Growing Figs Indoors: Lights, Heat, and Container Care

Written By Steven Biggs - Fig Expert

Growing Figs in Pots

Texas fig enthusiast Eddie Sleem didn’t set out to grow figs indoors. It started with an Angelito fig tree, a Texas storm, and one plant that stayed inside while another went outdoors.

The indoor tree grew faster, set figs sooner, and launched Eddie into a full-blown indoor fig-growing experiment.

In this episode, Eddie talks about growing figs inside the house, with tips on grow lights, air circulation, watering, soil, and fertilizer. He explains why light and heat are so important, how indoor pests are different from outdoor pests, and why he thinks long-season fig varieties are especially exciting for indoor growing.

We talk about:

  • Why a Texas fig grower started growing figs indoors

  • Eddie’s first indoor Angelito fig

  • Grow lights, side lighting, and light intensity

  • Heat and how a few degrees can change ripening

  • Soil aeration for potted indoor figs

  • Fertilizing figs that are growing almost continuously

  • Pest management indoors

  • Watering actively growing container figs

  • Choosing containers and managing space

  • Grow tents, open rooms, and domestic negotiations

  • Air movement, humidity, and air quality

  • Eddie’s favourite varieties, including Black Madeira, Pakistan Mulberry, Angelito, and Cosme Mano

  • What Eddie wishes he knew earlier: prune your trees and aerate your soil

You can find Eddie on YouTube at Figgy Ed.

Steven Biggs - Fig Expert

Recognized by Garden Making magazine as one of the "green gang" of Canadians making a difference in horticulture, Steven Biggs is a University of Guelph-trained horticulturist, former college instructor, and award-winning broadcaster and author.

He has been teaching gardeners how to grow figs in cold climates since 2011. But his interest in figs took off much earlier, in 1993, while working at a nursery with the UK National Collection of figs.

He’s the author of the first book about growing figs in cold climates, the award-winning Grow Figs Where You Think You Can’t. His articles about growing figs have appeared in Fine Gardening, Garden Making, and Edible Toronto.

When not in the garden, you might catch him interviewing fig experts for his Fig Culture podcast.

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Growing Figs in Pots: Fig Tetris, Variety Trialling, and Collector Wisdom