How to Care for Fig Trees
Fig trees are one of the easiest fruit trees for gardeners to grow. Northern gardeners cultivate figs in containers while gardeners in warmer regions nurture fig trees in their back yard. One fig tree can produce enough figs for a family of four. Figs are self-fertile, meaning you only need one fig to produce fruit. Choose dwarf figs for container cultivation. If you have a small yard espalier a fig tree along a wall or fence. Once established, fig trees need very little care other than continued watering and winter protection. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Fig tree hardy in your area
- Shovel
- Compost
- Organic mulch
- Pruning shears
- 8-8-8 commercial fertilizer or balanced fruit tree fertilizer
- Polyester tree blanket or burlap
- Decorative container 2x larger than root ball
- Horticultural sand
- General purpose potting soil
- Broken clay pots, gravel or small stones
Instructions
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Figs in the Garden
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Plant fig trees in late winter or early spring while the tree is still dormant. Choose a spot in full sun (fig fruit needs exposure to full sun to ripen) with well-drained fertile soil. Northern gardeners should plant fig trees on the south side of buildings or fences. Space fig trees 15 to 20 feet apart and fig bushes 10 feet apart.
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Mulch your fig tree with 3 to 4 inches of organic mulch. Shredded bark, wood chips or well rotted manure all work well. Pull mulch 2 to 3 inches away from the trunk of the fig tree to prevent damage and spread to the drip line (the place where the tips of the branches reach). Replace or refresh mulch every fall.
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Prune your fig trees every year for its first three years. Pruning takes place in fall after harvest except for the removal of winter killed branches which takes place in spring after fig leaves emerge. Remove broken, dead or diseased branches. Remove branches that are growing into the center of the tree. Prune to establish the shape you want the mature fig tree to take.
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Prune fig trees older than three years to remove broken, dead or diseased branches. If your fig tree has stopped producing fruit you can shorten the lateral branches by 1/3 in mid fall or early spring. Doing this may disrupt fruit production until the following year depending on the cultivar.
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Fertilize fig trees in spring but only if branches did not grow more than 1 foot the previous year. Use either a balanced commercial or organic fruit tree fertilizer, applying according to package directions, or use an 8-8-8 commercial fertilizer applying 1 pound for each year the tree has been planted up to 12 pounds in one year.
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Water your fig tree during the growing season (March through September). Keep the soil moist allow the top 3 to 5 inches to dry slightly before watering again. Your fig will need 2 to 3 inches of water a week.
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Allow fruit to ripen on the tree for more flavorful fruit. Northern gardeners may have to pick fruit while it is still hard and ripen it indoors to prevent early frosts from damaging the fruit.
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Protect your fig tree from cold winter temperatures by wrapping it in a polyester tree blanket or several layers of burlap.
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Wrap the tree as soon as it drops all of its leaves in fall. Unwrap your tree after all threat of frost has passed in spring.
Figs in Containers
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Select a dwarf fig variety for container cultivation. Choose a decorative container (lighter colored ones work best as they reflect sunlight keeping the roots cool) twice as large as the root ball. You will need to re-pot your fig every 3 years.
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Place your fig tree will it will receive 8 to 12 hours of full sun a day. If you will be keep the container outdoors during the summer place the container so the container and soil is shaded while the fig tree receives full sunlight. The container needs to be shaded or covered to prevent the fig tree's roots from "cooking."
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Fertilize your fig tree once a month during the growing season (April through September) with a commercial or organic fertilizer formulated for fruit trees.
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Water your fig tree when the top 2 to 4 inches of soil has dried slightly, usually every 2 to 3 days. Do not allow your fig tree's soil to dry out completely. Doing so will cause the tree's leaves to yellow and drop.
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Prune your fig tree in fall after harvest. Remove crossing branches, branches growing into the interior of the crown and broken, diseased or dying branches.
Prune your container fig to maintain its health and shape. You may not have to prune every year.
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Tips & Warnings
Gardeners in zones 7 and above should prune figs so that they form a single trunk open-vase shape. Gardeners in zones 6 and below should prune figs so they form a multi-stemmed bush. Because figs may suffer from winter damage the bush form is easier for gardeners in colder climates to maintain and will produce the same amount of fruit as the tree form. Fig trees can survive unwrapped down to 10 degrees F. Colder temperatures will cause unprotected trees to die back to their crown. If you don't have enough room in your house to overwinter a potted fig: allow it to go dormant in the fall and store in a basement, garage or outbuilding where temperatures will not fall below 10 degrees F.
Giving your fig tree too much nitrogen will encourage growth, give you fewer fruit and cause the fruit to be smaller, harder to ripen, and lowers the quality and taste. When pruning do not remove more than 1/3 of live wood in a year. Figs have exuberant root systems. Plant them so that their roots will not interfere with underground pipes, irrigation systems and wires or creep into planting beds and gardens. Sap produced from the tree at the point fruit is removed can cause rashes in some people. Wear gloves and long sleeved shirts or jackets while harvesting.
