Fig trees are much loved for their association with the Med, their architectural shape, their large lobed eaves and most importantly, their fruit! But until now few of us have been able to grow them at home because they take up so much space. Lucky for us, Ficus carica ‘Little Miss Figgy’ has come along, allowing us small city courtyard and balcony dwellers the opportunity to grow our own rather than forage.
Especially bred to remain bushy and compact and not particularly fast growing, Felix will grow well in a pot. While you can leave him in his nursery pot, this will stunt his growth quite dramatically, and he will run out of nutrients rapidly, so we recommend planting him up into fresh compost in a large decorative pot. This way he’ll only need to be repotted every couple of years.
Given his origins in the Mediterranean, Felix needs full sun, shelter and temperatures no lower than -10 degrees celsius to produce the ripe juicy figs we want to make desserts and jam come spring and autumn. If you’re growing yours in an area that is exposed or gets a lot colder, you may need to wrap him up in horticultural fleece over winter, releasing him in spring after the last frosts have passed.
The beauty of this little fig tree is that you can fan-train it against a wall or leave it to take on its own shrubby shape. If it’s getting too big for its boots or you want to prune it to give it a more architectural shape, then cut it back in winter when it’s dormant. Because it’s deciduous, it will lose its leaves in winter.
Did you know?
Figs were one of the first plants grown by humans, with fossilised fruit having been dated back as far as 9200BC.
Easy care
Bright light
Flowering
