Fig — Brown Turkey

The Brown Turkey fig (Ficus carica cv. ‘Brown Turkey’) is a cold-hardy cultivar of the common fig, grown as a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub or small tree for its sweet, edible fruit.¹²⁴ The species is native to the eastern Mediterranean through Western and Central Asia, and figs have long been a staple of homestead and dooryard plantings.¹³ For the home grower, Brown Turkey’s appeal is its forgiving nature: it sets fruit without pollination, it often carries two crops a year, and it is noticeably more tolerant of winter cold than most other figs.¹²⁴

Brown Turkey grows as a woody, deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub or small tree, commonly reaching about 10 to 30 feet tall and wide with a spreading crown; older trunks develop smooth, silver-gray bark that becomes gnarled with age.²⁴ Its leaves are large, palmate, and deeply lobed into three to five lobes, up to about 10 inches (25 cm) long, with a rough dark-green upper surface and a smoother, lighter underside.¹⁴ The flowers are inconspicuous greenish structures held inside a hollow receptacle near the branch tips, and the “fig” we eat is that fleshy receptacle itself.¹⁴ Fruit is plump with a short stem and a moderately closed eye (ostiole), a trait that helps reduce souring on the tree.⁴ Fruits are medium to large, up to about 4 inches (10 cm) long, with bronze to brownish-purple skin and amber to pink-amber flesh that is sweet and mild to rich in flavor.¹²⁴

Growing Brown Turkey fig

Like other common figs, Brown Turkey is propagated vegetatively rather than from seed, which keeps the fruit type true and reliable.¹²⁴ The cultivar is parthenocarpic, meaning it develops fruit without pollination, so a single plant crops on its own with no need for a second tree or a pollinator wasp.¹²⁴ Figs are adapted to dry, Mediterranean-type climates, and that preference shapes nearly every growing decision: humid summers raise disease and insect pressure and can cause the fruit to split.²

Brown Turkey is among the more cold-hardy fig cultivars, but it is still sensitive to hard winter cold. Sources place its reliable range at roughly USDA Zones 6 to 9 (some rate it to Zone 10), with the roots often surviving and resprouting in Zones 5 to 6 when the plant is sheltered.¹²⁴ Above-ground wood may be killed below about 10°F (-12°C), though established roots frequently send up new shoots after such a freeze, so the plant needs protection where winters dip below that mark.¹ Give it a warm, sheltered site for the best, most reliable cropping.¹⁴

Harvest and uses

Brown Turkey fruits on new wood and, in many climates, carries two crops in a season, giving an extended ripening window that often runs from around June into August.¹²⁴ The ripe figs are medium to large, with bronze to brownish-purple skin and sweet amber to pink-amber flesh.¹²⁴ They are eaten fresh, and figs generally also dry well for storage, making this a productive dooryard fruit for the homestead.¹² Because the cultivar is self-fruitful and needs no pollinator, it fits easily into a mixed planting where a single tree is wanted.¹²⁴

How to identify it

Brown Turkey is distinguished from many other figs by its better winter hardiness, its extended ripening window, and its tendency to bear two crops in a season.¹²⁴ Look for the large, deeply three- to five-lobed leaves up to 10 inches long, rough and dark green above; the smooth silver-gray bark of older stems; and the plump, bronze-to-purple fruit with a short stem and a moderately closed eye.¹⁴ The combination of a multi-stemmed, 10-to-30-foot deciduous habit and sweet amber-fleshed figs on new growth is characteristic of this cultivar.²⁴

Safety and cautions

The ripe fruit of the fig is edible, but the plant’s milky sap (latex) is an irritant. Fig sap contains furanocoumarins that can cause phytophotodermatitis, a skin reaction triggered when sap contact is followed by exposure to sunlight, so it is wise to wear gloves and protect skin when pruning or harvesting.¹² The fig is also reported to be toxic to pets, so keep foliage and prunings away from animals.¹² Latex and sap contact, as well as excessive medicinal use of fig, warrant caution.¹²

Sources

1. NC State Extension. “Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’.” North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.
2. University of Florida IFAS Extension. “Fig (Ficus carica).” UF/IFAS Santa Rosa County Extension.
3. Gardenia. “Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’ (Brown Turkey Fig).” Gardenia.net plant database.
4. Kiefer Nursery. “Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’.” Kiefer Nursery plant listing.