Ficus carica 'Brown Turkey'

Fig, Ficus carica, is native to Syria and Persia, and has been grown in Britain since Roman times. Only a few varieties are hardy enough for outdoor cultivation on warm walls, where they survive most winters unscathed – very hard prolonged frosts may kill all the top growth, but plants revive from below ground. They are best trained on wires for ease of management, with the roots restricted (container cultivation is always successful), otherwise plants make more leaf than fruit.

Ficus carica 'Brown Turkey' ('Brown Naples') is a prolific and reliable variety. The Royal Horticultural Society has given it its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

The sap of fig plants can be irritating to the skin and cause a severe reaction in hypersensitive people and pets. Some people are allergic to the figs themselves.