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Violetsblew

Photo of Brown Turkey Fig foliage by Hoot Owl Hollow Nursery

Photo by Hoot Owl Hollow NurseryView Original Photo

Brown Turkey Fig

Scientific Name: Ficus carica 'Brown Turkey'

Also Known As

Common Fig
Edible Fig
Higo

Plant type

tree, shrub, fruit / vegetable

size

H: 8'-15'
W: 6'-15'

planting zones

6a-9b

More Options

Brown Turkey Fig plant details

Brown Turkey Fig is a fast-growing broadleaf deciduous fruit / vegetable, shrub or tree with green foliage. In summer green flowers emerge followed by brown and purple fruit. Grows well with sun - mostly shade and even moisture - regular water. Does well in average, clay, gritty, rich and well-drained soil. A good option if you're seeking something heat tolerant, humidity tolerant and seaside / salt tolerant.

CHARACTERISTICS OF Brown Turkey Fig

Plant type: fruit / vegetable, shrub or tree
Plant family: moraceae
Foliage: deciduous green
Mature size: 6 FT - 15 FT - wide, 8 FT - 15 FT - tall
Flowers: green blooms in summer
Uses: prolific fruiting, textural

GROWING CONDITIONS for Brown Turkey Fig

USDA Zones: 6a - 9b
Sun exposure: sun - mostly shade
Watering frequency: even moisture - regular
Resistant to: deer, heat, humidity and seaside / salt
Soil needs: average, clay, gritty, rich and well-drained

Nursery contributed plant descriptions

This wonderful wide-spreading fig tree 15-25' tall and as wide that produces one to two crops of large, very sweet, mahogany-colored fruit. An exceptionally prolific bearer; this beautiful tree has attractive large lobed leaves and requires very little care. Figs are very effective specimens for creating stunning winter silhouettes. S/M

By: Forestfarm

Brown Turkey is a fast growing Hardy Fig variety that produces dark brown-purple fruit with delicious amber-colored flesh. It is known for growing well in hot, desert climates and produces two crops of fruit per year. The first crop is smaller and ripens in early summer with a second, larger crop developing in the fall. The summer crop allows gardeners in cold climates with short growing seasons to still produce fruit even if the frosts consistently come too early to ripen the fall crop.

In colder regions, figs are deciduous but they will remain evergreen in tropical climates or indoors.

Pruning and Caring for Brown Turkey Figs

Brown Turkey is a medium to large size fig, so we prefer to prune the tops when young to ensure lots of branching down low to encourage fruit production where it is easily accessible. Prune in the winter down to three or four buds on each branch to encourage strong branching while leaving enough for fruiting the following season. As the trees mature, switch to pruning out branches that crowd other branches but no longer cutting back the main stems. You can top the tree to six feet to keep the plant smaller.

Figs prefer moist soils with lots of organic matter, consider adding shredded bark or compost when planting if your soil is poor. However, we have compact clay at our nursery and we still get at least 80% of the normal fruit production on un-amended trees so if you can't improve your soil it's not the end of the world. Fertilize with a slow release pelleted fertilizer in early spring, such as Osmocote Plus 18-18-18.

Propagating Brown Turkey Figs

Figs are relatively easy to propagate from cuttings, especially in winter using hardwood cuttings. Cut stems five to eight inches long with the bottom cut just below a node, dip in rooting hormone and stick an inch deep in loose potting soil in mid winter.

By: Red Panda Nursery

This is an edible fruit of high summer, perfect timing because they're fruit and you don't have to cook them. Even if you don't care for the fruits, plant them for the coarsest foliage texture you can find. Seriously, can you name anything else that contrasts so lusciously with all other leaves? The flowers amount to nothing - you'll have to look very very closely to find them - it's the strange fruit that are the second asset (maybe I don't have my priorities straight and the fruits should be the first asset?). If you don't love the fruits, you can give them away or freeze them and toss a couple at a time into your smoothies - figs have several beneficial attributes and the other smoothie fruits will disguise their unique mouth-feel. In zones 7 and 8 of the Deep South, we're fortunate that this tree is hardy when the temperature drops into the teens. If temps drop near zero and trees are killed back part way or all the way to the ground, healthy trees will sprout right back. I was told that in zone 7 of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the winters are still zone 7 in rating, but they last longer than southern zone 7 winters - therefore people grow their figs in giant pots and park them in their garages over winter. I saw it in person - folks have huge figs in pots everywhere!

By: Cutting Edge Plants

The Brown Turkey Fig Tree is an old time favorite in the south for fresh eating and canning whole. The medium sized, bell shaped fruits are purplish-brown with light pink flesh. This small productive tree will produce delicious sweet figs in summer and usually a secondary crop in early Fall, which makes it a good choice for those who want to container-grow on their patio or have limited yard space. Old Brown Turkey Fig Trees have survived single digit temperatures from time to time.

By: Florida Hill Nursery

Growing for years in abandoned field next to us

By: Jockey Hill Nursery

BROWN TURKEY FIG (EDIBLE) - A medium greenspreading evergreen broadleaf tree in frost free areas. It is decidious in colder areas, hardy in zone 6-10. Growing 10-15' tall in sun, likes poor soil, and do not over fertilize. Produces brownish purple figs early and late summer. Bright green lobed leaves - grey bark. Fruit great fresh or for preserves. Plants are grown and shipped in 4.5" Pots with growth approx 10-12".

By: Accents for Home and Garden

Brown Turkey is the ultimate Southern fig producing large crops of medium to large, brown to maroon, turbinate figs over a long season that begins in June. The flesh is strawberry red and is sweet with good flavor. This is probably the most reliable and commonly grown fig in Southern regions but it is the standard bearer for hardiness tolerating the climate of zone 5. It is known to fruit if frozen to the ground as well. Resistant to spoiling and splitting and good fresh, dried, or preserved. Self pollinating and with a small but open eye. Fig trees do best where they get at least 8 hours of direct sun per day. Once well established they are fairly drought tolerant but extended dry periods can cause leaf and fruit drop as well as early dormancy. A deep organic mulch will help to alleviate extremes in moisture levels, reduce nematode issues, as well as to reduce competition from weeds.

By: Almost Eden

Long purple fruit is pink inside and sweet. Zone 7.

By: Whitman Farms

The 2nd hardiest of the figs and a prolific producer. A rather coarse shrub, broad, rounded shrub that provides an interesting textural effect in the landscape. Hardy, but dies back to the ground in cold winters. Best in a protected spot. Needs a long growing season to get fruit so you might have to protect it in the fall.

By: Lazy S'S Farm Nursery

This fig is supposed to do well in our climate so we are giving a few a try. Fast growing and large attractive leaves. These produce ample reddish-brown figs which are sweetly rich and good for eating fresh or drying. A few pints will pay for the tree!