Most figs are hot-blooded Mediterranean types that any gardener north of Texas wouldn’t even think of growing. ‘Brown Turkey’ is an exception. This cold-hardy variety retains the best traits of a common fig, including the beautifully shaped light-green leaves, smooth gray bark, and delicious edible purple-brown fruit, but it survives winters that would bury most other fig trees. You can train it as a multistemmed shrub or a small tree. Look for the main crop in late summer or fall. A small early crop (called the breba crop) may ripen in the spring or early summer.

Common name:  ‘Brown Turkey’ fig tree
Botanical name: Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’
Plant type: Deciduous tree
Zones: 6 to 9
Height: 10 to 30 feet tall
Family: Moraceae

Growing conditions
• Sun: Full sun
• Soil: Rich, well-drained
• Moisture: Average

Care
• Mulch: Mulch to help keep soil moist and to protect roots in colder climates.
• Pruning: Where the fig is marginally cold hardy, train it to grow as a bush rather than a tree. Prune to thin crowded branches. To stimulate a heavier early crop, pinch off the tips of stems just before seasonal growth starts.  
• Fertilizer: None needed.

Pests and diseases
• Aphids, scale insects, spider mites, and mealybugs may attack the tree.
• Blight, rust, and leaf spots may be problems.

Garden notes
• At the colder edge of its range, plant ‘Brown Turkey’ in a sheltered spot—a few feet away from a south wall or in a sunny corner.   
• Don’t plant a fig tree near a septic system or drain pipes. The roots may invade and block the pipes. 
• Between you and the birds, there probably won’t be much fruit left, but choose a site where falling fruit won’t be a problem. For instance, don’t plant the tree next to your patio or front door.
• You can grow fig trees in containers and overwinter them inside.  


All in the family
• There are more than 800 (some say nearly 1,000) species in the Ficus genus. In addition to edible fig trees, the genus is home to tropical trees commonly grown as houseplants in the United States and Canada, such as weeping fig (Ficus benjamina), rubber tree (Ficus elastica), and fiddle-leaf fig (Ficus lyrata).
• Other fruit trees in Moraceae, the mulberry family, include breadfruit, osage orange, and, of course, mulberry.     

Where to buy
• Forestfarm, Williams, OR, 541-846-7269, www.forestfarm.com
• Grow Healthy Fruit, Lindale, TX, 903-780-1151, www.growhealthyfruit.com
• Petals from the Past, Jemison, AL, 205-646-0069, www.petalsfromthepast.com

(Text by Elizabeth Noll, photo of Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’ courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden’s Kemper Center for Home Gardening.)