About
Produces large, edible, exceptionally sweet fruits with a dark, reddish-bronze skin and pink to red flesh, from late summer into autumn. A well-branched, evergreen shrub or small tree, to around 4m tall with deeply lobed leaves. A very old cultivar grown at Versailles in the time of Louis IV, this can be more frost hardy than many other cultivars. Can also be grown in containers, producing fruit at a young age.
About the genus
Ficus can be evergreen or deciduous trees, shrubs or climbers, with often leathery, simple, entire or lobed leaves and tiny flowers borne within a hollow receptacle which enlarges to form the fruit
Growing conditions
SunlightFull sun
Soil typeChalk, Loam, Sand, Clay
Soil pHAlkaline, Neutral
Soil moistureMoist but well-drained, Well-drained
AspectSouth-facing, West-facing
ExposureSheltered
UK hardinessH5
Plant details
Plant typeShrubs, Fruit Edible
HabitBushy
FoliageDeciduous
Height2.5-4 metres
Spread2.5-4 metres
Time to full height10-20 years
Suggested usesArchitectural, City and courtyard gardens, Cottage and informal garden, Mediterranean climate plants, Patio and container plants
ToxicityHumans/Pets: Harmful to skin with sunlight. For further information and contact numbers regarding pets, see the HTA guide to potentially harmful plants
Care notes
CultivationBest grown fan-trained against a warm wall or fence, using a root-restriction method such as a box of paving slabs with the bottom filled with a layer of rubble or broken crocks. Also suitable for cultivation in a container. See fig cultivation
PruningIn mid-spring remove a proportion (1/4 to 1/3) of older branches. For further information see fig cultivation and fan-training
PropagationPropagate by hardwood cuttings, by layering or from suckers
Pest resistanceMay be susceptible to glasshouse red spider mite, thrips, mealybugs and scale insects under glass
Disease resistanceMay be susceptible to honey fungus