figs

Fabulous Figs for Summer Harvest

June 24, 2026 by stephenbrueggerhoff

Stephen Brueggerhoff, CEA – Horticulture, Brazos County AgriLife Extension; published 6/23/2026

All images unless otherwise noted by Stephen Brueggerhoff

I’m delighted to report that fig fruit are beginning to ripen and are ready for picking. Fruit availability may seem to go by in a flash as fresh fruit is highly perishable. Unlike tomatoes that can be harvested at the breaker stage, figs will not ripen on the countertop until in the later stages of ripening on the stem. A crop of figlets from my in-ground variety Celeste developed about a month ago, and I am fortunate that it has produced almost four pounds as of this writing with more to come.

Figs Are Healthy and Tasty

Figs offer health benefits that include high dietary fiber content, a great source of calcium and potassium and easily digestible natural sugars. Fresh figs are favored for their jam-like, delicate texture. I smile when I read flavor descriptors like those used by a sommelier – the all-encompassing berry with hints of vanilla, or light cherry with a syrupy interior. I speak from direct experience and report on the sweet and sugar jam flavored profile of Celeste and Little Ruby, an aroma of fresh strawberries from green skinned Nagle, and the light honey flavor of LSU Gold. I have a variety called Smith that offers a rich taste, one that is difficult to describe but is outstanding in flavor.

Fig Varieties

There are hundreds of named varieties, each offering difference in taste, texture and harvest time. I offer a few recommended for ease of cultivation and consistent producers.

Diversity of fig fruit image — L to R: Celeste, Little Ruby, Smith, LSU Gold

Celeste, a popular dooryard tree, produces a light-bronze fruit averaging 1.5-inches in diameter with a closed eye. It has the capacity to produce ten pounds annually from mid-June thru July. Reddish pulp offers a rich, sweet taste when fully ripe. Celeste is a cold hardy tree, down to low teens with short duration freeze event.
LSU Gold was developed through Louisiana State University’s fig breeding program and reached commercial markets in 2001. The fruit is a large 2-inch diameter oblate form, offering a greenish-yellow skin when ripe and the potential to produce 24 pound in one season. The tree begins producing fruit in mid-June. The pulp is light pink to amber color with a honey-like flavor. Mature fruit has a partially closed eye (ostiole). One challenge is the fruit may split or crack with excessive moisture from rain events during maturation.
Smith was brought by the Becnel family to their nursery in Louisiana in the early 1900s. Reputed to be a classic southern fig, Smith produces from June through early July and expresses an exquisite berry taste. You know when Smith is ripe when the skin expresses prominent purplish ribs and an amber droplet emerges from the semi-open eye.

Cultivating Fig Fruit

If planting anew, wait until early spring and after anticipated hard freeze events in well-drained soil. Do not fertilize and prune newly planted trees to half their height, forcing shoots to grow from the base of the plant. The following late winter, select three to five vigorous leader shoots and prune back to one foot from the base. Ensure each leader is widely spaced to accommodate up to 3-inches of girth as it matures. Other than dwarfed varieties like Little Miss Figgy, Little Ruby and Fignomenal, all fig trees can become quite large at 20-feet or more tall and wide. Give them room to grow and prune annually mid-February to early March to keep at a harvestable height. Use thinning cuts, removing branches to their lowest point and avoid heading cuts that shorten branches and encourage vigorous, upright sprouts.

While annual maintenance includes fertilization, apply with caution as fig trees can respond vigorously with little to no fruit production. My advice is to submit a soil sample to the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory (soiltesting.tamu.edu/) and determine any nutrient deficiencies for a more accurate measure of fertilization. For newly planted trees and after the first year in the ground to around three years, split approximately 3 cups into thirds and apply early spring, mid-May and mid-June. Mature established trees can be fertilized once in the spring annually. LSU Extension recommends annual application from half to one pound per year of plant age and no more than ten pounds per plant at maturity. Cut back on the fertilizer application next year if the foliage growth outcompetes fruit production. The fig season may seem to go by in a flash, but I encourage you to cultivate at least two for your backyard orchard to extend the bounty. Figs are truly a part of our southern culinary culture, and I look forward to sharing knowledge and supporting your urban orchard efforts. You can always chat with me about figs on Garden Success, my live call-in garden radio show every Thursday at 12 pm on KAMU-FM 90.9. Fig on, my friends and I’ll see you in the garden.

Fabulous Figs for Summer Harvest

October 14, 2025 by stephenbrueggerhoff

By Stephen Brueggerhoff, CEA – Horticulture, Brazos County AgriLife Extension; published 07/23/2025

Fig varieties LSU Gold & Smith, Image: Stephen Brueggerhoff

I am a certified fig fanatic, hosting 15 named containerized varietals in my backyard and anticipating my first harvest by mid-July. I am growing several recognized varieties like Celeste and LSU Purple, others offering unique qualities like the strawberry flavor of green skinned Nagle and the honey flavor of LSU Gold. Even though each variety is different in taste and harvest time, I wish to impart basic cultural information that may assist in your pursuit of fig happiness.

Keys to Success – Preparation, Planting and Cultivation

With a little preparation and planning figs can be grown quite successfully in the backyard. If planting anew, wait until early spring and after anticipated hard freeze events. While figs are adaptable to differing soil types, we want to get them off to a great start and planted in well-drained soil. Space them 15 feet apart from any other tree or landscape feature. They can get quite large at 20-feet tall and wide, and are often grown as a spreading, multi-trunk specimen. If your tree is newly planted earlier this year or less than three years old, I encourage you to prune your tree and control lateral growth and height to a manageable harvesting stature. Fig trees have fibrous, shallow root systems and must be protected from water loss, winter temperature fluctuation and soil compaction with an adequate mulch layer. Remember that fig trees are generally not cold tolerant, limited to regions with mild winters well above minimum 10-degree temperatures. Mulching is also good practice to minimize weed growth and aid in keeping the orchard floor clean. Most varieties produce once a year in mid to late summer on new annual growth and are often pruned in late winter. A few varieties like Celeste and Alma have two crops, producing additionally in spring from previous year’s wood and referred to as a breba crop. Varieties of breba crops should be pruned less vigorously to induce spring fruiting.

Protect Your Fruit from Varmints

One question that pops up every year is how to keep varmints out of the orchard. Squirrels and birds notoriously use the fruit of our labor for sustenance, and baffles placed around the trunk to exclude squirrels are impractical with a multi-trunk tree. If practical and directly related to your pruning regime, you can try a temporary shroud of fine mesh netting to exclude these critters. Another potential that will take a bit of time and is used in small orchard fruit production are fruit bags, which are gauze or thin paper bags that are lovingly wrapped around individual fruits. Clemson Cooperative Extension offers a version for sale, or you can search online for alternative companies. One resource recommended constructing your own out of small gift bags made of organza fabric. Let your imagination lead you on this effort. Eating figs is more pleasurable than picking them, and summer harvest encourages early work in the day to avoid heat stress. Protective gear like gloves and long sleeves should be worn to lessen contact dermatitis from the fine, short and coarse hair-like bristles on the leaves, and possibly eye wear to avoid exposure to fig latex, a milky, mildly toxic sap expressed from cut branches and fruit stems. Fruit production may begin when an established tree reaches two years old. Figs must be harvested when ripe and will not continue to ripen once picked, promoting preservation via canning or drying with a bountiful harvest.

Fabulous Figs Workshop a Success: Tasting Results

Figs served!, Image: Stephen Brueggerhoff

I hosted a combo seminar and fig tasting program Fabulous Figs on July 12 at our Extension office classroom, 4153 County Park Court in Bryan. I led a seminar on best methods for cultivating figs, varietals to consider for your home orchard and fruits of my labor. We started off with a fig tasting activity, and thanks to sponsor Neal’s Berry Farm in Waller (https://www.nealsberryfarm.com) for the 4 varietals for tasting: Celeste, LSU Purple, LSU Gold and Magnolia. And special mention and admiration for attendee Josh C. donating about 2 pounds of fruit from an heirloom varietal Goccia di Miele (fig fruit size comparable to LSU Gold, from the Adriatic line, flavor profile ‘honey-like’, etc)

Fig tasting activity survey notes and votes for ‘Overall preference’ for individual varieties: Celeste, Magnolia and Goccia di Miele had the most votes in category ‘Like moderately’

Celeste, LSU Purple, LSU Gold had the next highest votes in category ‘Like very much’

Celeste appears to be the preferred regarding overall preference. Kind of mixed results with the others, but I’m thinking LSU Gold and Purple were valued. From my recollection, Celeste was consistent with ripeness, LSU Purple and Magnolia were not. I’ll offer the program again next year, I already have the attention of AgriLife Fruit Specialists to host this program out at the Hort Research facilities; they have more diversity and their figs will be producing next year. Check out a Fig Fact Sheet from Aggie Horticulture to brush up on your skills: Home – Aggie Horticulture Aggie Horticulture. Figs are truly a part of our southern culinary culture, and I look forward to sharing knowledge and supporting your urban orchard efforts. Fig on, my friends and I’ll see you in the garden.

Planting Fruit Trees in Winter

October 14, 2025 by stephenbrueggerhoff

By Stephen Brueggerhoff, CEA – Horticulture, Brazos County AgriLife Extension; published 01/21/2025

I have never experienced discontentment in winter. I keep myself active in my little urban orchard by choosing fruiting trees and vines I can get in the ground now for future harvest. Early to late winter is a great time to plant your chosen beauties. Once you purchase a tree, planting seems like it would be a simple task: dig a hole, plop your new fruit tree in, water and done. Not so fast, my intrepid gardener, there are a few steps to take to ensure a long life and years of fruit production.

Plant Fig Trees Now for Fall Harvest, Image: Stephen Brueggerhoff

Step one is to find a location for your tree on the north side of your landscape, supporting current plant dormancy and providing full sun exposure after emerging from winter. We do not know what advective freeze events are around the corner and certainly do not want to encourage bud break and expose tender new growth to extreme colder temps. Keep an eye on weather forecasts during this time of year to help support your decision for planting. It is important to look up and around at surrounding buildings and trees to ensure your site is not covered by shade during the growing season. Another preliminary step is to make sure the area drains well; make an assessment if you need to plant on a berm or in a raised bed to improve drainage. Also commit a soil test of your growing area. You need a baseline measurement of soil nutrients, pH and salinity levels to determine the right varietal as well as practice sustainable tree maintenance. Information reported from a soil test will help guide you to the best ratio of fertilizer for ongoing management.

Next step is to dig a hole twice as wide and no deeper than the root ball. Some may be planting bare root trees or vines, making it slightly challenging to determine how deep to make the planting hole. Look for a distinct color change where the roots meet the trunk, called the root collar, and plant at that level. You can also use the part of the trunk that naturally flares at soil level as a visual guide. This trunk flare/root collar zone is well below any graft union you may see on the trunk. Remember that you will have a bit of settling after planting, and I suggest having the final level at least one-inch higher to account for settling.

Examine & Correct Roots Before Planting, Image: Stephen Brueggerhoff

As you remove your tree from its container or pull away burlap from a ball and burlap tree, look over the root mass and remove any inward growing or fixed curling woody roots. It may be challenging to clearly see the tree roots surrounded by soil if container grown. There is a technique called root washing, which is removing all soil from the root mass by washing with a hose, exposing any malformed roots for pruning and providing an opportunity to clearly see and adjust the roots as you plant. I believe there is merit to this method, and whatever technique you decide to use always make sure to prune out any malformed roots you see.

Always save and use the native soil for backfill to encourage optimal root growth and reduce an abrupt change in soil texture at the interface between the planting hole and surrounding soil. Tree roots serve a dual purpose: they absorb and transfer water and minerals as well as provide a foundation and support. Supplemental material like peat moss or shovelfuls of composted material may encourage roots to become more localized and not readily move out of the rich environment of the soil amendments in the planting hole. Mix and use as much of the native soil as you can even if you decide to build a raised bed. Once you place the tree in the hole, backfill with one-third of collected soil at a time, making sure to lightly tamp the soil enough to hold everything in place, water in the soil until you see it pool slightly, then let drain. This action helps reduce air pockets that may collect while planting. Repeat this activity until you fill up the hole to surrounding soil level. Build a 4-inch berm around the tree at least 2-feet away from the trunk and fill the berm with water for final settling. Staking may not be necessary; you will be pruning your fruiting trees to a single trunk that will not be top heavy and therefore will not necessitate this kind of support. If you do decide to stake, check on your tree throughout the year to ensure it has firmly established roots and remove the stakes within a year of planting. In the absence of seasonal rains, hand water your trees every four days for two weeks and increase the time between watering until you can water the tree every twenty days. Always take into account soaking rains; the key is not to over saturate the soil, which can lead to root rot. Remember that lawn sprinklers do not replace good old hand watering.

Browse online to Aggie Horticulture to find out more specific information about fruit tree culture: https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu. I will be marketing a 2025 Urban Orchard seminar series, and to best serve your interests I invite you to browse to my website and take a survey: https://brazos.agrilife.org/horticulture/urban-orchard. From grafting trees to cultivating blackberries, figs, peaches and pomegranates, I will review your answers to get things growing. Producers and home growers are welcome. Take care my friends, and I’ll see you in the winter garden.