Figs -worth it or not?

[AdultHumanFemale]

I have a spot in which I am thinking of planting a fig (Brown Turkey). I keep hearing how it's just not worth it, that it is hard work and unlikely ever to fruit.

So, if you successfully grow figs: do you mind giving me a rough indication of
-where in the UK you are
-the position in which you grow your fig
-how old / big the tree was before it began to fruit reliably / significantly

I'm in the southwest, and plan to grow it on my allotment in a southwesterly position. It is a fairly sheltered site, but I have no brick wall or similar to grow it up against.

What do you think?

I am on the south coast and have a mature fig tree that fruits every year. The birds get most of the fruit but I am ok with that as I only eat a couple and I think it is a pretty tree to have.
My fig was in the garden when we moved in over 5 years ago so I can’t say how old it is but it is quite big at around 7 ft tall and I do need to cut it back each year as it puts on some pretty prolific growth.
It is in a sheltered spot at the side of the house facing south east.

My fig taken last May with the start of the fruit

Southwest- tree was very vigorous and we ended up taking it down as it had grown through (and was pushing over) a dry stone wall. It was covered in small figs every year but they never ripened. (Note the sap is very irritating to skin)

Mine is in a very small high-walled courtyard, facing north, in a brick planter, and it produces loads of fruit (which I pick off before fully ripe as none of us like figs and if I don't they get covered in wasps).

I'm in Somerset.

You may want to research different varieties - brown turkey is often sold for growing in the uk but isn't necessarily the best for flavour/hardiness. I have a Violette de Bordeaux, only got it a year ago so hasn't really fruited yet. I understand that restricting the roots is essential if you want fruit.

With the cold east wind howling around the house near the Pennines and the icy remnants of snow, I've got figs on my Maybe list. Interesting what a pp says about Brown Turkey not necessarily being the one to choose.
I have a lovely south facing wall ....

I have one on a south facing wall. I live in NE. It does fruit but in spite of the fact that I love dried figs I don't like these. It takes some taming and isn't particularly attractive. I think there are better trees and nicer fruits to grow.

Wow, you lot were quick off the mark, thanks! All I have heard is anecdotal, fellow allotment holders who've not grown figs themselves, so this is very helpful. Good to know they're popular with wasps and birds too.

James Wong's thoughts on fig varieties here

I’ve always grown figs in E Midlands. Last one was in a pot against a SW facing wall. It always had fruit, although it was a small tree about 10 years old when we left the house.

I’ve just planted one in my new garden, it’s up against a west facing fence. Hopefully it will have fruit this year. They’ve been Brown Turkey variety.

Thank you, Una, how interesting! I think I'm just going to give it a try and hope for the best, give it 5-6 years and see what happens. Until now, my reading around the subject has been through the lense of "Well, it'll probably be a waste of time..." , but now I am feeling positively emboldened.

I have a brown turkey fig planted in an old metal water tank from the attic. It's roots are restricted, it's in John Innes 3 compost and has lots of branches all under 6 feet tall as I prune it.
Last summer I had 50 or so figs from it. Lush.

Oh I'm in the South West and the fig is in a sunny courtyard against a wall.

There's a magnificent fig in a courtyard in Cartmel, Cumbria! There are several near us in SW London - ours is in a pot, kept.in the greenhouse in winter, against a S facing wall in summer.

Its roots

I inherited a mature fig on my allotment, no idea what the variety is apart from local allotment lore has it they were all planted by Italian plot holders from figs they bought with them from Italy. They’re all over the site and in a few local gardens as well. Do very very well, masses of fruit. Being on the lottie I miss a lot of the fruit as it ripens quickly and the birds get in, so you have to be on the ball to get them at the right time. It’s a wonderful simple pleasure though to sit under the tree having a break from working on the garden, eating a sweet juicy fig picked fresh from the tree.

Anyway, I’m in London, sheltered, sunny site.

Thanks again, this is so encouraging. I love the anecdote of the Italian allotment holders planting from seed. And Buffalo, saying "lush", you're probably within spitting distance from me so great to know that it fruits so well, especially being pruned to a manageable size.

We have a fig planted against a south facing wall 250m up in the Shropshire Hills. Hence we only have a relatively short summer growing season and have quite cold wet winters.

It's only been planted a couple of years, but we have had fruit both years.

Key thing is to make sure you constrain the roots - as this helps to promote fruiting.

I feel I should contribute due to my user name being inspired by my fig tree purchase last year 😬 . I am watching with interest as I hope to get some fruit and a pretty tree - I dug a massive hole in the ground and planted it in a big terracotta pot underground to restrict the roots.

Shropshire, you say... Encouraging.
It's the lack of the south facing wall, ubiquitous in 'how to grow a fig' manuals, that gives me the greatest cause for concern. As I haven't got one. But I think the site is sheltered and sunny enough to make it worth at least trying. And restricting the roots should be fairly easy, there is a hard clay pan about 50 cm down, and it should be fairly easy to restrict the sides too.
I am going to choose my fig in the next couple of weeks. Any advice on whether it is worth getting a bigger tree, or a smaller sapling?

I have an Ice Leaf fig, here in the East Mids, and it fruits each year.

London
South facing
Lovely fruit ! Really really fab !
Needs little maintenance and for me it’s nicer than the Italian ones as they get more water here

We grow them in our east facing garden ( very long garden over 50ft attached to a former house so gets sun from morning to evening as the house shadow is short) and we grow them in a container as we wanted to control it’s overall size. This is in the north east