and have not developed any sweetness and are not worth eating.