The Black Mission Fig (Dorstenia ficus ‘Black Mission’) is an attractive deciduous garden tree offers dense shade and develops an interesting winter silhouette.
I. Appearance and Characteristics
Dorstenia Ficus ‘Black Mission’ is a fast growing fruit bearing plant that can be grown in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 7A through 10B. It matures to an average height of 10 feet to 30 feet and an average width of 8 feet to 15 feet, depending on climate and other environmental factors. It prefers growing in a location that provides full sun, morning sun with afternoon shade or morning shade with afternoon sun and grows best when planted in loam, clay or silt soil that is well drained or moderately drained.
In the spring Black Mission Fig produces white flowers. The foliage is medium green in color. It attracts wildlife and visual attention and is resistant to deer, drought, insects, diseases, mildew and heat.
II. How to Grow and Care
Sunlight
The Black Mission fig tree does best in partial to full sunlight — four or more hours of direct light a day.
Watering and Fertilizing
Until you see robust new growth, water your newly planted Black Mission fig tree every few days. Then taper back to once-a-week waterings for the rest of the first year. After that, monitor the tree’s water needs by checking the soil about 2 inches below the surface. If it’s dry, give the tree some supplemental watering. Fertilize your fig tree with a balanced, slow-release fertilizer designed for fruit trees throughout the growing season, tapering back in winter when the tree is dormant.
Planting Instructions
Site your Black Mission fig tree in well-draining soil, giving it adequate space for its potential width of 15 to 30 feet when mature. The site should get at least four hours of sunlight a day and not be under any overhead wires. Unpot your tree, and tease out any encircling roots, which can slowly girdle the tree and kill it.
Dig a hole that’s as deep as the root ball and twice as wide. Throw a few handfuls of well-rotted compost or manure into the hole, and place the tree on top of it. Holding the tree steady and upright, fill in around its roots with topsoil, tamping down as you go to eliminate air pockets.
Water thoroughly. Apply a 2- to 3-inch layer of an organic mulch, such as bark chips, around the tree’s root zone to conserve moisture and hinder weed growth.
Pruning
Prune your fig tree in late winter, before the buds develop and while the tree is still dormant. Prune out any dead, broken, or diseased branches as well as any that are rubbing against each other. Also look for branches that seem weak or secondary, and cut them back to the nearest main branch. Prune off any suckers that appear around the base of the trunk as well. Your tree will need less pruning as it ages, but when it is young, you can prune it for shape and to open up the canopy to light and air.
Pollination
Figs are monoecious, meaning that a single tree has both male and female reproductive organs. Thus, you are able to harvest figs even if you only have a single tree — unlike fruits such as apples and pears. Figs are unusual in that they do not have visible flowers; the flowering apparatus is inside the immature fruit, where it is fertilized by tiny wasps called fig wasps.
Overwintering
Black Mission fig trees are hardy down to 10 degrees Fahrenheit, which means they can be grown outside in most of the southern U.S., California, and Pacific Northwest. If you live north of USDA hardiness zone 7, however, you can still grow your fig tree in a container. Bring your tree inside in the winter when it is dormant and leave it in a basement or garage until spring.
Remember to water your indoor fig tree occasionally. Other than that, it won’t need a great deal of care until your temperatures rise in spring and you are able to bring it back outside.
Pests and Diseases
Figs are occasionally preyed upon by several types of nematode, which can impede growth. There are also several fig-specific insect pests, including the fig beetle and fig scale insect. Diseases that may attack figs include alternaria rot, a fungal disease that is best treated by picking fruit before it is overripe, and botrytis limb blight, which can be treated with a fungicide. If you have an active small mammal population in your region, you may find creatures such as squirrels and rabbits attracted to the figs.
III. Uses and Benefits
- Ornamental uses
Black Mission Fig can be useful in the landscape around decks, swimming pools, and other outdoor living areas or as a tree form shrub and also in cottage gardens.
- Culinary uses
Their fruit is sweeter than most, with an incredible texture that makes them good for both fresh eating and cooking.
IV. Harvesting and Storage
It takes a little finesse to know when a fig is ripe, and often the best way to tell is to pick one and bite into it. Figs do not continue to ripen after being picked, so you need to choose the right moment to cut them off the tree. Look for figs that are hanging downward on stems that have slightly wilted — as opposed to fruit that is still held on a stiff stem perpendicular to the ground. A ripe fig will also be softer than an unripe one. Pick them gently; they bruise easily. tore your figs in a cool location.
