Fig Tree Care: How to Grow a Fig Tree in the Ground or a Pot

Plant a common fig while it is dormant, in full sun (at least 6 to 8 hours) and well-drained soil, 10 feet apart as a bush. Common fig is listed for zones 7a to 10b. Colder than that, wrap or bury it each winter or grow it in a pot of at least 15 gallons stored somewhere cool.

Sources: Clemson Cooperative Extension, NC State Extension, NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, University of Georgia Extension and 10 more. See the sources we used. How we source our guides

Updated October 29, 2026

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To grow a fig tree, plant a common fig, which needs no pollinator, while it is dormant, in full sun (at least 6 to 8 hours) and well-drained soil. Common fig is listed for USDA zones 7a to 10b. In colder zones, wrap it each winter or grow it in a pot of at least 15 gallons.

Figs ask for little: sun, drainage and a light hand with fertilizer. The guides split on winter, so their cold figures are set side by side below.

Fig trees at a glance
Zones	7a to 10b, with a sheltered spot in zone 7
Cold limit	Sustained lows below 17 to 20 F can injure or kill the wood above ground, not counting the roots
Sun	At least 8 hours in most guides; 6 hours at minimum in one
Soil	Well drained, free of root-knot nematodes; pH 5.5 to 6.5
Plant	While dormant, usually between fall and spring; where winters are cold, in spring after hard freezes
Spacing	10 feet for a bush, 15 to 20 feet for a tree
Water	About 1 to 1.5 inches a week
First figs	Usually second or third year; quite often 3 or 4 years for a crop
In a pot	15 gallons or larger, stored somewhere cool and sheltered for winter

Where can you grow a fig tree?

In the ground, figs want mild winters. Common fig is listed for USDA zones 7a through 10b; especially in zone 7, consider a south wall for its radiant heat or another protected corner (but see the wall question below). The zone map sorts places by their average yearly coldest night, in steps of 10 F split into 5 F half zones. Our vegetable calendars for zone 5, zone 6, zone 7, zone 8 and zone 9 use the same map.

Guides put the damage line in different places:

How much cold a fig takes
Low	What it can do	Applies to
Below 20 F, sustained	Can injure or kill wood above ground; plants may freeze back to the ground	Unprotected plants, often injured, not counting the roots
20 F; real damage below 15 F	The limit of even the hardiest edible figs	All but 'Chicago Hardy'
18 F	Tolerated; a frozen tree regrows as a bush	Figs in the far South
17 F, sustained	Usually tolerated; mature trees can live through the low teens	Mature trunks; young plants and trunks are more tender
12 to 15 F	Tolerated	Dormant trees in one coastal county
10 F for stems; 15 to 20 below zero for roots	Hardy to these lows	'Chicago Hardy' only
5 F	Generally the floor for growing figs at all, though stems can be hurt at much higher temperatures	Where figs can be grown

In our reading, three guides expect trouble near 20 F and two at 17 to 18 F; the lower figures are for mature or dormant trees and one hardy cultivar. The variety, soil moisture and hardening off all matter, and dry winters can do severe damage.

By region: across the Deep South, figs do well in most areas except the mountains and the northern one-third of Mississippi. In the mid-Atlantic, the warmest areas have the least trouble. In Pennsylvania and southern New England figs are protected every winter, and in Iowa they are grown in big containers.

Which fig variety should you plant?

Plant a common fig. Of the four types of fig, only the common type sets fruit without pollination; caprifig, Smyrna and San Pedro figs need a tiny wasp. In the Southeast, never plant one of the types that needs the wasp: the wasp cannot survive there. A tree that drops all its fruit every year is probably a Smyrna type.

Check the eye, the small opening at the base of the fruit. Open-eyed figs may be open to the dried fruit beetle and to souring after rain, and a tight or closed eye is the only control for souring. Cultivars the guides name:

'Celeste': small fruit, closed eye. One guide says it "appears to be the most cold hardy" fig it has evaluated, and another calls it the most cold hardy common fig. It often drops fruit in hot weather.
'Brown Turkey': also sold as 'Texas Everbearing' or 'Harrison'; not the California fig of that name. It suits containers and can crop on new growth after a freeze.
'Chicago Hardy': thought to be one of the hardiest edible figs; for a protected site in the mountains, try it or 'Celeste'.
'Brunswick': a third guide finds it appears hardier than 'Brown Turkey' or 'Celeste' but sees its fruit split and sour in humid heat. It does well in containers.
Dwarfs for pots: 'Petite Negri' grows 4 to 6 feet, and 'Little Ruby' is a closed-eye dwarf.

Fig names are muddled, so buy from a reputable Southeastern nursery.

When to plant a fig tree

Plant while the tree is dormant, and in cold areas wait for spring. Where winters are warm, bare-root trees can go in the ground in fall or early winter, while in the Piedmont and the mountains they go out in spring once hard freezes are past. One guide allows late fall to early spring but prefers spring, after severe cold; two favor late winter or early spring, when figs are traditionally planted; another prefers late spring.

Guides disagree on potted trees: one plants them any time of year, two later than bare-root trees, and one in spring only. None of them ties fig planting to a calendar date; they go by dormancy and the end of hard freezes.

How to plant a fig tree

Choose the site first; a fig stays put and grows large. Three guides want at least 8 hours of sun in the growing season, another 6 hours at minimum, and one plant database allows partial shade. Avoid wet ground: figs do not tolerate soil that is excessively wet.

The wall question. In colder areas, most guides put figs on the south side of a building. One sees a risk: a warm winter spell can start growth that a sudden freeze damages, so in the Piedmont a northern exposure helps the plant stay dormant. In our reading, both sides want shelter from cold winter wind; they differ on whether a wall's warmth helps or hurts.

Soil. A wide range of well-drained, reasonably fertile soils will do. Soil pH targets span 5.5 to 6.5: one guide puts the optimum at 6.0 to 6.5, and another raises a low pH to 5.5 to 6.5. The bigger danger is root-knot nematodes, which kill more fig trees than anything else in parts of the Deep South: plant far from old garden sites and test for nematodes first.

Space it: 10 feet for a bush and 15 to 20 feet for a tree; one guide sets trees no closer than 16 feet apart.
Set the depth. Guides split: some set a tree 1 to 3 inches deeper than it grew in the nursery, and a bush 4 inches deeper so it branches underground; others keep the same depth.
Firm and water so the soil settles against the roots.
Skip the fertilizer at planting.
Cut it back. Prune about a third off a bare-root tree. Guides split on potted plants: one cuts them back by about a third too, two leave a container plant unpruned.
Mulch 2 to 3 inches deep.

How much water and fertilizer does a fig tree need?

Steady water, little fertilizer. Figs have shallow roots, so do not cultivate around them; mulch with leaves or pine straw instead. Figs are relatively sensitive to drought stress.

Water. About 1 to 1.5 inches a week from rain or irrigation is generally enough. Yellowing, dropping leaves can mean the tree is dry, and so can immature fruit that drops or fails to ripen.

Fertilizer. Too much nitrogen is the usual mistake: it brings soft late growth that winter injures more easily, plus light crops, split fruit and souring. Judge by new growth. One guide cuts nitrogen when a plant grows more than 1 to 2 feet a year, another counts about 1 foot a year as enough for a mature plant, and a third feeds only when growth falls under 18 inches. Where cold often injures figs, halve the recommended rates, and near the mountains apply little or no fertilizer to keep plants as hardy as possible.

How and when to prune a fig tree

Figs need little pruning: enough to keep them in bounds, open the center to light and air, and remove dead wood. Decide the shape first. Where cold often kills figs back, as in the Piedmont and in north and central Mississippi, train a bush: cut a third off the young plant, then after the first season keep three to eight strong, well-spaced shoots as leaders.

Timing. The guides split, and the split follows where the fruit grows:

Late winter, before growth starts: after the coldest weather has passed. That is late February to early March in the Deep South, and March or April in the mid-Atlantic.
Light winter cuts for brebas: prune while dormant, but on trees that carry an early breba crop on wood from last season, skip heavy winter cuts and prune after the main harvest.
After the fruit ripens: one guide from the far South prunes only then, since there the fruit forms on the previous year's wood; a heavy winter cut may eliminate the next year's crop.

In most guides the main crop typically grows on wood from the current year, and many figs suited to cold climates do not usually set an early breba crop. Whenever you cut, leave no stubs, which let in wood decay; end each cut at a bud or a branch.

How to protect a fig tree in winter

Protect the stems; the roots usually survive. When frost kills the wood above ground, new shoots come up from the roots but rarely ripen fruit that season, and severe injury can take two seasons to recover from. Milder winters have not ended the need for most Maryland gardeners: severe cold snaps still kill wood above ground.

Start after the leaves fall. After a hard frost, remove leftover leaves and unripe figs. Then, from least work to most:

Water in a dry fall. Soak the trees well a few days ahead of a hard freeze.
Mound the base. In late fall, heap 6 inches to 2 feet of loose soil, mulch, leaves or straw around the base of the trunk.
Cage and fill. Ring the plant with wire and fill it with leaves, straw or hay.
Wrap. Prune to a manageable height, tie the branches, wrap them in breathable burlap, canvas or row cover (not plastic), encase the tree in cardboard, fill it loosely with straw and top it with a tarp. Wrapping works on trees up to 10 feet tall; one guide first cuts main stems to 4 to 5 feet.
Bend and bury. Trenching is time-consuming but highly effective: dig a trench, slice about a foot down in a ring by the roots, then tip the tree in with its central roots intact, cover it, and mulch about a foot deep.

Two cautions. One Master Gardener found bubble wrap and pipe insulation trapped moisture and led to fungal disease, and uses straw rather than hay. Insulation can also house voles, which feed on bark. Uncover once spring frost is no longer a risk. The frost dates page on this site lists the average last frost for your ZIP code, which is an average, not a forecast.

Was it killed? In spring, shave a little bark off a few stems. Green underneath means the stem lived. If a fig froze to the ground, keep five or six strong shoots once they reach about 2 feet.

How to grow a fig tree in a pot

Where winters are too hard for figs in the ground, grow one in a pot. In Iowa, large containers are the recommended way to grow common figs, and potted figs must spend winter indoors.

Size: at least 15 gallons; a half wine barrel works too.
Mix: half compost, half soilless mix.
Wheels: casters or a dolly ease the move.
Water: let the mix dry a little a few inches down, and never keep it constantly wet.
Feed: once a month in May, June and July, in a mid-Atlantic garden.

Winter storage. Keep it cold and dormant, not warm: an insulated but unheated garage, room or cool basement, preferably dark. Water monthly so the roots never dry out. Figs need about 100 hours of chilling or more to bear. Stored trees appear unharmed when kept above 25 F; keep them from leafing out until moving day: two weeks before your last spring frost date (April in Pennsylvania).

When are figs ripe?

When they are soft. A fresh fig tastes good only once it is soft and ripe, so pick as the fruit begins to soften. A ripe fig has also swelled, changed color and droops on its stem.

Pick it ripe. Figs do not ripen after picking, in one guide's words, though another finds one that has begun to color and soften keeps softening on the counter.
Store it briefly. Guides differ: two keep ripe figs cool for a short time, at about 40 F or for 2 to 3 days in the fridge; a third says not to refrigerate them, but you can freeze them.
Net it. Birds and squirrels like figs; cover the tree with fine polyethylene netting if needed, and pick often.

Season depends on place: July to October in the far South, July for 'Celeste' in Mississippi, and typically mid-August to frost in the mid-Atlantic. For your average first fall frost, see our frost dates page.

Why is my fig tree dropping fruit or not fruiting?

Usually the plant is young or overfed. The common causes, ranked by importance:

Young, vigorous plants often drop figs before they ripen, and "quite often, three or four years may pass" before a crop matures. If this year's shoots have over 3 inches between leaves, the plant is probably too vigorous: stop fertilizing.
Hot, dry spells before ripening; mulch and water help.
The variety: 'Celeste' often drops fruit in hot weather.
Root-knot nematodes, which make the heat and variety problems worse.
A fig that needs the wasp, a rare case that never sets a good crop.

Other possible causes are excess nitrogen, shade, winter injury, drought, poor drainage, stems killed by cold, a cultivar unsuited to the climate and too little sun.

Fig tree pests and diseases

Home figs have few serious problems, and fungicides and insecticides are usually not needed.

Root-knot nematodes often gall the roots and stunt the plant. An infected tree cannot be cured with chemicals, so start with clean plants in clean soil.
Fig rust turns leaves yellow-brown, usually in late summer, with reddish-brown spots underneath. Remove fallen leaves. One guide calls spraying unwarranted unless rust returns every year, and in Mississippi no fungicides are labeled for it. With any spray, use it only as the label directs.
Souring is yeast carried in by insects; sprays do not stop it, and a closed-eye cultivar is the only fix.
Fig mosaic virus mottles leaves and cannot be cured, so inspect plants before you buy.
Animals: birds and squirrels; where gophers live, they can kill a tree that is half grown.

Fig tree supplies

What you need: in cold zones a big pot or winter wrap, plus netting, pruners and gloves.

A 15-gallon or larger container on casters.
Breathable winter wrap, such as burlap or row cover.
Fine netting against birds, if needed.
Pruners and gloves: the milky sap can cause contact dermatitis, so consider gloves.

What you'll need for a fig tree

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Smart Pot 20 Gallon Fabric Container, Tan
A 15-gallon or larger container on casters; this one is the 20-gallon size.
Check price on Amazon
Chewlish 20 in Plant Caddy with Wheels
A 15-gallon or larger container on casters.
Check price on Amazon
PJT Natural Burlap Plant Covers, 50 ft x 40 in
Breathable winter wrap, such as burlap or row cover.
Check price on Amazon
RIFNY Bird Netting for Garden Protection, 13 x 40 ft
Fine netting against birds, if needed.
Check price on Amazon
Felco 2 bypass pruner
In cold zones a big pot or winter wrap, plus netting, pruners and gloves.
Check price on Amazon
Wells Lamont Nitrile Coated Work Gloves, 5-Pack
The milky sap can cause contact dermatitis, so consider gloves.
Check price on Amazon

Sources we used

Every number and step here traces to one of these fifteen pages, each saved on October 29, 2026 as we read it. When their figures differ, the text gives the spread or describes the split. No nursery or fig plant for sale is recommended here.

Frost dates for any US ZIP code: average last spring and first fall frost.
Zone 7 planting schedule, the zone where the listed fig range starts.
How to grow asparagus, a perennial crop that comes back every spring.
How to grow melons, a fruit for long, warm summers.

Frequently asked questions

Do fig trees need a pollinator?

No, not the common fig most gardeners grow. Common figs set fruit without pollination, while caprifig, Smyrna and San Pedro figs rely on a tiny wasp. A tree that drops all its fruit every year is probably a Smyrna fig, which needs a wasp not found in the Southeast.

How long does it take a fig tree to bear fruit?

Usually two to four years. First fruit usually comes in year two or three, and "quite often, three or four years may pass" before a crop matures, since most figs go through a long juvenile stage. One early variety, 'LSU Purple', can bear small crops in its first one to two years.

Can a fig tree survive winter outside in zone 6?

Usually only with protection. The listed fig range starts at zone 7a, sustained lows below 17 to 20 F can injure or kill the wood above ground, and even 'Chicago Hardy' stems are hardy only to 10 F. In cold areas, in-ground figs are wrapped, caged or buried each winter; the roots often survive and resprout.

Can you grow a fig tree indoors?

Only for the winter, in the guides we read. Potted figs spend winter dormant in a cool, unheated garage or basement and go back outside two weeks before your last spring frost date, since figs need about 100 hours of chilling or more to bear fruit.

When should you prune a fig tree?

Late winter, before the buds break, for most guides. Some trees can bear an early breba crop on last year's wood; avoid heavy winter cuts on those. Where fruit forms on the previous year's wood, one guide from the far South prunes only after fruit ripens in early summer. Leave no stubs.

How do you know when a fig is ripe?

It is soft. Pick figs just as they begin to soften, since they are not tasty before that. A ripe fig has also changed color and droops on its stem. One guide lets colored, softening figs finish on the counter.

How big does a fig tree get?

Large: guides give a height and spread of 10 to 30 feet, and one puts a pruned tree at 15 to 30 feet. Where winter often freezes figs back, they are kept as bushes. For a pot, 'Petite Negri' is a 4 to 6 foot dwarf.