Early Figs? Harvest a Breba Crop of Figs Mid-Summer
The difference between breba and main-crop figs.
By Steven Biggs
Some Fig Varieties Produce a Breba Crop—an Early Crop
Wondering why some fig trees have ripe fruit mid summer, while other only have ripe figs in the fall?
That’s because some fig tree varieties produce two crops each year:
The “breba” crop grows on wood from the previous year, and it’s the first to ripen
The “main crop” grows on wood from the current year, and it ripens later
Here in Toronto, my breba figs starts to ripen some time in July.
And the main crop figs are usually ready starting in late September.
If you want to know more about breba figs, and how to benefit from this early crop, keep reading.
Breba, Main Crop, or Both…it Depends on the Variety
Some fig varieties produce both breba and main-crop figs (called “biferous” fig varieties)
Some varieties have no breba figs—only main-crop figs (called uniferous” varieties)
Some varieties only give a breba crop in cold climates (there’s a story here…see below about San Pedro figs)
San Pedro Figs
The figs that ripen only a breba crop in cold climates do grow a second, main crop.
But it doesn’t mature.
That’s because this second crop requires a pollinator (a little wasp that’s found in warmer, commercial fig-producing regions.) An example of a San Pedro fig is the variety Desert King (see below.)
Grow a Breba Crop to get Early Figs in Cold Climates
If you're growing figs in a cold climate, you don’t have to wait for main-crop varieties to ripen in late summer.
To get an earlier, mid-summer fig harvest, grow a fig variety that gives a reliable breba crop.
The photo below shows a fig breba crop forming in the spring, before any leaves are out!
Fig breba crop starting to grow even before any leaves have emerged.
Get Your Fig Trees Through Winter
And eat fresh homegrown figs!
Do You Get Cool Summers?
Protect branches from winter dieback to get a good production of breba figs.
Here in Toronto the winters can get cold—but summers are usually hot. So my main-crop figs ripen.
But I still like to have fig varieties that produce a heavy breba crop. Here’s why:
I grow fig varieties with a good breba crop for an early harvest
I grow other varieties for main-crop figs later in the season.
But in areas with cool summers, there might not be enough heat to ripen main-crop figs.
For example, gardeners in the Pacific Northwest rely on varieties with a heavy breba crop because there is not always have enough summer heat to ripen main-crop figs.
Find out how gardeners in areas with cool summers can ripen figs.
Maximize Breba Fig Yield
Remember Breba Figs as You Prune
Things to think about as you prune for a good breba crop:
Prune back some of the 2-year-old branches when the fig tree is dormant
These 2-year-old branches made breba figs the previous season…and if you leave them they’ll still make breba figs, but now those breba figs will be on the new growth, up high and out of your reach (where the birds can get them!)
Cut these 2-year-old branches back, leaving about an inch of the branch remaining where they meet a larger branch (then there’s a nub of wood from which a replacement will grow for the following year.)
Leave lots of one-year-old branches as these are the ones that will give you breba fruit
Find out more about how to prune a fig tree.
Minimize Dieback of Branches
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In cold areas unprotected branches can die back when exposed to cold temperatures. Plants regrow from the base…but it’s the branches from the previous year that grow the breba figs.
If you want breba figs, minimize winter dieback by moving potted plants indoors, or protecting in-ground plants.
Here are ideas to protect fig trees in winter.
FAQ Fig Breba Crop
What’s a good fig variety for a breba crop?
I’m a big fan of ‘Desert King.’ I grow a large Desert King in the ground here in Toronto. I tip it over and lay it flat to the ground every winter. It’s absolutely prolific.
There are other excellent fig varieties for the breba crop. Find out about more breba figs.
Do breba figs look the same as main-crop figs?
Not always. The breba figs might look very different from the main-crop figs of the same variety. They can differ in:
Colour
Shape
Size
Taste
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Guide to Cold-Climate Fig Varieties
This fig variety guide talks about fig varieties that do well in cold climates.
By Steven Biggs
Intro to Fig Varieties for Cold Climates
There’s a fig for every taste! But for cold climates, think about varieties that ripen early and have good cold tolerance.
There’s a fig variety for every taste. And a variety best suited to your cold-climate growing conditions and your way of growing figs. Here are things to think of as you consider which variety you’ll grow:
Taste: Some varieties taste more berry-like, while some are more date-like.
Colour: The skin colour can be very dark right through to very light green or yellow. The colour of the flesh inside is also quite variable.
Shape: Shape varies greatly, too, including fruit that are round, oval, pear-shaped or an inverted cone.
Neck: Some fruit have a neck, some don’t.
Size: Some fit in a teaspoon…and some some can almost fill your hand.
Leaf Shape: Leaf shape varies greatly.
Plant Growth: Some varieties grow slowly, some much more quickly.
This article gives you information to help you choose a fig variety that suits your garden and your taste.
Top 2 Traits for Cold-Climate Figs
Fig leaf shape depends on the variety.
Here are two top traits that make fig varieties valuable for cold-climate gardeners, who must contend with a short growing season and cold winters:
Ripening Speed: Some varieties grow and ripen fruit in a short window of time.
Hardiness: Some varieties are more cold-hardy than others.
Fig Variety Names
There are many named fig varieties. Things can get confusing because there’s more than one name for many varieties.
There are also many unnamed fig varieties. You’ll come across plants that people call by names such as “Black Greek” or “Italian Red.” If you’re a collector, having named varieties can be important. But if you just want to eat figs from your garden, don’t sweat having a named variety – just focus on something that grows well in your conditions.
Well-Known Fig Varieties
Here are well-know varieties that are often available at garden centres in northern areas:
Ronde de Bordeaux, Top left and centre. It’s both early and flavourful.
Improved Celetste produces small figs with pink flesh and a light-brown skin that becomes violet-brown when ripe.
Desert King. Large crop of breba figs that have green skin and a strawberry-colored flesh. Main crop only matures in areas with the wasp – so the main crop does not ripen in cold areas. (Curious about the wasp? Click here for the article that explains it.)
Excel. Medium-sized sweet, yellow figs with amber flesh.
Hardy Chicago. Very cold tolerant. Small, violet-colored fruit with a red flesh.
Lattarula. Medium-sized, very sweet yellow-green figs with a light-colored flesh. Heavy breba crop.
Ronde de Bordeaux. Early ripening main crop. Purple skin with strawberry colored flesh. Excellent berry flavor.
Get Your Fig Trees Through Winter
And eat fresh homegrown figs!
Cold-Climate Fig Variety Roundup
We cut this one into 5, so that everybody in the house could enjoy a sliver!
I’ve been lucky enough to chat with a lot of experienced cold-climate fig growers through my communications work and on my radio show. Here are fig variety suggestions from these experts.
Adriano Ferreira
My fig mentor, Adriano had a very big collection in Oakville, Ontario. When I asked him about top varieties, he suggested:
Celeste
Desert King. “The best to grow in a northern climate.”
Lattarula. “A super fig.”
Nelson Esteves
I connected with Nelson when I wrote about figs for Garden Making magazine. He told me about his Mississauga, Ontario collection, with more than 100 varieties. “There are lots of good ones that are ‘unknowns,’ ” he told me. In general, he finds small to medium-sized dark figs do best in northern areas and don’t need as much heat to ripen as light-coloured figs. He suggested:
A dark fig he got from Colasanti Farms in Ruthven—an unnamed variety, he says, that was simply labelled “Italian Fig.”
Hardy Chicago
Paul Khong
I chatted with Paul when I wrote about figs for Garden Making magazine. He’s a collector in Chilliwack, B.C., with more than 100 varieties. He can leave his plants (except for young, tender ones) outside over the winter. He recommended:
Desert King
Osborn’s Prolific
Latarulla
Bob Duncan
Bob runs Fruit Trees and More Nursery near Victoria, B.C. When I’ve visited Bob’s nursery, I’ve come home with a suitcase full of plants!
When it comes to top fig varieties for new fig growers he recommends San Pedro type figs for his Pacific-Northwest climate. (That means main-crop figs won’t fully develop—click here for more about fig types.)
Desert King
Grantham’s Royal
Talking about Grantham’s Royal, Bob says, “It’s one of the largest figs out there.”
Find out how Bob ripens main-crop figs despite the cool summers in the Pacific Northwest.
Ross Raddi
Ross, a.k.a. Fig Boss, grows in Philadelphia, PA. He’s joined me a few times on the radio show to talk about growing figs in cold climates. Here are favourites that he’s shared during our chats:
Improved Celeste
Hardy Chicago
Florea
Longue d’Aout
Violette de Bordeaux
Pastilliere
Jonathan Bates
Jonathan grows figs at his Food Forest Farm in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. He joined me on the radio show to talk about growing figs in cold climates. He recommends finding the “geeks” in your area who are growing lots of varieties instead of testing dozens of varieties yourself. He recommends:
St Rita. Bigger than Chicago Hardy – and earlier.
Florea. His earliest fig.
Improved Celeste
Ronde de Bordeaux. Early, hardy, fast growing.
Bill Lauris
Bill grows in Lancaster, PA, where he runs Off the Beaten Path Nursery. He’s joined me on the radio show to talk figs. He recommends:
offthebeatenpathnursery.com
Teramo. His earliest main-crop fig.
Florea
Longue d’Aout. Big and early.
Maurice
I’ve corresponded with Maurice in Quebec City over the years. I told him I didn’t hold out a lot of hope for his fig harvest because it’s a very short growing season and he’s growing on a balcony with only partial sun.
But he’s persevered, and harvests figs. I’m impressed! After testing a number of varieties, he’s narrowed things down to a couple of favourites:
Ronde de Bordeaux. Does the best for him
Pastiliere. Another good performer
Bob
I’ve corresponded with fig collector Bob in Michigan over the years. He says fig growers in the north need not only cold-hardy figs, but also figs that can mature before the first frost. Here’s what he told me for varieties:
“If your planning on planting figs in ground, in USDA zone 5b, I suggest Danny's Delight, and Sal's EL, for main crop figs. Those two will easily give as many as 200 or more figs per year, even in the north. They can not only take cool summers and still remain sweet, they can also take the rain while they are ripening.”
Ben Nguyen
Ben grows figs in Seattle, WA. He shares his fig-growing adventures on Seattle Garden & Fruit Adventures. He joined me on the radio show to share his favourites. He grows in the Pacific Northwest, where ripening main crop figs can be a challenge.
Vincenzo. Both breba and main crop ripen for him
Pelegrino. Huge, tasty figs
Tony
Tony from Mountain Figs grows in West Virginia. Here are his top picks:
Hardy Chicago. This variety doesn’t give the earliest harvest, but he finds that the plant can ripen figs even if the branches were killed the previous winter (“topkilled”)
Ronde de Bordeaux. The prettiest and earliest.
Florea. Reliable and early.
Improved Celeste. His earliest to harvest.
Brooklyn White. A good light fig.
Michael Bostock
Michael grows figs in Vancouver. He’s experimented with figs for over two decades, and, after many trials, has settled on five varieties that consistently ripen figs in his cool, temperate climate.
At the time we corresponded, winter temperatures had been unusually cold during the previous two winters, dipping down to -14°C (57°F). These colder-than-usual caused some dieback—and gave Michael a good comparison of how well these five varieties tolerate cold.
Here are Michael’s top varieties, in his words:
Desert King. The Pacific Northwest favourite, great taste, and a large crop of brebas. Jammy flavour. Basically unaffected by the last 2 winters.
Dauphine (Grantham’s Royal). Another breba fig, honey flavour, slightly fewer but larger breba than Desert King. Took the first winter OK but must have been weakened since since the second cold winter killed off all top growth. There are some minor suckers growing from low down on the main trunk but very slow. This was trained to a standard. If it comes back I will probably try more of a bush form; I suspect this may be hardier based on my Desert King experience.
Ronde de Bordeaux. Early ripening second-crop fig, great jammy taste. Every once in a while (once in 5-10 years) it produces a large breba crop. My tree was trained to a vase shape. First cold winter (2022) was fine. In 2023, half the tree was fine, the other half had top growth killed but vigorous suckers near the base of the corresponding limbs.
Florea. Earliest ripening second crop, big, honeyish, good fig to have in the few days before Improved Celeste and Ronde de Bordeaux start to ripen as they are better tasting and ripen more rapidly once they start. Always has fungal die back on the youngest branches even in mild winters but always comes back in good form. In a drier climate I hear it can take down to -20°C.
Improved Celeste. Early ripening second-crop fig, very nice honey fig, ripens around same time as Ronde de Bordeaux. Like Dauphine, mine was trained as a standard. It suffered visibly in the first cold winter, half the upper growth was killed. In 2023 it is fully dead down to near the base of the trunk, where some weak attempts at budding have started. This looks to be the weakest of the bunch despite the fact that one of its parents (Celeste) is supposed to be among the hardier figs.
My Favourites Fig Varieties
To wrap things up, here are my favourite fig varieties that I grow here in my Toronto garden.
It’s a race to see who gets to the Sultane fig first in my household!
Ronde de Bordeaux. Consistently early, and a great berry-like taste.
Capelas. I got it from my mentor, Adriano – and think of him when I pick from it. It produces two crops, and consistently ripens the main-crop figs in our short season.
Niagara Black. Really big delicious breba. My neighbour John gave me this…and I LOVE it.
Sultane. Can’t beat it for flavour. I have to try to get to these before the rest of my family.
Excel. A very reliable light fig
More Fig Variety Resources
If you’re still looking for fig variety ideas for your area, see if you can connect with cold-climate fig growers in your area to see what they are growing. There are also lots of online groups and forums.
Click the button below to hear my chat with Joe from OurFigs.com. He talks about the online fig community and how they share top tips and varieties information.
As you come across potential varieties and want more information about them, the Figs4Fun fig variety database is useful.
Still Not Sure Which Variety to Start With?
I know…there are so many to choose from.
I suggest you go through the recommendations above to pick out the fig varieties that a number of people have recommend.
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