Fig tree: when and how to prune

Ficus carica

Prune a fig tree in April–May, once there is no more frost: cut out frost-damaged and dead branches and keep the plant low and open.

Here a fig is a plant for a warm wall: it tolerates about −12 °C, but in a hard winter the young branches die back. That is why you wait until spring to prune, when you can see what has survived the winter. Worth knowing: the figs that ripen here spend the winter as pea-sized embryo figs at the tips of last year’s branches. Shorten every tip and you cut off the crop.

Updated on 10 October 2026

Key facts
Pruning months	April–May
Nesting season (15 March–15 August)	Take care in April–May
Good for bees, butterflies and birds	Little
Native to Belgium	No, planted

Fig tree: when to prune it?

Prune in April–May, when the worst night frosts are over and the buds start to swell. You can then clearly see which branches are frosted and which are still alive.

If it has been badly cut back by a hard winter, wait until it starts into growth, if need be into May: shoots often still appear from wood that looked dead, or from the base.

Don’t prune in autumn or winter: wounds and young shoots are then vulnerable to frost, and you remove the overwintering embryo figs.

What else to prune in those months? April · May

Fig tree: how to prune it?

Put on gloves and long sleeves and protect your eyes: the white sap makes the skin sensitive to sunlight and causes red patches and blisters, like a burn.
Scratch the bark with a fingernail to see whether a branch is still alive: green underneath is living wood, brown and dry is dead. Cut dead and frosted branches back to healthy green wood.
Keep the plant low and open: remove overcrowded, crossing and inward-growing branches so sun and air reach the centre. The figs then ripen better.
Leave plenty of young branches with their tips intact: that is where this summer’s embryo figs sit. At most shorten some of the long branches, back to a side branch, and vary which ones each year.
Against a wall, tie the branches in as a fan, and remove shoots growing straight out from the wall or into it.
Remove suckers around the base, unless the plant has died back and you want to grow a new trunk from them.

How much to cut, and how often?

One prune a year in spring is enough. A fig grows and crops best when you remove no more than necessary.
Reduce an overgrown fig over two to three years: each year a few of the thickest branches back to a lower side branch or to the base. That way there is always wood with embryo figs left.
In autumn, remove the half-grown green figs, as they will not ripen; leave the pea-sized embryo figs at the tips.

What does it mean for wildlife?

Blackbirds or dunnocks sometimes nest in a dense fig against a wall. The April–May prune falls in the nesting season (15 March–15 August): check carefully first, as disturbing an active nest is against the law.
The flowers of the fig are hidden inside the young fruit: there is little in it for bees, and our garden varieties need no pollinator.
Ripe and overripe figs attract wasps, blackbirds and starlings, and in late summer butterflies such as the red admiral drink from fallen, fermenting fruit. Feel free to leave a few on the ground or on the tree.
Prunings can go on a dead hedge, shelter for hedgehogs and insects, but don’t let children play with them: the sap in fresh branches still irritates the skin.

Common mistakes

Pruning in autumn or winter, so the wounds freeze and next year’s embryo figs are lost.
Shortening every branch every year, so no embryo figs are left at the tips.
Pruning in the sun without gloves or in short sleeves, so the sap causes burns.
Giving up on a frosted fig too soon and digging it out, when it would still have regrown from the base in May.

Caution: Wear gloves and long sleeves: in sunlight the milky sap causes burn-like skin irritation.

Nearby: related pruning guides

Plant profile: Fig tree · Pruning calendar and basic rules