The glorious fig is one of our oldest cultivated fruits. It has a rich history in some of the most complex and ancient civilizations and is so adaptable it can be used in sweet or savory dishes. If you want to experience the fruit in your own backyard, you may be wondering, “Can figs grow from seed?”
You can collect seed and germinate it, but just don’t expect the same cultivar as the parent plant.
Can Figs Grow from Seed?
Figs have been cultivated since around 5,000 BC. Their sweet
flavor and rich scent truly make them fruits of the Gods. Figs are propagated in
several ways. Fig seed propagation is probably the most fickle of the methods
and can result in a new cultivar and an interesting process. With some tips on
germinating fig seeds and their planting and care, you will be on the road to
success.
Fig seed planting is an easy way to propagate a fig tree,
but what results will not be true to the variety. The only way to get an exact
replica of the original strain is by cuttings.
Such vegetative reproduction guarantees the DNA of the parent is carried into
the offspring. With fig seed planting, you never know what you will get.
However, if you are feeling adventurous, germinating fig
seeds from fresh fruit is easy and will get you a fig plant, just what variety
it will be remains a mystery. Additionally, you cannot be sure you are
producing a female which will develop fruit or a male tree with inedible, small
fruits.
How to Plant Fig Tree Seeds
First, you need seed. If you purchase it you are a bit
farther ahead than a gardener that has to harvest the seed. To harvest fig
seeds, acquire a fresh fig, cut it in half, scoop out the pulp and seed, and
soak for a day or two. Viable seeds will sink to the bottom of the container.
The rest can be discarded. The viable seed has already absorbed moisture and
will be ready to crack and germinate quickly.
Prepare a planting
medium of equal parts peat, perlite,
and fine volcanic rock and place in a flat. Moisten the medium and then mix
seed with horticultural sand. Strew the sand-seed mix over the surface of the
flat. Place the tray where it is warm and receives sunlight for at least six
hours per day.
Care of Fig Seedlings
You will see germinating fig seeds in about 1-2 weeks. Keep
them lightly moist and warm. Once the little plants have two sets of true
leaves and are a few inches (about 7 cm.) high, it is time to move them to
individual pots.
Keep them in moderate light for the first couple of months.
Most fig trees are part of tropical forests and receive mixed lighting but
rarely full, blazing sun.
Provide humidity by placing the pot on a saucer of pebbles
filled with water or by misting the plant.
Feed
with a diluted houseplant food when seedlings are six months old or at the
first spring. Move outside when temperatures are warm in summer but bring
indoors before any threat of freezing has occurred.
