At a glance
- Figs are propagated most reliably from cuttings, not seed: only this keeps the variety true.
- The safest method is hardwood cuttings from last year's ripened shoots, taken in late winter from CW 6 to 12.
- A cutting of 15 to 25 cm roots in a glass of water or loose substrate at around 20 degrees within three to six weeks.
- In late spring, soft tip cuttings also work, but then you need high humidity under a hood.
- Layering is the most relaxed option: bend a shoot into the soil and let the mother plant do the work.
Giving away a fig from your own garden has something lovely about it: you are not passing on just any tree, but exactly the variety that has borne sweet fruit for you for years and shrugs off cold winters. The best part is how easy it is. Hardly any fruiting woody plant is as effortless to propagate as the fig. A hand-long piece of twig, a glass of water on the windowsill, a little patience, and a few weeks later white roots are hanging from it. This article shows you the three routes that really work in the home garden, and when to choose which.
Why cuttings and not seed
You can grow figs from the tiny seeds inside the ripe fruit, but for the garden it is not worthwhile. Seedlings deviate genetically from the mother plant, often bear only after many years, and frequently yield small, tasteless, or no usable fruit at all. Figs cultivated in our climate are almost always self-fruiting varieties that ripen without the special fig wasp. That trait is not passed on reliably through seed.
A cutting, by contrast, is a clone: genetically identical to the mother. Your hardy fig 'Bornholm' or the early 'Ronde de Bordeaux' stays exactly what it is. From day one you know which fruit is coming, how frost-hardy the tree will be, and whether it bears once or twice a year. That is precisely why propagation from cuttings is the standard route, while growing from seed remains a curiosity for the adventurous.
What bears well on the tree, you pass on through the twig, not through the seed.
Old gardener's rule
The best time: hardwood cuttings in winter
The most reliable starting material is so-called hardwood: a well-ripened piece of last year's shoot, cut during dormancy before new growth begins. The right window falls in late winter to early spring, roughly from early February to early April, that is around CW 6 to 14. During this time all the plant's strength is still in its reserves, and the dormant buds break willingly after the cut.
Choose a strong, pencil-thick shoot from last year. Green, soft wood rots more easily, very old wood roots poorly. The ideal shoot is firm, smooth, and carries several clearly visible buds. If you are pruning your fig in spring anyway, the material comes along almost as a by-product.
Mind the buds when you cut: at the lower end you cut close below a bud, at the upper end a little above a bud. The roots come from the lower buds, the new shoot from the upper ones. A cutting of 15 to 25 cm with three to five buds is ideal. Shorter dries out easily, longer needs unnecessary energy.
Cutting and rooting hardwood
Select and cut to length
From a healthy, ripened shoot of last year, cut a piece 15 to 25 cm long. Straight and close below a bud at the bottom, angled and slightly above a bud at the top. The angled top helps you later tell the upper from the lower end.
Prepare the lower buds
Remove any leaves at the lower end. Some gardeners lightly score the bark at the bottom centimetre, which further encourages root formation. Rooting powder is not needed with figs, they root on their own.
Place in water or substrate
Set the cutting either in a glass of water so the lowest two buds are covered, or push it halfway into loose, free-draining seed compost of soil and sand. Both work, and the glass of water makes progress visible.
Keep it bright and warm
A bright spot without harsh midday sun at around 20 degrees is perfect, for example a windowsill above a radiator. Change the water in the glass every few days, keep substrate evenly moist but never wet.
Pot up after rooting
After three to six weeks the first roots appear. Once they are two to three centimetres long, carefully move the young plant into a small pot with normal potting soil. Water roots are delicate, so work gently.
Water or soil is a matter of taste. In the glass you see every step and can sort out rotting pieces at once, but the delicate water roots first have to adjust to soil after potting. Roots formed in substrate are sturdier, but you see nothing and have to water on guesswork. If you are propagating figs for the first time, it is best to start with a few cuttings in the glass, which gives a quick sense of success.
Green tip cuttings in summer
If you have missed the winter window, nothing is lost. In late spring to early summer, from May to June, soft tip cuttings from the fresh, still-soft shoot tips also succeed. Cut a piece with two to three pairs of leaves, remove the lower leaves, and halve the remaining large fig leaves so they lose less water.
The catch with green material: it wilts quickly, because it has no roots yet but is already transpiring. That is why you need high humidity. Put a clear bag or an upturned freezer bag over the pot, or use a small indoor greenhouse. Air it briefly each day so no mould forms.
What green cuttings need
- Soft shoot tipsYoung, not yet ripened shoots of the current year, with two to three pairs of leaves.
- High humidityA hood or bag over the pot keeps the moisture up and prevents wilting.
- Halved leavesHalve the large fig leaves, which lowers transpiration without stopping photosynthesis entirely.
- Warm spotAround 20 to 24 degrees and bright, indirect light bring the roots on fastest.
Layering: the most relaxed method
If you have your own fig standing in the garden and you like it especially easy, layering is unbeatable. Here the shoot stays connected to the mother plant until it is fully rooted and is supplied by it. Losses are therefore rare.
Choose a flexible shoot
In spring, look for a long, elastic shoot low down on the shrub that bends to the ground without snapping.
Bury the shoot
Bend it down in an arch, bury the middle section about 10 to 15 cm deep, and fix it with a wire or branch hook. The tip sticks upright out of the soil.
Keep moist and wait
Keep the spot evenly moist. Over the season, roots form at the buried section.
Separate and plant
Once strong roots are there, usually in autumn or the following spring, separate the layer from the mother and plant it in its new place.
From young plant to tree
The rooted young fig spends its first year best in a pot in a sheltered, sunny spot. That way you can control watering and simply bring the plant in during frost. Young figs are noticeably more frost-sensitive than established trees, whose roots withstand down to minus 12 degrees.
It is best planted out in late spring after the Ice Saints, against a warm south- or house-facing wall with free-draining soil and no waterlogging. The warmth of the wall speeds up fruit ripening and helps over winter. You will find more on planting young woody plants correctly in our guide to planting fruit trees.
Ficus carica
- Familie
- Moraceae
- Standort
- Warm south- or house-facing wall, free-draining soil, no waterlogging
- Saison
- Propagation CW 6 to 12, harvest August to October
- Wasserbedarf
- Medium, keep young plants evenly moist
- Frosthärte
- Established to about minus 12 degrees, sensitive when young
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about propagating figs
How long does a fig cutting take to root?
At around 20 degrees and with enough light, the first roots usually appear after three to six weeks. In the glass of water you see them directly, in substrate you notice it from the new growth and from the cutting no longer pulling out easily. Patience pays off: some pieces take a little longer without anything being wrong.
Can I simply root a fig cutting in water?
Yes, with figs this is even one of the easiest methods. Set the cutting in the glass so the lowest one to two buds sit in the water, keep it bright and warm, and change the water every few days. As soon as the roots are two to three centimetres long, pot it gently into soil, since water roots are delicate.
When is the best time to take fig cuttings?
For hardwood cuttings from ripened shoots, late winter to early spring is ideal, roughly CW 6 to 14, before new growth begins. For green tip cuttings from soft shoot tips, late spring to early summer, May to June, is right. Both windows work, but the winter hardwood is the more reliable choice.
Does the variety stay true when propagating from cuttings?
Yes. A cutting is genetically identical to the mother plant, so you get exactly the same variety with the same fruit and the same frost hardiness. Only when growing from seed do the offspring differ and often bear no usable fruit. For true-to-type figs there is therefore no way around cuttings or layering.
Do I need to protect fig cuttings in their first winter?
Young figs are still frost-sensitive, unlike established trees. It is best to keep the young plant in a pot in its first year so you can bring it in, bright and cool, during hard frost. If it is planted out, cover the root zone thickly with leaves or straw and wind the shoots in fleece. After a few years the fig becomes much more winter-hardy.
Sources and further reading
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