Tree fruit
How to grow figs
Ficus carica
Plant a fig in March or April against a south or south-west facing wall, or in a large pot, in free-draining soil. The roots must be restricted, by a pot or a slab-lined pit, or the tree makes huge leaves and little fruit. In Britain the figs that ripen in August and September are the pea-sized embryo fruits that came through the previous winter at the shoot tips, so protecting those from frost is what secures the crop.
- Hardiness
- Frost-hardy; protect embryo figs over winter
- Position
- Full sun, warm, sheltered (wall-trained)
- Soil
- Free-draining, with roots restricted
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.5
- Water
- Moderate to high in pots in summer; little in winter
- Feeding
- Moderate feeder
Sowing and planting figs
WhenPlant Mar to Apr; harvest Aug to Sep; remove unripe figs larger than a pea in Nov
Starting off
Plant pot-grown Mar to Apr. Propagate from 30 cm hardwood cuttings in Nov in a cold frame, or layer a low branch in spring and sever a year later. Brown Turkey, Brunswick and Violetta are reliable outdoors; no pollinator is needed.
Spacing and planting
Plant in a pit 60 × 60 × 60 cm lined with paving slabs on a 20 cm rubble base, 20 cm from a south wall; a fan spreads 3 to 4 m, free-standing bushes 3 to 5 m. Excellent in a 45 cm pot, the restriction is the point; repot every 2 years.
Varieties worth growing
- Brown Turkey
- The most reliable fig outdoors in Britain: hardy, heavy cropping, with brown-purple fruit and sweet red flesh.
- Brunswick
- Very hardy, with large, long, pale fruit and deeply cut leaves; crops best after a warm summer.
- Violetta
- Also sold as Bayernfeige Violetta. One of the hardiest figs, a safer choice for colder gardens, with large violet fruit.
- White Marseilles
- Pale green fruit with almost translucent, very sweet flesh; an old variety for a warm wall or a cold greenhouse.
- Rouge de Bordeaux
- Small, dark purple figs with the richest flavour; compact, so it suits a pot, but it needs the hottest spot you have or a greenhouse.
Figs month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Leave winter protection in place. Potted figs stay in the shed, almost dry.
- February
Check that fleece and straw are still secure after gales.
- March
Plant new figs from the end of the month. Repot or top-dress potted figs.
- April
Uncover once hard frosts are past. Prune: remove frost-damaged and crossing wood, and tie in young shoots. Feed potted figs.
- May
Stand potted figs outside in the sunniest spot once frost is over. Begin regular watering.
- June
Pinch new shoots back to five leaves. Give potted figs their second top-dress as the fruit swells. Water pots daily in heat.
- July
Keep watering. Tie in new growth on fans.
- August
Pick as the figs droop, soften and split. Net against birds.
- September
Finish picking. Start reducing water for potted figs.
- October
Leaves fall. Nothing to do.
- November
Remove every unripe fig larger than a pea. Wrap fans in fleece or straw and move pots under cover. Take hardwood cuttings.
- December
Protection stays on. Nothing else to do.
Feeding figs
Keep nitrogen low and potassium up. A fig in a restricted pit needs very little; a fig in a pot depends on you for everything from June to August.
Restrict the roots and go easy on nitrogen, too rich and it makes leaf, not fruit. A high-potassium feed when fruiting helps.
Feeding plan
Planting, March to April
5 g per litre of root-ball volume, in contact with the roots, once: 25 g for a fig from a 5 litre pot.
April, figs in pots only
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
2 g per litre of compost, the lowest top-dress rate on the label: 80 g for a 45 cm pot holding about 40 litres.
Mid June, figs in pots, once
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
2 g per litre of compost again, at least six weeks after the April top-dress: 80 g for a 40 litre pot, scattered on the surface and watered in. The label gives no interval for top-dressing pots, so stop at these two; nothing after June.
March, figs in a planting pit
20 to 35 g/m² (the label rate for fruit). A 60 by 60 cm pit is 0.36 m²: 7 to 13 g, watered in. No nitrogen feed.
April, figs in a planting pit
Garden compost
A mulch 5 cm deep over the pit to hold moisture through summer. That and the potash are all an established fig in the ground needs.
Signs to watch
Huge leaves and no fruit
Nitrogen excess or unrestricted roots
Stop nitrogen, restrict roots, feed potash
Fruitlets drop in July
Water stress in the pot
Water daily in summer
Yellow lower leaves in a wet winter
Waterlogged pit, not shortage
Improve drainage, little water Nov to Mar
Pests, diseases and problems
Shoot tips blackened in spring and the tiny embryo figs gone
Winter or late spring frost
Cover wall-trained trees with fleece or pack straw or bracken around the branches from November until the hard frosts are over; move pots into a shed or cold greenhouse. Cut damaged wood back to live buds in April.
Ripe figs pecked open or hollowed out
Birds first, then wasps
Net the tree as the fruit softens, or slip fine mesh or organza bags over individual figs. Pick daily once they start to droop.
Leaves finely mottled yellow with fine webbing, on trees under glass or against a hot wall
Red spider mite in hot, dry air
Hose the foliage down regularly in hot spells, damp down greenhouse floors, and use the predatory mite Phytoseiulus under glass.
Brown waxy bumps on stems and leaf undersides, with sticky honeydew and black sooty mould
Scale insects, mostly on figs grown under cover
Wipe or scrape them off with a damp cloth, and spray with a plant-oil or fatty-acid insecticidal soap in early summer when the young are active.
Dead branch tips dotted with coral-pink pustules
Coral spot colonising frost-damaged wood
Cut back to healthy wood in April and bin the prunings. Do not leave dead stubs.
Pruning and harvest
Pruning and care
In Nov remove every fig larger than a pea, keeping the embryo figs, and cover the fan with fleece or straw Nov to Mar; move pots to a shed. Prune in April: cut frost-damaged and old wood, tie in replacement shoots. In June pinch new shoots to 5 leaves to force next year's fruit. Wear gloves, the sap burns in sun.
Harvest and storage
Ripe Aug to Sep when the fruit hangs down, feels soft, the skin splits and a drop of nectar shows at the eye; pick with the stalk in the morning and eat within 2 days. First figs in 2 to 3 years; an established fan gives 20 to 60 fruit. Fridge for 2 days; dry or make jam.
Good to knowPlant in a restricted pit or large pot to force fruiting; in the UK only pea-sized embryo figs survive winter to ripen the next year.
Growing figs in pots
A pot suits a fig better than almost any other fruit, because it restricts the roots for you. Start in a 30 to 35 cm pot and move up over the years to 45 cm (about 40 litres), using peat-free loam-based compost with a fifth grit by volume and the 4-5-6 at 5 g per litre. Water daily from June to August; a pot that dries out drops its fruitlets. Feed as above. Every two years in March lift the tree, trim the outer roots and replant in fresh compost in the same pot. Move it into a shed or cold greenhouse from November to April and keep it barely moist.
Figs: common questions
Why does my fig tree have no fruit?
The usual causes are unrestricted roots, too much nitrogen, or frost killing the embryo figs over winter. Grow the tree in a pot or a lined pit, feed with potash rather than a general fertiliser, and protect the shoot tips from November to April. A young tree may also need two or three years before it starts.
Should I remove unripe figs in autumn?
Yes, in November take off every unripe fig that is larger than a pea. These will not survive the winter or ripen, and removing them directs the tree's energy to the tiny embryo figs at the shoot tips, which are next summer's crop. Leave those in place.
Can a fig tree stay outside in winter in the UK?
Yes, a fig planted against a warm wall is hardy enough to stay outside across most of the UK, but the shoot tips that carry next year's fruit need covering with fleece or straw from November to April. Potted figs are more exposed at the root and are safer moved into a shed or cold greenhouse.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.
- How to grow figsRHS
- Figs: pruning and trainingRHS
- How to grow figsBBC Gardeners' World