Fig

Ficus carica

Family Moraceae

ShrubZones 6-10

Botanical illustration of Fig

Figs, warm off the branch in late summer, are the fruit money genuinely cannot buy — they finish ripening only on the plant, and ripe ones travel about as well as soap bubbles. Fresh, dried, or cooked into jam, a fig bush repays its space extravagantly.

Tough beyond its looks, a fig shrugs off dry spells once settled and loves a hot, sun-baked wall. In cold-winter places it may die back and simply regrow, fruiting on the new wood the same year. Self-fertile and fast, one plant is a full fig program.

Where to buy fig — 12 nurseries compared

  • Full Sun
  • Moderate water
  • Fast growth
  • Excellent edible
  • up to 100 winter chill
Fig — a print from the Plant Library collection

From the print shop

Growing fig? Hang it.

Our Plant Library collection carries fig — Ficus carica, print Nº 184, “Fig.”

526 designsfrom $12.99white or black backgroundmatte poster, unframed

Shop Plant Library botanical prints →

✓

Will it fruit where you are?

Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what fig actually needs.

Hardy inZones 6-10
Winter chillup to 100
PollinationSelf-fertile

Fig · Common problems

Common fig problems

Pests, diseases and weather to keep an eye on.

Pests

3 problems on file

Diseases

2 problems on file

Weather

1 problem on file

Fig · Growing & propagation

Growing fig

Light, water, soil, propagation and the season’s jobs.
What it needsThe details
Light
Full Sun

Reflected heat is good

Water
Moderate

Dry spell tolerant once established.

Soil
Well-drained, Rich · pH 6.0 - 7.5
Fertilizer
Spring/Summer

Stop in Aug to harden off.

Pruning
Spring (after winter kill is obvious)

Remove dead wood. Pinch tips in summer to encourage fruit set.

Spacing
10-15 ft (or pot)

How to plant & propagate fig

Propagate
Grafted, or from cuttings/layering

Seed won't come true

Fig · Harvest & keeping

What you get from fig

How long before it bears, how much it gives, how you know it is ready, and how long it keeps once picked.
Botanical illustration of Fig
Years to first harvest
1 to 3 years
Typical yield
10–30 lbs
What you eat
Fruit
How to tell it is ready
Fruit softens and droops on the stem with a sugar drop at the eye
How long it keeps
2-3 days fresh; dries well

Fig · Seasonal care & spray guidance

The fig growing playbook

Field-tested instructions for every job fig asks of you, compiled from university extension guidance — in the order the season brings them.

When to spray fig

Dormant season. Winter Protection: Wrap/Mulch heavily in November after leaves drop.

While it is dormant

winter, before growth starts

2 jobs
PruningIn February and March

Dormant pruning: head back last year's growth

Prune once the coldest weather has passed but before buds move. Cut out dead, frozen, crowded, and low-growing wood and root suckers, then head back the remaining shoots by about one-third to one-half of last year's growth. Keep three to eight vigorous, widely spaced main stems and aim for at least a foot of new growth on every limb this season. The main fig crop is borne on the current season's new wood, so heading back last year's growth is what forces the vigorous new shoots that carry the fruit. Waiting until the coldest weather has passed also lets you see which wood the winter actually killed instead of guessing.

ProtectionIn November and December

Move container figs under cover after leaf drop

Once the leaves have dropped and the plant is dormant, move the pot into a cool indoor structure such as an unheated garage, before temperatures drop low enough to freeze the rootball. Keep it there until hard freezes have ended, then bring it back out. A fig in the ground has soil insulating its roots, but a pot does not - Rutgers warns that when trees are in pots the roots can be killed by freezing temperatures, and dead roots kill the plant outright rather than just the top.

As growth begins

early spring

3 jobs
MulchingIn spring

Mulch 2 to 3 inches over the root zone

Lay a 2 to 3 inch layer of organic mulch over the root zone, pulling it back a few inches from the stems. Renew it each year as it breaks down. Figs root shallowly and dry out fast, so mulch buffers the moisture swings that make them drop fruit. Organic mulches also measurably reduce root-knot nematode damage - which matters because an infected fig cannot be cured by any chemical treatment, making prevention the only tool you get.

FeedingAt green tip

Feed lightly starting at bud break

As buds break, spread a balanced 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 in a band starting a foot out from the trunk - about 1 ounce per month for young plants, or one-third pound per foot of bush height for established ones, split across roughly three applications. Stop feeding by midsummer. Figs are naturally light feeders, and excess nitrogen pushes leafy growth at the expense of fruit - the classic sign of overfeeding is a vigorous plant whose figs swell but never ripen.

SprayingAt green tip

Fig rust: neutral copper once the first leaves reach full size

Only spray if rust defoliated the plant last year - it is not worth spraying otherwise. Start neutral copper or a 5-5-50 Bordeaux mix (copper sulfate, lime, and water) when the first leaves of spring have reached full size, and repeat every two to three weeks as new growth appears. In fall, rake up and destroy the fallen infected leaves. Fig rust overwinters on fallen leaves and reinfects the new spring foliage, and a bad infection strips the plant of the leaves it needs to ripen a crop - so the spores have to be stopped on young leaves before they build up, and the fallen leaves removed before they can start next year.

Through summer

the growing season

1 job
WateringThrough summer

Give an inch of water a week through the growing season

Supply 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week from rain or irrigation, keeping the supply steady rather than swinging between soaked and bone dry. Watch for yellowing and dropping leaves - that is the drought signal, and by then fruit is already being shed. Fig roots are shallow and the plant sheds its crop rather than fight a drought, so a dry spell during fruit sizing drops the figs outright. Drought-stressed trees are also markedly more vulnerable to root-knot nematode damage and simply will not fruit well.

Harvest time

as it ripens, and picking

2 jobs
What to watch forAs fruit ripens

Check ripening figs for souring at the eye

As figs begin to soften, look for gas bubbles or a scummy ooze at the eye and a fermented smell. Pick and destroy every souring fruit rather than letting it hang or drop, and keep fallen fruit cleaned up. Souring is caused by yeasts and bacteria that the dried fruit beetle carries in through an open ostiole, and each fermenting fig becomes the beetle bait that seeds the rest of the crop.

HarvestingAt harvest

Pick when the neck softens and the fig droops

Harvest when the fruit stem loses its rigidity and the fig droops down slightly on the branch. Twist the fruit off or cut it with shears into a shallow container, and check the plant every day or two once ripening starts. Figs do not ripen after picking, so a fig pulled while its neck is still stiff never sweetens - and one left a day too long bruises, splits, or is taken by birds and ants.

After harvest

autumn, and putting it to bed

1 job
ProtectionIn November

Protect your fig for winter

In cold zones mulch the roots heavily and wrap or bend-and-bury the canes. Fig wood dies back below the low teens without protection.

Fig · Calculators & field guides

A little help in the garden.

Calculators for the figures. Field guides for the hands-on work.

Fig · Yearly calendar

The fig year, month by month

What fig asks for, month by month.

Jan

PruneDecember to May

MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Prune
Harvest

PruneDecember to May

HarvestAugust to November

What each band means

  • Prune — shape it now — cuts heal cleanly and structure is visible.
  • Harvest — picking time — check ripeness every few days.

These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.

Fig · Ecology & uses

Ecology & uses

What it does for the garden, and what it is grown for.
Botanical illustration of Fig

Ficus carica

Fig in the garden system

  • Shrub layer shrub
Attracts
Birds
Moisture
Facultative / average
Deer
Browsed

Protect young plants

Origin
Introduced

What fig is grown for

✓ Commonly eatenSap can irritate skin

Use
Fresh
Use
Jam
Use
Drying
Edible value
5/5

Harvesting & storing fig

Late Summer / Fall.

Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.

Fig · Varieties & cultivars

Best fig varieties & cultivars

There are far more than these — the ones below are the named varieties of fig people actually plant.

Named varieties of fig differ in winter-chill needs, ripening time, hardiness, and whether they set fruit on their own — pick one that fits your climate.

16 varieties

Chicago Hardy

Also known as Bensonhurst Purple

Self-fertile

Ripens
Aug-Oct
Zones
5-10
Disease
good
Size
10-15 ft

sweet — Roots survive to zone 5 even if the top dies back

Where to buy ‘Chicago Hardy’verified

Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend.

Nature HillsChicago Hardy Fig Tree$102.99↗EtsyBrowse growers↗

Sources & plant identity

Know what you’re growing.
See where the knowledge comes from.

Botanical illustration of Fig

Fig

Ficus carica

The plant, at a glance.

Botanical name
Ficus carica
Plant family
Moraceae
Growth habit
Shrub · Perennial
Origin
Introduced
USDA plant symbol
FICA
Invasive risk
Low
Every garden is different.

Hardiness, size and timing vary with your cultivar, soil and climate.

Rooted in research.

University extension research, brought together with hands-on growing experience at Story Thyme Farms.

Explore Fig’s sources10 reference links
for Fig

Research from these sources

Clemson UniversityNC State ExtensionRutgers UniversityUniversity of FloridaUniversity of Tennessee

Publisher marks identify sources, not sponsorship or endorsement.

Questions

Fig questions, answered straight.

Do I need two fig plants to get fruit?

No — fig is self-fertile, so a single plant will set a crop. A second one usually improves yields, but it isn't required.

Will fig fruit in a warm-winter climate?

Fig needs roughly up to 100 hours of winter chill (hours between 32–45°F) to break dormancy and set fruit. Mild-winter growers should count their chill hours before planting.

Is fig safe for kids and pets?

Fig is commonly eaten and isn't considered toxic, but "commonly eaten" isn't a guarantee for any particular person or animal — allergies, quantity, and which part you eat all matter. One caveat on this one: Sap can irritate skin. Never eat a plant you haven't positively identified, and check with a vet before letting pets or livestock graze anything new.

When do you harvest fig?

Late Summer / Fall.

Elsewhere

Where fig sits in the library.

Where fig sits in the library

Cold-hardy figs7Self-fertile figs15Berry bushes33All collections

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