Your own fig was long a southern dream. Thanks to robust varieties and a milder climate it now crops reliably in many German gardens. The key to success falls at the moment of purchase: the right variety in the right spot decides everything.
Two things are worth understanding. First, how frost-hardy your chosen variety is and whether it belongs in the bed or in a container. Second, how the fig forms its up to two harvests a year. Then nothing stands in the way of the sweet crop.
Plant out or in a container?
The fig (Ficus carica) ranges in hardiness from tender to surprisingly robust, and that depends solely on the variety. Distinctly hardy varieties, well rooted and with root protection, survive even harder winters outdoors. Good choices are, for example, Fig ‚Brown Turkey', Fig ‚Ronde de Bordeaux' or Fig ‚Bayernfeige Violetta'.
All others, especially the classic Mediterranean varieties, are better grown in a large container. Then you can bring them in over winter, light or dark but cool and frost-free. That way every variety stays open to you, whatever your site.
How to grow your fig
Choose variety and spot together
Decide first: outdoors or container. For the bed, take an expressly hardy variety and plant it against a warm, sheltered south wall.
Plant in spring
Set the fig out in spring, around CW 16 to 20, once the soil has warmed. That way it roots in all summer before the first winter arrives.
Protect young plants from frost
Young outdoor figs are more sensitive than established ones. In the first winters, mound the root zone with leaves and mulch and protect the shoots with fleece in hard frost.
Water, especially in a container
In the bed the deep-rooting fig copes well with drought. In a pot, though, water regularly, or it drops its fruit.
Harvest ripe
Only pick once the fruit is soft and the stalk bends. A fig does not ripen further after picking; harvested too early, it stays bland.
The most important winter trick
Whether you get an early harvest next summer is decided in autumn. Because the breba figs are already laid down as tiny nodules on the shoot.
Variety first, then the spot. Hardy into the bed, Mediterranean into the container, and harvest only what is soft.
The core rule for the fig
Frequently asked questions
Which fig variety is hardy enough for outdoors?
Varieties expressly listed as hardy, such as Fig ‚Brown Turkey', Fig ‚Ronde de Bordeaux' or Fig ‚Bayernfeige Violetta'. Well rooted and against a warm wall they survive even harder winters.
Does the fig need a second plant for pollination?
No. Our garden figs are self-fertile and set fruit without pollination. The fig wasp, which pollinates some figs around the Mediterranean, does not occur here and is not needed.
Why does my fig crop only once or not at all?
In cooler spots often only the main fig ripens and the breba fig is missing. If it does not crop at all, the plant is usually still young, stood too shady, or lost the small set fruits over a hard winter.
How do I tell the fig is ripe?
It turns soft, the stalk bends and the fruit hangs limply downward. Often a drop of syrup appears at the eye at the base. Only then is it sweet, because it cannot ripen any further.
How do I overwinter a fig in a container?
Cool and frost-free at about 2 to 8 degrees, for example in a garage or cellar. Since it drops its leaves, it may also be dark. Water sparingly and put it back outside only after the last frosts.
