Fig

Site and soil

Fig wants full sun, heat and sharp drainage. It grows in poor, rocky and sandy soil and asks little in the way of fertility; too much nitrogen gives leaves and no fruit. A pH of 6.0 to 7.0 is ideal. The warmest, most sheltered spot on the property is the fig spot: against a south or west wall, at the top of a slope, or in a courtyard where stone holds heat.

In zone 6 figs are a die-back crop. Most winters the top is killed to the ground and the roots send up new shoots in spring, which bear on new wood from late summer on. Chicago Hardy was selected for exactly this and reliably ripens a crop on those new shoots. Other varieties in this listing fruit best where the top survives, so in zone 6 give them winter protection, or grow them in a large pot you can move into an unheated garage.

Spacing

Mature figs run 10 to 15 ft tall and wide where the top survives winter, and smaller as die-back shrubs. Set them 10 to 15 ft apart, or 6 to 8 ft for die-back plants you will keep as a hedge.

Planting

Plant in spring after the last frost. Figs establish fastest in warm soil.

• Dig the hole as deep as the root system and twice as wide.
• Set the plant an inch or two deeper than it grew, which encourages roots along the buried stem and protects the crown in winter.
• Backfill with native soil and water in well.
• Mulch 3 to 4 inches deep. In fall, pile the mulch 8 to 12 inches deep over the crown for winter.

Pollination

Common figs set fruit without pollination, so one plant bears a full crop and no partner is needed. The tiny flowers are inside the fig, which is why you never see a bloom.

Winter protection

Where the top is worth saving, wait until the leaves drop and a few hard frosts have hardened the wood, then tie the branches together, wrap them in burlap or insulation, and cap the bundle to shed water. Unwrap after the last hard freeze in spring. The old mountain method of bending a young fig to the ground and burying it in soil and leaves also works. If protection fails and the top dies, cut it to the ground in spring and let it resprout; you lose nothing but height.

First-year care

• Water deeply once a week through the first summer, and during dry spells after that. Figs drop fruit when they dry out while the crop is sizing.
• Keep a mulched, grass-free circle around the plant.
• No fertilizer in year one, and only a light feeding in later years unless growth is weak.
• Protect the crown with deep mulch the first winter even in mild sites.

Pruning

Figs fruit on new growth, so pruning is simple. In late winter remove dead and winter-killed wood, cut out weak or crossing stems, and keep 3 to 6 main stems for a shrub form. Where the top survives, head the stems back lightly to keep the plant within reach for picking; a fig you cannot reach is a fig for the birds. Die-back plants need no pruning beyond removing the dead top in spring.

Harvest

Figs bear within 1 to 3 years, and a die-back plant in zone 6 bears on the first season's regrowth. Fruit ripens from August into October. A fig is ripe when it softens, droops on its stem, and the skin changes color and may crack slightly; a drop of nectar at the eye is a sure sign. A fig picked firm will not ripen off the plant, so wait, and check every day or two in season. Pick in the morning, with the stem.

Fresh figs keep two or three days refrigerated. Dry them, make preserves, or freeze them whole. Mockingbirds and catbirds know the moment a fig ripens, so net a small plant or plan to pick early in the day.