General Care for your fig tree
General Care: How to know if your environment is suitable for growing a fig tree? Before you decide, check to see if you can get a minimum of 6 hrs sunlight for your tree. Once you’ve confirmed this, get a fig tree! Although it’s not so simple. Find out which USDA zone you are in and then determine which variety will grow in your climate.
There are times when you just want to simply know how to take care of your fig tree. Your tree is either grown from a pot or outside.
How you grow it depends on your climate. If you live in an environment where the temperatures reach extreme cold conditions in the Winter season such as in New Hampshire, upper portions of upstate New York or even in Canada. In this case, you should consider growing your tree in a pot. Growing it in a pot means that you take it indoors to a cool dark room during the cold Winter months while the tree sits dormant like a grizzly bear sleeping in its den. For warmer climates such as in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania or Maryland you can certainly transplant your tree out in your yard. For further instructions, look under Potted Fig Trees and Outside Living.
The 200-hour freeze zone, brr…
In the 200-hour freeze zone, figs will grow once for the entire season and harvest time is around September. Brown Turkey figs are ripe when they turn a purple color. Also, when ripe, they are soft to the touch and you can pop them off of the branch with little effort. Try one and then you can judge with your mouth on whether it’s ripe enough. Eating too many figs can behave like a laxative. Another way to tell when to pick is when the fig begins to form slight cracks in the skin. Read Harvesting Figs for more info.
- When you prune, you can save a 6 – 12 inch cutting and then grow a new fig tree. There are different ways to grow roots from cuttings or branches. See Rooting for more info.
WARNING:
Under-watering, can cause the figs to shrivel up and fall off. Also, Stink Bugs and some birds love to eat figs. Gophers love to eat fig tree roots.
My very healthy fig tree is producing lots of fruit but many figs fail to develope because of mold which eventually shr. ivels the fruit.. Can you help me?