Eternally Unripe Figs

Q: My wife has a beautiful fig tree that she has grown for several years. It came from a flea market and bears tons of figs each year, but none ever ripen to be enjoyed. Are the birds getting to them first or do you think it’s a different issue? 

A: There are several reasons why a fig might not have ripe fruit: One is that it might be a variety that requires a fig wasp to pollinate it, but these varieties are very uncommon in Georgia. Almost all of our figs do not require pollination.

Birds can be aggressive culprits in stealing fruit, but they usually target nearly ripe fruit, and they commonly drop pieces on the ground. It would be great to know the variety, but there are dozens of varieties in gardens in the South.

To help identify figs, I’ve put together a list of identification references with pictures: www.walterreeves.com/food-gardening/figs-identifying/