Prolific Fig Cuttings — Minimum 6-Inch, 5-Pack

Description

The fig is one of the oldest fruits in cultivation, and ‘Prolific’ (Ficus carica ‘Prolific’) is one of the easiest and most rewarding varieties for a home grower to start. You will get 5 fresh ‘Prolific’ fig cuttings, each a minimum of 6 inches long, fresh cut upon your order — five chances to start your own fig trees for just $20, or four dollars per cutting.

Where ‘Prolific’ earns its place is in cooler, shorter-season climates. It is an early-ripening common fig suited to cool, humid, short summers — it does not need the long blast of Mediterranean heat that varieties like Black Mission and Brown Turkey demand to finish their fruit. In gardens where those heat-lovers sulk, drop their crop, or need heavy winter protection, ‘Prolific’ reliably ripens its main crop. Rated to USDA zone 7, and — as noted on our Fig Tree Information page — all the figs we sell are proven potentially hardy to Zone 6 with proper care: wrap the trunk and mulch deeply through winter and it will live. Grow it against a south- or southwest-facing wall to capture radiant heat, or keep it in a large container moved under cover for winter.

Figs ask little: full sun and a well-drained soil are the essentials — they tolerate poor, gravelly, and even alkaline ground far better than most fruit. Water regularly while the plant establishes, then ease off; figs fruit best when they are not overfed. ‘Prolific’ is self-fertile (parthenocarpic — the fruit forms with no pollination and no pollinator tree), grows at a moderate rate, and matures into a spreading, multi-stemmed shrub around 10 to 15 feet tall and wide, easily kept smaller by pruning or grown permanently in a container.

Expect the main crop to ripen from late summer into fall on the season’s new growth, with a smaller spring (breba) crop in many gardens. Left to hang until they soften and droop, the purple-brown figs are sweet, rich, and perfect fresh, dried, or in preserves. Whether you want a productive edible hedge, a container specimen for the patio, or your first try at growing figs from cuttings, five minimum-6-inch ‘Prolific’ cuttings for $20 is the lowest-risk, best-value way in.

• Common Name: Fig ‘Prolific’ (common fig)
• Scientific Name: Ficus carica ‘Prolific’
• Growing Zone: USDA zones 7 to 10 — proven potentially hardy to Zone 6 with proper care
• Mature Size: 10 to 15 ft tall and wide (shrub form)
• Growth Rate: Moderate
• Light Requirement: Full sun
• Soil Requirement: Well-drained; tolerates poor and alkaline soils
• Pollination: Self-fertile (parthenocarpic) — no pollinator needed
• Fruiting Time: Main crop late summer into fall; light breba crop in spring
• Cold-Climate Suitability: Early-ripening — a better bet than heat-loving figs in short, cool seasons
• You Receive: 5 cuttings, minimum 6 inches each

Rooting instructions: Fill small pots with a moist, well-draining potting mix and insert each cutting about halfway down, so a couple of buds sit above the soil line. Keep the soil consistently moist but not soggy, and keep the pots in bright, indirect light while they root. Optionally dip the cut ends in rooting hormone first, and tent a loose clear plastic bag over the pots to hold in humidity. Roots typically form in about 4 to 6 weeks; once new growth is steady, gradually acclimate the young plants to full sun before planting out.

For more on growing and caring for figs — planting, watering, fertilizing, pruning, harvesting, and winter protection — see our Fig Tree Information page, and for propagation tips see Rooting Tree Cuttings.