Fig (Ficus carica)

The fig tree is a deciduous fruit tree

The fig tree is one of the most appreciated fruit trees in orchards and gardens with little irrigation.. It is a plant that tolerates pruning very well, and it also needs to spend very few hours a year below 7ºC to bear a large number of fruits during the season.

This makes it very interesting to grow it, since it requires almost no care. So if you feel like savoring freshly harvested figs, then we will explain everything about the fig tree so that you do not miss anything.

Origin and characteristics of the fig tree

The fig tree is a rustic fruit tree

Image - Wikimedia / Juan Emilio Prades Bel

The fig tree, whose scientific name is ficus carica, is a deciduous tree native to Southwest Asia, but arrived in Egypt during the time of the Pharaohs and in Ancient Rome. From there it was surely introduced to other parts of the Mediterranean, such as Spain. As a curiosity, it is interesting to say that a study published in Science show that it was the first plant to be domesticated, about a thousand years before we did it with others such as wheat.

But how is? As well. It is a plant that reaches a maximum height of 8 meters, although in cultivation it is a bit difficult to find specimens that exceed 4 meters. This is so because it is pruned to make harvesting the figs more comfortable, since if they were left to grow on their own, those that sprouted from the upper branches would probably end up on the ground, bursting after the impact and therefore not suitable for harvesting. consumption.

The cup is about 3-4 meters wide in the adult specimen, and is made up of numerous branches from which lobed leaves sprout, up to 25 centimeters long by up to 18 centimeters wide. These are green, but when the weather starts to cool down they turn yellow, then brown and finally fall off.

Blooms in spring, and it does it in a very curious way: it produces figs that, inside, have little flowers, which will be pollinated by a certain group of wasps. These insects enter through the hole in the fig at its base, and lay their eggs inside. Once the male larvae hatch from the egg, they mate with the females still inside the egg, and then die.

In the end, the females finally come out of the egg and, as they have wings, they can get out of the fig, but not without first taking pollen from its flowers that will be used to pollinate another fig tree.

How many crops do you produce per year?

It will depend a lot on the variety of fig tree. There are some that only do it once, towards the middle/end of summer, but there are others that do it twice.: at the beginning of said season, producing what is known as brevas (they are smaller than figs), and another between mid-August and September in the northern hemisphere.

In addition, it must be taken into account that the ficus carica it can be dioecious, that is, there are male and other female specimens; or monoecious having the flowers of both sexes on the same tree.

How old is a fig tree?

The life expectancy of ficus carica is 50-60 years. It grows very fast and starts bearing figs early. Likewise, it produces many suckers, so even if the mother plant dies, one can always be left behind. Thus, there will be no need to buy another tree.

varieties of fig trees

There are numerous varieties of fig trees in the world, but we are going to recommend some of the most widely grown in Spain, as they are generally self-fertile, like these:

  • albacore: it is a variety that, thanks to its origin (Mediterranean region), is very resistant to drought. It is biferous, and produces two harvests a year.
  • White: these figs are white, as their name indicates. They can be stored dry better than other varieties.
  • Celeste's: It has figs with purple skin, and pink flesh with a sweet flavor.
  • Saree Lob: it is a variety that produces figs whose skin is purple, with a sweet flavor and good aroma. The drawback is that it tends to open as soon as it ripens, so it has to be harvested as soon as possible to prevent insects and/or birds from getting ahead of us.
  • Verdal: These are green figs that ripen late, from late summer to almost mid-autumn. But they have excellent flavor.

Uses of the fig tree

Figs are eaten fresh

It is a tree that has a couple of uses. The most important is the fruity: both figs and figs are consumed fresh, "pasted". They even make jams and sweet desserts. Now, although it is the best known, there is another equally interesting one: the ornamental. It is a plant that lives well with little, that only needs sun, a soil that drains water well, and that's it. There are those who are encouraged and have it as a bonsai, or as a small tree in a pot. Pruning does not harm it much as long as it is done at the right time and is not drastic.

In the past, latex was used to combat cavities and warts, but today, with specialist doctors, it is preferable to go to them, since the risk of having problems is high. And it is that latex only with contact with the skin can cause itching and stinging, as well as sensitivity to light; and if ingested we could have a feeling of discomfort, vomiting and / or nausea.

What care does a fig tree need?

Now let's move on to the care of this tree. As we have been anticipating, it is a fruit tree that is satisfied with little. But it is very important that a few things are taken into account, otherwise it might not grow as we wish:

Location

El ficus carica needs lots and lots of light. In fact, it is better to put it from the beginning in a place where it is exposed to direct sunlight, and if possible throughout the day, although it can also grow well if you only give it half a day.

Its roots are invasive, but it is also not advisable to put plants under its crown or next to its trunk, since it is most likely that they would not survive by emitting ethylene (a gas that promotes the premature fall of leaves, as well as senescence or aging, also premature, of plants).

Earth

  • Flower pot: if it is going to be in a pot, it will be filled with, for example, universal substrate (for sale here).
  • Garden or orchard: The soil must be neutral or basic, with a pH greater than 6.5. It grows without difficulty in clay soils, but they must have good drainage; that is, if we see that when watering or when it rains, puddles of water form that take hours or days to disappear, we must install drainage pipes, or make channels or slopes so that it does not happen anymore. In addition, when planting it in the ground, it is highly recommended to mix the soil with perlite or clay.

Irrigation

The leaves of the fig tree are deciduous

Irrigation must be generally scarce, especially if it's on the ground. To give you an idea of ​​how much it resists drought, you should know that I myself have one in my garden, in the south of Mallorca, and we never water it. And only about 350 liters of precipitation fall per year, spread over winter, mid-summer (around the second half of August) and sometimes spring.

Of course, if it is grown in a pot, things change, since in these conditions the amount of soil is very limited, and it also dries out quickly. Thus, if it is kept in a container, we will water about twice a week, except in autumn and winter, when we will space out the waterings.

Brachychiton rupestris
Related article:
When and how to water trees?

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The subscriber will be done regularly from spring to late summer. It is not essential if it has been planted in the ground, but in a pot it is recommended so that it does not run out of nutrients. To that end, it is highly recommended to fertilize the fig tree with liquid fertilizers, for example guano, or algae extract, following the instructions on the package.

Multiplication

The fig tree can be multiplied by three different methods: by seeds in autumn (also in spring, but the fresher the better), cuttings (in late winter) and air layering (spring).

Pests

It is quite resistant, but on some occasions it can have:

  • Mealybugs: They love dry and hot environments. They stick to leaves and figs, and feed on their sap.
  • fig fly: Chop the figs when they are still green, and they fall quickly.
  • fig borers: they dig galleries in the branches that are visible in spring.
  • worms in figs: are those of the fruit fly, which also affects other trees. The figs complete their development, but inside we will see that they are full of larvae.
  • caterpillars on leaves: they eat the epidermis of the leaves.

Management

As for diseases, you can have the following:

  • Bold, which usually appears during a major mealybug infestation.
  • Root rot, caused by excessive irrigation and/or by soil that drains water poorly, which favors pathogenic fungi such as phytophthora.
  • mosaic virus, which causes the appearance of mosaic-shaped spots on the leaves, and unfortunately there is no cure.

Pruning

It takes place at the end of winter. What is done is the following:

  • Remove the suckers. Sometimes one is left when the tree is nearing the end of its life.
  • Cut branches that look bad, are broken, dry or with symptoms of disease or major pest such as borers inside, for example.
  • Cut the ones that are too long, that is, those that are giving it a "wild" or messy appearance.

Rusticity

Resists up to -12ºC, although it does not necessarily have to lower the temperature so much to bear fruit. In my area, for example, it only drops to -1,5ºC and we eat sweet figs every summer, so don't worry if you live like me in a region with a mild climate. The important thing is that the four seasons are differentiated, and that in autumn-winter there is a minimum of 100 hours below 7 degrees Celsius.

figs are sweet

What did you think of the fig tree? You have someone?


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