Growing Fig Trees

Question

I live in central Alabama, a little east of Birmingham. I have a lot of sandstone (and therefore sand) in my yard. My lot used to be heavily wooded before it was bobcatted for trainer homes. There is still a lot of trees, but also open areas. Most of the topsoil in the bobcatted areas was removed and not replaced. Can I grow figs in this type of soil? Also, how big/old do fig trees have to be to produce fruit?

Answer 1

You can grow figs there. When you plant them, make sure that you backfill the hole with good topsoil, instead of the sandy soil. I would also make sure that you add some topsoil or mulch (that will become soil) a few feet around the trees. This will eventually work its way into the sandy soil. You may also need to water a bit more than usual, depending on how fast the trees grow.

Figs take about 3 year to fruit when grown from a cutting. Sometimes sooner, but that is the average.