Intro to How Figs Grow

By Steven Biggs

Figs Tolerate New Gardeners

Leaves are deciduous, which means they fall off when cold weather arrives.

In the book Grow Figs Where You Think You Can't, I repeat a simple message for readers: In places where figs don't usually grow, they are easy to grow.

One of the reasons for this is that that they're such resilient plants.

Here's what I say in the book:

Forgiving Plants

The first thing to remember about figs is that they are very, very forgiving plants. Remember that fig cutting I told you I took as a teenager? It languished under barely survivable conditions for 15 years until I gave it a proper spot.

They Want to go Dormant

The next most important thing about the way figs grow is that they lose their leaves after first frost. They WANT to go dormant. That means you can keep them over the winter even if you don’t have a bright, hot greenhouse. While they’re dormant, they don’t need light or much heat. Contrast this to lemons…

The large, lobed leaves grow on branches with grey bark. When cut, branches exude a milky white sap that can be irritating to the skin. Leaves are deciduous, which means they fall off when cold weather arrives. Unpruned, plants usually grow into a bush, but can be trained into small trees if that’s what you prefer.