Fig

Description

Growing in Phoenix: A foolproof tree for beginner gardeners in Arizona. Fig trees have a lovely sculptural structure and can provide dappled shade to sun-sensitive plants. They can tolerate the poor soils in the desert but will do better with some organic matter and fertilizing. Fig varieties are abundant, with three main flavor profiles; Sugar, Honey, and Berry. Size can be maintained with pruning. Fruits around May-June. Prolific fruiters, often twice a year. 

Figs can handle full sun in Arizona but will benefit from some afternoon shade or sun protection in the first year of planting. No protection is required in winter, they will drop their leaves as they go into dormancy. Do not overwater in winter. Feed with liquid fish and seaweed fertilizer once a month during the growing season. Use 19-6-12 fertilizer twice a year. Will benefit from soil sulfur applications 3-4 times a year. Figs can also be container grown with ease. Choose a container that is at least 25-30 gallons. Root prune every 3 years when dormant if kept in a pot. Alternatively, pot up to a larger container.

See the planting and care guide page for planting instructions.

VBD: Rich flavor and strong fig scent. Excellent berry flavored fruit that is small to medium-sized. Produces a breba and main variety. A Natural dwarfing variety, a good choice for container growing. Produces a main and breba crop. Medium eye.

LSU Purple: Berry type. Medium-sized fruit with a dark glossy purple exterior.White flesh with  moderate sweetness. Good variety for drying.Well-suited for container culture. Three crops are possible.

Ischia: Fairly large fruit ripens to a greenish-yellow with a dark red interior. Heavy producer of strawberry flavored fruit. Can produce a breba crop. Tougher skins, not prone to splitting. Good container growing variety.

Olympian: Huge purple fruits have deep red very sweet interior. Sugar type. Can produce a breba crop. A large eye can split. 

Ge Neri: A rare Italian-type fig that produces remarkably large fruit- supposedly as large as a tennis ball. One main crop. Pale purplish-brown exterior with a reddish interior.

Black Mission: Popular variety with dark medium-sized fruit. The exterior is a blackish purple with a light pink interior. Vigorous grower, allow enough room. Produces two crops of edible fruit. Sugar type 

Brown Turkey: Brown rust-red exterior with an amber-colored interior. Popular commercial variety. Milder tasting fig with a vigorous growth pattern.Sugar profile.

Yellow Neck: Large bright yellow fruit has a long neck and tender skin. Great for jam or drying. Prolific fruiter and vigorous growth pattern. Breba and main crop. Honey flavored. Large eye.

Beers Black: Medium-sized violet fruit with rich sweet magenta flesh. Closed eye type that resists splitting. Excellent for drying or fresh eating. Berry type. Well-suited for container culture. 

Texas Everbearing: Medium-sized purple fruit on vigorous trees that is very productive. Maincrop ripens in June through August. The early crop ripens in May. Mildly sweet, sugar profile. 

Fignonimal

An exciting new variety of figs that produces medium-sized deep brown figs with a rosy interior. This is a compact dwarf tree excellent for container culture,  it produces prolifically even though it is a small tree. It is compared to Petit Negra and is said to grow to 28 inches tall. This variety can even be grown indoors in a very sunny window or in the Arizona room. The foliage is large and ornamental despite its small stature.