Fig tree

This profile covers the edible common fig, Ficus carica. Ficus Ginseng sold as an indoor bonsai is a different plant. Tiny fig flowers sit inside a hollow syconium, so there is no open ornamental floral display.

When choosing a cultivar, check whether its fruit can ripen without pollination. Common or Persistent cultivars can do this. Smyrna and San Pedro types have different requirements, explained in the symbiosis section.

Choose a sunny, sheltered position with good drainage. In cooler locations, the sheltered south side of a building can help. Extra fertiliser will not fix a waterlogged site. Before planting, check whether water collects there. If the nutrient status of garden soil is unknown, a soil test provides a better basis than adding fertiliser and lime as a precaution.

1. Choose a stable container with clear drainage holes, only slightly larger than the existing root ball.
2. Use a suitable potting mix that maintains its structure for long-term planting. Pure garden compost is not an equivalent replacement for potting mix.
3. Preferably repot in spring as the plant returns to growth. Check drainage at the same time.

An oversized pot can stay wet for too long. If the mix remains damp, check container size and drainage before watering more frequently.

Check moisture around young and container-grown figs daily during hot weather. Water according to soil moisture and avoid severe drying during growth and fruit development. Drought can cause leaves and fruit to drop. A plant beside a wall may also lack water because little rain reaches its roots.

Let water drain from a full saucer. Permanently wet roots are harmful too. No fixed watering interval suits every growing position.

A fig in sufficiently fertile garden soil can grow without extra fertiliser. Very poor soil and competition from other plants change its needs. Strong shoot growth with poorly ripening fruit is not a reason to increase feeding automatically.

A container fig has limited root space, so nutrient provision needs deliberate planning. Check the information supplied with any fresh potting mix too. Where supplementary feeding is needed, consider the linked GREEN24 Fig Fertiliser. Follow its own label for quantity and frequency; no other product's dosage is transferred here.

Carry out the main pruning before growth starts, once prolonged hard frosts have passed. Before cutting, identify the future crown structure and the fruiting wood to retain. Selectively remove damaged, weak or awkwardly crossing branches. Do not shorten every young shoot: suitable previous-year growth may already carry small fruitlets.

Hard pruning encourages vigorous regrowth. Major renovation can therefore be spread over several years. Wear gloves when pruning because the milky sap can irritate skin. Match the severity of pruning to the way the plant is trained.

Figs become dormant after autumn leaf fall. The timing of growth the following spring can depend on winter conditions and the growing position. A cool, frost-free space suits container plants. Once leafless, they can tolerate a darker location; warm, dark conditions are unsuitable because growth may start too early.

Check the root ball occasionally and prevent it from drying out completely. Do not feed during dormancy. In spring, protect fresh growth from late frost and gradually acclimatise it to sunshine. A single frost threshold for every cultivar and pot size would be misleading.

The main crop forms on current-year growth. Some cultivars also bear an early breba crop on previous-year wood. Whether both crops ripen depends on climate and surviving fruiting wood. Check individual fruits rather than relying only on the calendar: they soften as ripening starts and change colour according to cultivar. Figs picked hard and unripe do not reliably ripen afterwards.

If there is no harvest, check sunlight, cultivar suitability and winter damage. New shoots following severe dieback may set fruit too late.

• Young plant, little fruit: A fig needs time to develop. A promise of a first-year harvest would be unreliable.
• Strong growth, falling fruit: Review previous feeding; overfed plants may shed fruit before it ripens.
• Fruit drop in hot, dry weather: Check the water supply and observe whether the condition stabilises after adjustment.

Record the cultivar, position, timing of symptoms and care history. These details help make a question in the GREEN24 forum more useful than fruit colour alone.