13 Fabulous Fig Varieties for Your Home and Garden :-The tastes of figs can be sweet, complex, honey-like, berry-like, custardy, and more. No matter how you explain the taste, they are all delicious! Gardening expert Liessa Bowen tells you about 13 of her favorite types of figs that you can grow in your own yard.
13 Fabulous Fig Varieties for Your Home and Garden
1 . ‘Black Madeira’ :
People love Black Mission figs because they produce a lot of big fruits. A fully grown fruit is about the size of your palm.
They not only make big fruits, but they also make a lighter crop early in the season and a bigger main crop later in the season. “Black Mission” fruits are great fresh or dried to keep them fresh. The taste is sweet, rich, and reminiscent of figs.
2 . ‘Brown Turkey’
“Brown Turkey” figs are a bigger type of fig that can grow up to 30 feet tall. These thick trees will look great in your yard and give you two big crops of figs every year.
Most of the time, the early crop is smaller than the later main crop, which will keep your fig stock full! You can eat them fresh or dried as a snack that you can enjoy long after the main crop season is over.
3 .‘Celeste’
One of the most common types of fig trees you can find at garden centers and plant farms is the “Celeste” variety. ‘Celeste’ figs are very popular, which makes sense.
These trees are tough and strong, but they are also small—they only grow to be about 10 feet tall.
4 .‘Chicago Hardy’
One of the best types of figs for growing in cooler areas is “Chicago Hardy.” It will be best for these tough trees to grow in hot places.
If you want to grow figs in zones 6 or 7, or maybe even zone 5 if you can give them extra winter protection, “Chicago Hardy” is also a great choice. This type grows to about 15 feet tall, but it can be trimmed down to fit in a pot.
5 .‘Desert King’
“Desert King” grows a lot of beautiful fruits with yellowish-green skin. The juicy, reddish-pink meat inside will show up when you cut one open. Take a bite and enjoy the rich, fruity taste that’s a lot like strawberry.
6 .‘Italian Everbearing’
“Italian Everbearing” fig trees produce a lot of big, tasty fruit. Figs called “Italian Everbearing” are dark purple-bronze on the outside and amber-pink on the inside.
Because they taste sweet and sugary, these are a great choice for storing and canning. You can also eat them right off the tree for a quick taste of summer bliss.
7 .‘LSU Scott’s Black’
In the 1950s, Louisiana State University bred the “LSU Scott’s Black” fig. This fig-breeding programmed led to the creation of many other wonderful types.
The “LSU Scott’s Black” tree is a good size for people because it only gets up to 15 feet tall and stays that nice round shape without any extra trimming.
8 .‘LSU Tiger’
Louisiana State University bred a tasty type of fig called a “LSU Tiger.” These bright figs aren’t quite yellow and black like a tiger, but they do have stripes!
The fruits are about the size of a golf ball and have stripes of bronze and green on the outside. The inside is dark red. “LSU Tiger” figs are very juicy and taste like berries though they are very sweet.
9 .‘Smith’
Smith’s figs may not produce as many fruits as other types of fig trees, but the fruits are so tasty that it’s well worth the trouble to grow them.
The ‘Smith’ fig fruit has green skin with purple spots that makes it look simple and unremarkable at first glance. If you cut one open, the inside is a deep plum red color.
A sweet, berry-like flavor comes through in the taste. These fruits with thin skins are great to eat fresh or cut up and dry.
10 .‘Violette de Bordeaux’
“Violette de Bordeaux” is a variety that has beautiful, dark fruits that taste great. The big, pretty, dark purple fruits have green spots on their skins.
The dark red centers taste like custard and are fruity-sweet on the inside. You can dry these figs, eat them fresh as a snack, or cut them up and put them in soups.
