How to Grow Figs

By the SoilCommander Editorial Team, under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder · · How we check our facts

On this page
  1. Fig (Ficus carica)
  2. Quick Facts
  3. At a Glance
  4. Diseases
  5. Pests
  6. Soil & Growing Conditions
  7. Growth Stages
  8. Harvest & Storage
  9. Plan your Figs planting
  10. Growing Fig in another region
  11. Sources
  12. Frequently Asked Questions

Figs (Ficus carica) — Deciduous shrub or small tree.

1 disease and 7 pests are documented for this crop, so a fair share of growing it well is prevention.

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.

Fig (Ficus carica)

A healthy fig bush with broad lobed leaves — “20210731 Hortus botanicus Leiden - Ficus carica” by Rudolphous is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

2 sources cited · Verified

Quick Facts

A healthy fig bush with broad lobed leaves
A healthy fig bush with broad lobed leaves. Photo by Rudolphous, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Factor Value
Drainage Free-draining, avoiding poorly-drained conditions (RHS)
Lifecycle Deciduous shrub or small tree. Begins fruiting in the second or third year after planting (UMD Extension).
Edible parts fruit

At a Glance

A large mature fig tree
A large mature fig tree. Photo by Hopefully Acceptable Username, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Ficus carica Fig Honey fungus Mealybugs Glasshouse red spider m… Fig leaf skeletoniser Spotted wing drosophila Birds (fruit) Scale insects Squirrels DISEASES PESTS

Diseases

Fig basal shoots regrowing near the base
Fig basal shoots regrowing near the base. Photo: “Blackjack basal shoots” by NativeForeigner, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Honey fungus
low

Armillaria spp.

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page.

Pests

Several fig trees grown in large pots
Several fig trees grown in large pots. Photo by Александровы АГ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Mealybugs
low

Pseudococcidae

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page.

Two-spotted red spider mite with silk threads, magnified — Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0
Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0
Glasshouse red spider mite (two-spotted spider mite)
low

Tetranychus urticae

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page for greenhouse-grown plants.

Fig leaf skeletoniser
low

Choreutis nemorana

Spotted wing drosophila
low

Drosophila suzukii

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page as an occasional pest.

Birds (fruit)
moderate

Aves

Named directly by both RHS and UMD Extension.

Scale insects
low

Diaspididae / Coccidae

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page as "scale insects".

Squirrels
moderate

Sciurus spp.

Named directly by both RHS and UMD Extension.

Soil & Growing Conditions

A fig branch trained on wires against a wall
A fig branch trained on wires against a wall. Photo by Hopefully Acceptable Username, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Water: Steady supply of moisture throughout the growing season, checked daily during hot weather (RHS)

Growth Stages

A small immature green fig forming on the branch
A small immature green fig forming on the branch. Photo by Ryan Hodnett, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Stage BBCH Notes
Planting and root restriction 0 Plant in spring, at least 20cm from a warm south/south-west wall (RHS). To control vigour and improve fruiting, restrict roots: line a 60cm hole with paving slabs (a 2.5cm rim above soil level) over a 10-20cm rubble base (RHS); UMD Extension confirms root pruning has the same effect, shocking overly vegetative plants into heavier fruiting.
Vegetative growth and pruning 3 Prune twice a year, in spring and early summer, wearing gloves against the irritant sap and working from the base upwards (RHS). UMD Extension adds pinching the terminal buds of first-year shoots in late spring to force laterals and increase production.
Embryonic fruit formation and overwintering 6 Tiny embryonic fruitlets ("breba" crop, per UMD Extension) form at the branch tips in late summer and must survive winter to ripen the following year -- protect fan-trained plants by packing straw or bracken around the branches after leaf fall and covering with hessian or netting; move container trees under cover until after the last spring frost (RHS).
Ripening and harvest 8 Ripens end of summer; fruit is ready when the skin is soft and hangs limply, sometimes splitting or producing a droplet of sugary liquid from the "eye" (RHS). Pick by holding the stalk and tearing it away from the branch. UMD Extension notes the main crop runs August through first frost.

Harvest & Storage

Fig leaves with small fruit forming
Fig leaves with small fruit forming. Photo by עמית לונן, CC0.

When to pick: Skin soft, fruit hangs limply from the branch, may split when squeezed or weep a sugary droplet from the eye (RHS). UMD Extension records the main harvest window as August through first frost, with some cultivars giving an earlier, lower-quality breba crop in June-July.

Storage

Best eaten soon after picking, though can be frozen or made into preserves (RHS).

Plan your Figs planting

Timing for Figs follows soil temperature and frost, not the calendar date. The Global vegetable planting calendar explains the method. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

Growing Fig in another region

Planting dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

Sources

The full list of 2 sources behind this guide (Royal Horticultural Society, University of Maryland Extension) is in the references of our UK guide to figs; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

What problems affect figs?

Our data links 1 disease and 7 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.

Plan next season before the problems start

This page gives you the thresholds; the planner turns them into your own calendar. It works from what you can observe and measure in your garden rather than from dates written for somebody else’s latitude.

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SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing. How we check our facts.

How this guide is put together

The growing data on this page — planting windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against international horticultural research and extension sources. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.

Vegetable Growing Guides

Crops With the Same Problems

Last verified 2026-09-03

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