Which fig varieties are suitable for our climate?

It's that time again .... Our huge fig tree gives us, the insects and birds in our garden sweet ripe fruit every day. The blackbirds in particular, but also some species of butterflies, can always be found among the fruit.

If you also want a fig tree in your garden, you should make sure you choose a hardy variety from a good quality nursery and a sunny, fairly sheltered south-facing spot in the garden. The more warm hours of sunshine the plant receives, the better the fruit will ripen. This year it took longer for the first fruits to ripen because it was quite cool for three weeks this summer. Once the tree is well established, it hardly needs any further care. You should think carefully about how much space you have available in the garden and choose the variety accordingly.

The right care

Some, especially smaller varieties, do not need pruning. However, our fig tree is one of the fast-growing varieties and increases greatly in size every year, so we have to keep pruning it. The best time to do this is late winter, before the fig is in sap again. We cut off cross-growing and weak shoots as well as all water and ground shoots. We want to ensure that the inside of the tree also gets enough light and air so that prickly diseases have no chance and the fruit can ripen well. But we also have to prune it in summer because that's when it grows the most. So far, it has forgiven us well.

If you keep the fig as a potted plant, you should make sure that the pot is large enough. Fig roots do not want to be cramped (unlike Agapanthus) and need sufficient root space to grow well.

The following varieties are hardy, at least in our milder climate zones

• Ficus carica "Brown Turkey"
  • This variety bears fruit continuously from June to December
  • Their fruits not so sweet
  • fast-growing variety

•  Ficus carica "Dalmatia"
  • This is a very popular variety
  • The fruits do not grow too large
  • It is prone to fruit drop

•  Ficus carica "Dauphine"
  • Dauphine is well suited because it is very frost-resistant
  • It has very large fruits
  • However, it is also prone to fruit drop

•  Ficus carica "Madelaine des deux Saisons"
  • This is one of the hardiest varieties of all
  • It bears fruit twice a year

• Ficus carica "Rouge de bourdeaux"
  • This variety is sensitive to frost
  • It bears fruit continuously from June to winter
  • These are small, sweet and dark

We #Beetschwestern wish you good luck with your planting and lots of sweet fruit!