Dick’s Family Fig Tree Instructions

I clone my tree every year and donate the offspring. These are the instructions I give with them:

This fig cultivar was brought from Sicily about 70 years ago to my grandfather, Carmine Nassa (La Nassa in the Old Country). I’m the third-generation caretaker. In that role, I have cloned it many times, and the clones are currently growing around the United States. This tree, properly cared for, will produce extraordinarily large, delicious figs!

To that end, I offer you the following advice:

Plant against a south-facing wall of a building either in the ground or in a pot.  Figs like lots of sun.  Figs are relatively tolerant of a wide range of soils, from slightly acidic to very slightly neutral, from fairly heavy clays to loose, sandy loams. They should be kept free of weed competition and watered sparingly -- a deep watering about every 10 days if the weather is dry. Prune only when dormant, always leaving some terminal buds.

If the fig is in a pot, bringing the pot out during the day, in at night, will produce fruit earlier. (I have several in a wagon.) This extra effort gives you bragging rights in the fall! Watch out, pilferage can be a problem!

Compost is good. Natural fertilizer like Espoma Plant-tone is good. Mulch the ground, stopping about two inches back from the trunk.

Figs can stand being out in temps as low as 25 degrees. They also like to have their roots cut.

Winter protection: if in the ground, either cover completely with breathable fabric or cut the root on one side, bury, and mound organic matter and soil deep enough to ensure that the ground does not freeze. Uncover once risk of freezing temps has passed. Before any new growth appears, pierce the soil one foot deep and half-way between the drip line and the trunk. If in a pot, remove 2/3 of the root, then re-pot with fresh soil. Bonemeal is also a good fertilizer, it’s 20% calcium!

Speak to your tree when you pass by. Italian is better, but Carmine insisted that his five children speak English primarily. He made wine and had a wine cellar hidden underground in the garage. To this day I can smell the mixture of wine leaching through the oak barrels and the Earth.