Figs grow almost anywhere

Now is a good time of year for a trip to southern France, an inexpensive trip because it can be an imaginary one propelled by your taste buds. Figs, those Mediterranean delicacies, are ripening.

Figs are subtropical plants but have a few characteristics that make them ideal for growing, even in the north. First, they can be grown easily in pots. They don't mind having their roots cramped or cut back every year to make room for new potting soil.

Figs also have a rather unusual fruiting habit. In contrast to most other fruits, a fig tree can bear fruit on old wood as well as on new shoots. Some fig varieties bear only on older wood, others bear only on new shoots, and still others bear fruits both ways. You can tailor growing methods to the climate and the variety.

In a large pot, a fig tree can bask outdoors in summer sun, then spend indoors somewhere cool. Fig trees enjoy a cool rest in winter, with the ideal temperature lying between 15 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit. While resting, the tree is leafless, so it needs no light and only enough water to keep the soil from going bone dry.

Another way to grow figs, where winters are not too cold, is to protect the plants outdoors through winter with a blanket of leaves. Either bend branches down and cover them or build a cage around the stems to fill with leaves.

People tallk about the colorful varieties of figs. But don't harvest any fig fruit until it is dead ripe, at which point it will droop and start to shrivel.