How do I get figs to ripen in the UK?

Restricting the roots, keeping the pea-sized embryo figs and removing the rest, and the wall warmth that decides whether a fig tree is productive or purely ornamental.

Difficulty: intermediate
Time: 1 hr 30 min
Read: 4 min

Short answer

Restrict the roots — in a pot or a lined pit — because an unrestricted fig grows enormous and fruits badly. Give it the sunniest sheltered wall you have. In autumn, keep only the pea-sized embryo figs at the shoot tips and remove all larger unripe ones: the small ones overwinter and ripen next summer, the big ones never will.

Figs in Britain carry one usable crop a year, and it comes from tiny embryo fruits formed at the shoot tips in late summer that survive the winter and swell the following August. Everything about growing figs here follows from that fact. A tree that grows too vigorously makes wood instead of embryo figs; a cold winter kills the embryos; and the larger green figs still on the tree in October are a distraction that will never ripen and should come off.

What you'll need

A fig on a sunny sheltered wall, or in a large pot
Paving slabs or rubble for root restriction if planting in the ground
Fleece for winter protection in a cold garden (optional)
Secateurs

Step by step

Restrict the roots.A large pot of 45cm or more, or a planting pit about 60cm square lined with paving slabs on edge and a layer of rubble in the base. An unrestricted fig makes a large leafy tree and very little fruit.
Give it the warmest wall you have.South or south-west, sheltered from wind. Wall warmth is what carries the embryo figs through winter and ripens the crop in a mediocre summer.
Choose a variety that suits the UK.Brown Turkey is the standard reliable choice, with Brunswick and White Marseilles also good outdoors here. All the figs grown outdoors in Britain are self-fertile and need no pollinator.
Understand which figs will ripen.Pea-sized embryo figs at the shoot tips in autumn are next year's crop. Larger green figs still on the tree in October formed too late — they will not ripen and will rot or drop.
In autumn, remove every fig larger than a pea.Late October or early November. Take off all the walnut-sized and larger unripe fruit and leave only the tiny embryos at the tips. This one job makes the difference between a crop and a disappointment.
Protect the embryo figs in a cold garden.Fleece over the shoot tips, or straw packed among the branches, during hard frosts. Below about -5°C the embryos are lost, and with them next year's crop.
Prune in early spring, lightly.Remove frost-damaged and dead wood, thin out congested growth to let light in, and shorten a few of the older branches to encourage new growth from lower down. Do not cut off the young shoot tips carrying embryo figs.
Pinch new shoots to five or six leaves in June.It slows growth and encourages the formation of embryo figs at the tips — the shoots that carry next year's crop.
Water consistently and feed with potash.A restricted root run means the plant depends on you. Water regularly from spring to the end of fruiting, and feed with a high-potash liquid feed from when the figs start to swell.
Pick by feel and by droop.A ripe fig hangs down rather than sticking out, feels soft, and often has a bead of nectar at the eye and small splits in the skin. Figs do not ripen after picking.

Tips

Wear gloves when pruning. Fig sap irritates skin and reacts badly with sunlight on some people.
Figs are one of the very best fruits for a large pot, precisely because the pot does the root restriction for you.
In a very warm summer in the south, a fig can produce a light second crop, but the main crop in Britain is always the overwintered embryo one.
A fig that has never been root-restricted and is now a huge tree can be brought back by hard pruning over two or three years, though the underlying vigour will keep pushing.
Birds and wasps find ripe figs quickly. Netting or bags on individual fruit protect the last week.

Common mistakes

Planting a fig into open unrestricted ground — It puts everything into growth. You get a large handsome tree with big leaves and almost no fruit.
Leaving the large green figs on over winter — They will never ripen, they rot on the tree, and they take resources from the embryo figs that would have cropped.
Pruning hard in autumn — It removes the embryo figs at the shoot tips, which are next year's entire crop, and leaves fresh wounds through a wet winter.
Letting a potted fig dry out — Restricted roots dry fast, and drought while the figs are swelling means fruit drop. Restriction works only if watering is consistent.

Questions people ask

Why do my figs never ripen?

Usually because the fruit you are watching formed too late in the year. In Britain the crop that ripens is the one that started as a pea-sized embryo the previous autumn and overwintered on the shoot tips.

Should I remove unripe figs in autumn?

Yes — remove everything larger than a pea in late October or early November, and leave the tiny embryo figs at the shoot tips. Those are next summer's crop.

Do figs need root restriction?

In Britain, effectively yes. A pot or a lined planting pit is what converts an over-vigorous leafy tree into a fruiting one.

Do I need two fig trees?

No. The fig varieties grown outdoors in the UK set fruit without pollination and without a partner.