I’ve been tending fig trees for years as a gardener, but one that always comes to mind is a grand ‘Brown Turkey’ espaliered flat against a vast stone barn in South Wales. The garden sat at the bottom of a misty valley – hardly the Mediterranean climate you’d expect figs to crave – yet it thrived, thanks to the shelter and the heat radiating from that old wall.
Figs are famously tough, but toughness doesn’t mean they never need help. Like all fruit trees, they pour huge amounts of energy into blossom, foliage and ripening fruit, and sometimes the soil can’t keep up. Learning how to fertilize fig trees is, therefore, key, though it’s a matter of balance. Too much feed and you’ll be lost in a jungle of leaves with not a fig in sight, and too little and you’ll face bare stems year after year.
