Fig trees were first cultivated in western Asia and the eastern Mediterranean more than 5,000 years ago. These trees are drought-tolerant, simple to propagate, and produces two fruit crops each year.
While it can grow to a height of 15 to 30 feet tall, these trees take well to pruning and can be grown in a container to limit its height to 10 feet.
Fig trees have been mentioned many times in the Bible to symbolize Israel or people without faith. When Adam and Eve realized they were naked, they used fig leaves to cover themselves.
Buddha also gained his enlightenment while sitting under a fig tree. In Africa, women of the Kikuya culture put fig tree sap on their bodies because of their belief in the tree’s fruitfulness.
Types
Adriatic Fig Trees
Because of its high sugar content, this type of fig is frequently used for drying and in fig pastes and fig bars. It comes from the Mediterranean region, and when it’s fresh the skin is light green in color, with pale pink flesh.
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The tree of Adriatic figs is self-pollinating, and the fruit itself is thin-skinned with a pulp that is sweet and tasty. They can withstand a variety of weather conditions and they ripen in June, usually from the previous year’s growth, as well as in August on the current year’s growth.
Alma Fig Trees
Ripening late in the season, Alma figs have a very rich flavor, although they are not exactly the most attractive fruit you’ll ever see. A relatively new variety, it has only been around since 1974, and it is very tasty.
It is perfect for eating fresh and for canning, and they sometimes develop dark spots on their skins as they are developing, reminding some people of a bacterial infection.
Alma figs have medium-sized fruit, small seeds, and a light yellow skin. The trees are sensitive to frost and therefore, they shouldn’t be grown more than 200 miles from the Gulf of Mexico.
Black Mission Fig Trees
These figs are named after the mission fathers who introduced the fruit, and they have a dark purple skin which turns to black when it’s dried. It also has pink flesh and it originated in California.
The Black Mission figs are a very high-quality fruit, and like some other fig trees, it produces its fruit twice a year. It is a medium-sized fruit with skin that sometimes cracks when it ripens. It grows to be quite big, and it lives for a very long time.
Brown Turkey Fig Trees
The Brown Turkey fig has a deep purple skin and red flesh. They are sold both dried and fresh, and they grow their fruit in late spring and again in late summer.
They have very hardy roots and require only light pruning once a year. They also get up to 25 feet wide and high, and they are most prized for their fruit and foliage, not their blooms.
Caprifigs
These types of figs do not bear any edible fruit, because they only produce male flowers and are there to pollinate the female fig tree. It is also known as Ficus carica, and it is a wild fig that grows in southwestern Asia and southern Europe.
The caprifig is pear-shaped and has numerous small flowers, which later turn into inedible multiple fruits. Male caprifigs are not juicy and plump on the inside, but rather they seem semi-hollow. They ripen three times a year – fall, summer, and spring – and they have very thick skin.
Celeste Fig Trees
The Celeste fig tree is one of the hardiest fig trees available, and they can even handle temperatures of 15 below Fahrenheit. They can get up to 15 feet high, and they have to be planted in soil that drains well because it does not do well when it’s soggy.
Celeste figs are so sweet that they are often referred to as “sugar figs,” and they have skin that is light brown to violet in color and flesh that is a bright strawberry-red color.
In the Southeastern United States especially, this is one of the most popular types of fig trees, and its tolerance to both cold and heat is one of the reasons why.
Common Fig Trees
Like its name suggests Common fig trees are the most popular type of fig tree in the United States. With no need for pollination and no true seeds, Common fig trees include the Celeste and Brown Turkey. The Brown Turkey fig is mildly sweet, and the Celeste fig is even sweeter.
Common fig trees are those usually found in homes, and they do not need another tree to pollinate.
In fact, Common figs are also not susceptible to insects that cause them to rot because they don’t need any type of opening, which also means that rainwater cannot enter the fruit, thereby keeping them healthier for a longer period of time.
Kadota Fig Trees
With a greenish-yellow skin and purple flesh, Kadota fig trees are a favorite among people who love to make fig preserves. The figs are almost entirely seedless, and when dried they are a light golden color. The tree does well in cold weather, and it grows best in zones five and six.
It is also a very attractive tree, and it is very adaptable if the tree is sheltered. It is grown by both home and commercial growers, and it only requires light annual pruning. It can also get up to 30 feet high and 30 feet wide, so it is quite large.
Purple Genca Fig Trees
