At the recent Gardeners World Live show around half of the questions I was asked were about one topic – figs. Obviously something has sparked interest in this slightly exotic fruit so to start our series of blogs let’s talk about all things figgy.
Can I grow a fig tree in the UK?
The first, and most obvious question is “can I grow a fig tree in the UK?” – and the answer is a definite YES. For evidence I present exhibit A: one of my fig trees growing outdoors in my garden on the edge of the North York Moors.
I have three very productive fig trees in total, two outdoors and one under glass, so it is certainly possible and not just in the south of England. My trees started cropping in July this year (under glass) and August outdoors, and should continue to give me ripe figs until well into September. This all sounds good but it is not just a case of buy a fig tree and off you go.
Step 1: Choose your Fig Tree
The best fig trees to grow in the UK are a variety called Brown Turkey which has been specially bred to cope with our climate so that is the most reliable one to start with. Two of my tree are that variety, one outdoor and one under glass. My other outdoor fig plant is an unnamed variety that was given to me by someone who discovered that it did very well in our northern climate.
Several people who spoke to me at the show reported that their fig tree had never produced any fruit. There could be a number of reasons for this but the most common are:
- Wrong type of fig
- Wrong growing conditions
We’ll start by looking at what I mean by the ‘wrong type of fig’:
Over recent years it has been very easy to find young fig trees for sale in supermarkets, garden centres and on the internet. Some of these are sold as house plants, some even have little figs on them but they are often just labelled as ‘fig tree’ or even Ficus carica but with no varietal identifier.
If you want to be certain that you are getting a fig tree that will produce figs for you then start by either buying a plant labelled as Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’. This is the full identifier for the most reliable fig grown in the UK. Or get an offshoot from someone who already has a productive tree in their garden.
Figs naturally throw up offshoots around the base. By carefully digging up one of these shoots with a bit of it’s root material then potting it up, it should do well. It will quickly establish and you could have your first figs within a year or two.
One reason that some of the imported ‘variety not specified’ trees might not fruit is down to the rather peculiar biology of the fig. The fig fruit that we eat is called a syconium and actually contains the flowering parts within it. These flowers are pollinated by a specific tiny wasp that enters through the bottom of the syconium. However, we don’t have these specific insects in the UK to pollinate fig trees so we have to grow a variety of fig that will produce edible fruit without pollination (known as parthenocarpy).
The other reason you may not get fruit, even if you have the right variety of fig is the growing conditions – see below.
So, having carefully bought/ acquired your very own ‘Brown Turkey’ fig tree there are a few things to consider.
Step 2: Planting Your Fig Tree
First, and most important – even though you have chosen a variety of fig that is suited to the UK, the species Ficus carica is a deciduous tree native to conditions in the Mediterranean and middle east. Although it is slightly frost tolerant, it has evolved to thrive in hot, sunny, sometimes quite dry and rocky ground. These are not typical British conditions so we need to give the trees a little help.
My outdoor trees are close to a south facing wall so they get shelter from the worst of the wind and can bask in reflected heat from the wall. If you don’t have a south facing wall then a fence or the back of a garden shed could serve the same purpose.
Of course you could just put the tree in a green house but beware – fig trees are thugs that can grow rapidly and you may not want to sacrifice precious greenhouse space.
The next thing to take into account is that these trees have big strong roots that will travel down searching for water and nutrition in their native habitat and will just keep on growing as a rather lush tree given the chance. The usual practice is to plant them in a 60cm cubed box like structure or container (which can be sunk into the ground) so that they are encouraged to produce fruit rather than just keep growing bigger. Having said that I am fairly sure that the roots of my two older trees have now managed to escape the confines of their box and got roots down into rocky ground below but I will forgive them because they still produce plenty of ripe figs for me – it is just that they also grow like some sort of triffid!
How to Care for a Fig Tree
That brings us to how to grow and care for your fig tree.
It should be planted in free draining soil/compost in its ‘box’ – figs hate wet feet. Because you have restricted the trees ability to search out water and nutrition you will have to make sure that you supply what it needs but they do naturally tolerate periods of relative drought and poor soils so a top dressing of something nutritious in the spring then a good water every week or so in dry weather over the summer should be enough.
Don’t be tempted to be too kind, that will just encourage them to produce lush growth. If conditions are slightly tough it makes for a stronger and more resilient plant in the longer term and encourages them to fruit to preserve the species.
In the UK it is possible to get two crops of figs a year under glass. The first in June/July is the pea-sized embryo figs that have overwintered from the previous year which then grow and ripen as the temperature rises. Then in the Autumn the figs that have grown during the year will ripen. Outdoors there is usually only one crop a year because of our shorter growing season.
You will need to prune your fig tree to keep it in shape and possibly to keep it under control. There are plenty of videos and advice available on the internet but you should be aware that the milky sap of the fig is highly irritant so wear gloves and avoid getting it on your skin. Pruning when the tree is dormant helps to minimise the risk of sap ‘bleeding’ and it also helps you to see where branches are when there are no leaves.
If you grow your fig tree outdoors you should have very few problems with pests and diseases, other than possibly some bird damage on the ripe fruits. Under glass they will be prone to the usual glasshouse pests such as spider mite so the best option is to grow outdoors if at all possible. They are hardy in a normal British winter but even if the frost does get to them they will usually regrow from the roots – fig trees have been around for thousands of years, they are survivors. The only word of caution is if you do have your tree in a pot above ground (rather than sunk into the ground) then it is worth just wrapping the outside of the pot in fleece or bubble wrap for the winter to stop the soil from freezing around the roots.
Fig trees are easy to grow and require very little attention. Shop bought fresh figs are available in this country but apart from being expensive they will have been picked under-ripe and refrigerated for transport. There is nothing quite like the flavour of a warm, ripe fig picked fresh from the tree not to mention the smug feeling when you ask overnight guests if they would like you to “pick some fresh figs for breakfast” – not what people expect in North Yorkshire!
The Northern Fruit Group 