Figs in the North? Why not? In his plan for a fig-pig patio, Canadian gardener Steven Biggs demonstrates that even tender Mediterranean plants like figs aren’t off-limits to those living in cold climates. He trains his figs as small trees, rather than bushes, and he grows them in large pots so he can move them easily when it comes time to overwinter them in a shed.
Steven is a self-proclaimed fig-pig. In his yard, he can sit among the wide assortment of fig trees on his patio and pretend that he’s in an Italian villa. “I love it. First, there’s the fruit, which, when fresh and fully ripe — as you can only get straight from the tree — is sweet, juicy, and jamlike,” he says. Then there is the Mediterranean atmosphere that the trees themselves provide. “The gray bark and lobed leaves offer Northerners the illusion of being somewhere other than the temperate North,” he says with a laugh.
Steven started his first fig tree from a cutting when he was just a teenager. Twenty-five years later, he still has a descendant from that original tree, as well as several dozen other fig trees.
Selecting the right variety. There are a lot of different varieties of figs. Steven advises that you check in with a “fig fetishist” or a well-stocked nursery in your specific area when buying plants, so that you end up with the best varieties for your region. “Some have dark flesh, some light; and some have dark skin, some light. In addition, some give a good first (breba) crop in summer, while others give a better main crop in the autumn,” he says. He recommends buying a variety that offers a good breba crop and another with a good main crop for the longest season of figs.
Creating a private spot. To increase privacy and provide a secluded feeling, Steven trains his fig plants to grow as trees instead of bushes. His goal is for the trees to reach a height of 6 feet, with side branches starting about 3 feet above the level of the pot. Because of this, Steven’s design will work well along the border of a patio or sitting area.
The other advantage to growing the plants as trees is that you can grow more plants underneath them. In his design, Steven has chosen edible plants for his fig tree understory. The lavender and cardoon continue the Mediterranean theme of the figs, while the ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss chard adds bold color — and plenty of tasty salad greens!
Of cardoon, Steven says, “It’s such a stunning plant with large, deeply cut leaves that add a Promethean quality to the garden.” The edible stalks are used in a variety of Mediterranean dishes, but the plants themselves are highly architectural, and in late summer large purple thistlelike flowers emerge from the center of the foliage.
Steven likes that lavender has summer flowers and aromatic foliage with year-round structure. “The perennial lavender plants provide a ‘placeholder’ for the figs, and they also hide the buried fig pots,” says Steven.
Easy overwintering. Gardeners in cold climates will need to overwinter their trees. That may sound intimidating, but Steven is quick to reassure prospective growers: “Over the winter, fig trees will need no more care than a potted houseplant — and probably less because they go dormant,” he says. Fig growers in cold climates can overwinter their plants in several ways. “I overwinter most of my fig plants in an insulated shed that I keep near the freezing mark,” he says, noting that an attached garage or even a cold room in a basement would work well too. “The ideal overwintering spot is a dark, cool (23 to 41°F or –5 to 5°C) storage area that keeps dormant trees snoozing until spring.”
Because he grows his trees in pots that need to be moved in spring and autumn, Steven chooses containers of a manageable size. Though bigger pots will allow you to grow bigger trees, don’t choose pots that are so big you can’t carry them once they are filled with soil and the plant. This will make moving the trees inside for overwintering and outdoors for summer less of a chore.
Hiding pots. The containers can be buried completely in the soil, right down to the rim, but on paved patios or in areas with lots of rocks, tuck plants in between the fig trees to disguise the pots.
Some fig varieties produce a good first (breba) crop in summer, while others produce a better main crop in autumn. Steven recommends mixing breba and main crops for the longest harvest, and planting varieties that work well in your region. “There are so many varieties of fig that, even with all my plants, I’ve grown only a fraction of what’s out there,” says Steven. In his own words, Steven describes some varieties that he has grown and particularly likes: