Everbearing Fig Trees: How to Keep Figs Ripening Until Frost
A grower from Napa Valley sent me a question I hear all the time: “Why do some fig trees just stop producing figs? They look beautiful and healthy, but no figs. Plus, what can be done to get them started again?”
When I asked him to elaborate, it turned out his trees had already produced the breba crop and the main crop. He wanted to know about a third crop. That's a great question — and in a place like Napa Valley, the answer is yes. With the right management, fig trees there can ripen figs continuously without stopping, like an everbearing strawberry or raspberry.
I'm Ross, the “Fig Boss,” and I've dedicated my life to this amazing fruit since 2014. Here's the thing: an “everbearing” fig isn't a special type of fig tree. It's an effect you create with how you prune, how you pinch, and whether the soil stays moist. Miss any one of those, and you won't get the everbearing effect.
Winter heading vs. pinching vs. summer heading vs. soil moisture — when each one matters.
Why Do Healthy Fig Trees Stop Producing Figs?
If your tree already gave you a crop and then stopped, it's not sick — it finished the amount of growth it planned for the season.
If they aren't pruned, fig trees have a hormone balance that only lets them grow a set amount of new growth and a set number of leaves, and then they stop. Hormones are really the thing that decides how far into the season a fig tree keeps growing — they're the signal telling the tree to continue. But the building blocks have to be there too. Water is the on-or-off switch for growth: if there isn't enough soil moisture, it doesn't matter what signal the tree is getting, it won't grow. And since main-crop figs form on new growth, when growth stops, new figs stop. An in-ground fig tree that's pruned very lightly, or isn't really touched at all, usually grows maybe 1 to 3 feet per growing season. As trees get older, they don't grow nearly as much if they aren't pruned. An older potted tree might only put on 4 to 12 inches of new growth. Heavier pruning in the winter is what changes that response the following year — I go into that more below. The tree still looks beautiful and healthy. It just isn't making new leaves, so it isn't making new figs.
That's very different from a tree that never fruits. If your fig tree is big and leafy but has had no first crop at all, that has other causes — maturity, sunlight, heat, and the hormonal effect of pruning or winter dieback. Start with why your fig tree is not fruiting and why figs aren't ripening, then come back here once you're getting a crop and want more of it.
The 3 Conditions for an Everbearing Fig Tree
Hard winter pruning, pinching during the season, and enough soil moisture. You need all three.
1. Winter heading cuts: once the form is established, prune last year's wood back by 50–90%. This sets up the hormonal response for the next season.
2. Rivers pruning (pinching): pinch the growing tips during the season so each shoot branches into three or four, and each new branch sets more main-crop figs.
3. Adequate soil moisture: the tree can only keep growing — and keep fruiting — if the soil doesn't dry out.
Failure to do any one of these won't yield an everbearing effect. The combination is the whole trick.
Main Crop Figs Form on New Growth
Every new leaf can correspond to a new fig. More leaves, for longer into the fall, means more figs.
Here's why I keep talking about getting the fig tree to grow faster, grow more, and grow longer through the season: the main crop forms on the new growth. Each new leaf node is a potential fig. The longer the tree keeps putting out new leaves into the fall, the more new fruit you get too.
The goal isn't just growth, though. We want the hormones shifted toward growth while still in balance enough to keep fruiting. When you have that balance — the tree is growing and setting figs at the same time — you've got an everbearing main crop.
Can the Breba Crop Be Everbearing?
No. Breba figs form on last year's wood, so you can't have an everbearing breba crop. But the breba crop does ripen figs 30 to 45 days earlier than the main crop, which extends your harvest window. Think of the breba as the head start, and the everbearing main crop as the long finish.
Winter Pruning: Tricking the Fig Tree's Hormones
Heading back last year's wood in winter changes the way the fig tree grows the following year.
The trick to getting a fig tree to actually be everbearing is to work with its hormones in the wintertime. When you head back your branches, the tree no longer puts out a fixed number of leaves and a fixed amount of growth. Instead, the following season it keeps growing new leaves until the hormones reach a period of balance — late in the fall.
The more you head back last year's wood, the stronger that effect. Once the form is established — trunks and scaffolds in place — I'm talking about cutting last year's wood back by 50 to 90%. It's similar to how you would pollard a fig tree or grow it as a low cordon: the permanent structure stays, and the one-year wood gets cut back hard. That tricks the fig tree into growing until frost.
Strong vs. Mild Winter Pruning
You don't always have to be so drastic. On one tree, I only removed about 15 to 20% of the wood in winter. That was enough to still ripen a decent breba crop. It then set its first main crop, and after I pinched it, it set a second main crop.
So think of it as a dial. A harder cut (50–90%) gives the strongest push toward continuous growth, and it's what growers use where they want the tree growing all season. A milder cut keeps more of last year's wood, and more breba, while still giving pinching something to work with. Either way, don't skip the winter pruning and expect pinching to do all the work.
I explain every cut in the role of plant hormones in fig tree pruning, and how much to take off in how much to prune fig trees.
Rivers Pruning: Pinching for a Third Crop
Pinch the growing tip, and one branch becomes three or four — each with its own set of main-crop figs.
The last little trick to increase production even more is Rivers pruning. I first learned about it in Montserrat Pons's book, Fig Trees of the Balearic Islands. Basically, you pinch the apical buds — the growing tips — on your fig tree. You can pinch them all, or just a portion of them.
How to Pinch a Fig Tree
Find the tip: the apical bud is the growth tip at the end of each branch.
Remove it: it's called pinching because you can usually remove it with two fingers — your thumb and your pointer finger. Pruning shears work too. Remove it however you want. It's also called topping or nipping.
Choose how many: pinch every growing tip, or only some of them.
Repeat: you can keep pinching the new tips later in the season to get the effect again. You don't need to bring out the pruning shears for that.
What Pinching Does
Removing the tip temporarily changes the auxin balance in that branch and breaks its apical dominance, which allows new branches to form. What would have been one branch for the rest of the season can turn into three or four branches. Those new branches set another crop of main-crop figs — a third crop, after the breba and the first main crop.
This is exactly how we train young fig trees, too. In the first growing season after rooting a cutting, we top it at the desired height, once the leaves are the right size. That forms the scaffolds in the first year. The same thing happens on older, established fig trees when you remove the apical buds. More on that in training fig trees.
When to Pinch
While the tree already has its first set of main-crop figs on it, pinching gets it to form another crop. Some growers pinch after a certain number of leaves or a certain number of fruits they see on the branch. The point is to pinch while the tree is still in growth mode, so the new shoots have time to grow, set, and ripen figs before frost.
The Pinching Cutoff: Do the Math for Your First Frost
Here near Philadelphia, around June 15 is the ideal date to pinch. After Rivers pruning, a new set of main-crop figs takes about 100 to 120 days to ripen, depending on how early the variety is. The last practical cutoff is around late July for a fast variety like Ronde de Bordeaux, and around early July for a 90-day variety.
This is the same arithmetic I use for any fig crop. After Rivers pruning — pinching — it takes about 30-ish days for the new branches to form and the new figs to set. Then you add the variety's own ripening time. Ronde de Bordeaux only takes about 65 days to ripen, so a new main crop finishes in about 100 days total. A different variety could take longer. A 90-day variety would take about 120 days. Our first frost here is around November 1, and our frost-free season is about 180 days.
Pinch around June 15: the new branches form and the new figs set around mid-July, about 30-ish days later. Ronde de Bordeaux ripens about 65 days after that, around late September — about 100 days after the pinch. A 90-day variety finishes around mid-October, about 120 days after the pinch, still ahead of a November 1 frost. That's why June 15 is my target.
Cutoff for a 90-day variety (about 120 days): count back about 120 days from November 1, and you land around July 4.
Cutoff for a fast variety like Ronde de Bordeaux (about 100 days): count back about 100 days from November 1, and you land around July 24. After that, a new set probably won't ripen before frost.
To find your own dates, take your average first frost date and subtract about 100 days for a fast variety like Ronde de Bordeaux, or about 120 days for a 90-day variety. Leave yourself a cushion. Cooler fall weather slows ripening. That's another reason I aim for June 15 instead of the last possible day. More on these numbers in why figs aren't ripening.
My full rundown, with the history and every application, is in pinching fig trees.
Why Pinching Alone Often Doesn't Work
If the tree wasn't pruned the specific way we talked about the prior winter, it usually won't grow new branches when you pinch it.
The hormones in that tree aren't set up to grow. It already formed its set amount of growth and its set number of leaves for the season, and it's done growing, for the most part. You can't really trick it into new branches just by removing the tips. You need both techniques: winter heading cuts first, then pinching during the season.
Soil Moisture: The Piece People Miss
Even a perfectly pruned fig tree won't keep growing if the soil dries out.
Even if your fig tree grows until frost thanks to the winter pruning, it won't continue growing without enough soil moisture. If the soil dries out, the fig tree reverts to a defensive state. It might drop its leaves, it might drop its fruit, and it'll stop growing — which means it stops making new figs.
For people in really warm, dry climates with long seasons — like that grower in Napa Valley — this is a critical piece of the puzzle. Keep the root zone from drying out all season if you want the tree to keep going.
For people like me, growing in a wetter climate near Philadelphia, you may not need to apply any water whatsoever. In fact, we usually don't, if the fig tree is established enough. So this isn't a universal “water more” rule. It's “don't let the soil dry out.” Too much water causes its own problems — see fig tree watering and the signs in underwatering fig trees.
180 Frost-Free Days & About 400 Figs: My Ronde de Bordeaux
You don't need Napa Valley's season. Mathematically it works near Philadelphia, too — and it worked especially well with Ronde de Bordeaux.
Here in the Philadelphia area we only have about 180 frost-free days. Even so, getting multiple sets of main crop is possible, and it works really well with a variety called Ronde de Bordeaux. One year that tree produced about 400 figs for me. The only way I was able to do that was by getting multiple sets of main crop.
I pruned it back pretty far the prior winter.
It got through the winter with a good structure: lots of trunks and scaffolds.
It grew a lot the following season.
I was able to do lots of Rivers pruning (pinching) on those new branches, and it formed another set of figs.
Ronde de Bordeaux is unifera, so it won't produce a breba crop, but its main crop ripens as early as possible. That makes it a natural fit for this approach, since everything we're doing here is about stacking main crops on new growth. Read the full Ronde de Bordeaux variety review, and check for Ronde de Bordeaux fig trees or cuttings in my shop (availability changes).
That's what stacking main crops looks like: one set of figs after another on the new branches, instead of one flush and done.
Green Michurinska & Moro de Caneva: 4 Months of Figs
With Rivers pruning, both produced figs for 4 of my 6-month growing season.
Two more of my trees show how far this goes. Green Michurinska and Moro de Caneva both produced figs for 4 months of my roughly 6-month (about 180 frost-free days) growing season with Rivers pruning. Green Michurinska is a high-vigor, high-production fig that has given me two separate, distinct main crops after Rivers pruning. Moro de Caneva adds a breba crop at the front of the season.
That's a long harvest window from a short-season climate. Check for Green Michurinska fig trees and Moro de Caneva (Fico Secco) fig trees in my shop (availability changes).
In the Tropics: No Dormancy Required
Fig trees don't need a dormancy period or chill hours to grow and fruit.
In areas where there's no dormancy period to set up this hormonal response, growers simply cut the wood back. A Malaysian grower known as Dato', growing his fig trees in the tropics under greenhouses, cuts the new growth back by 50 to 90%. That's how he's able to get the same growth response and keep his trees producing — without any winter at all.
That tells you something important: fig trees don't need a dormancy period. That's a pretty big myth. They don't need 100 chill hours, or any chill requirement, to keep growing and fruiting. So for somebody in a long-season, dry climate, meeting these requirements should be no issue, and you can absolutely get your fig tree to produce in an everbearing habit.
(Don't confuse this with the breba crop, which forms on last year's wood. That's a separate question from whether the tree needs chill to grow and fruit. More in understanding breba figs.)
Why Cutting Summer Growth Back by Half Often Fails
Heading back this season's growth in summer is a drastic alternative to pinching — and in my experience, a poor one.
Some growers, instead of pinching, wait for the first set of main crop to fully ripen. Then they head their branches back in summer — cutting all the new growth that formed so far that season back by, let's say, 50%. The idea is that this might be enough to trick a fig tree that wasn't pruned properly in winter into a hormonal state that encourages it to grow again.
Truthfully, I think this is a bad alternative. It doesn't always work, and when you head branches back that drastically in summer, it can actually stunt the tree. This is different from Rivers pruning, which only removes the apical bud.
Ideally, prune your fig tree back pretty hard in the winter to get the hormonal response you want. Then pinch the branches during the growing season — and keep pinching as needed.
How to Start: An Everbearing Fig Tree Checklist
Set it up in winter, pinch in summer, and keep the soil from drying out.
Establish the form first: trunks and scaffolds in place, like a pollard or low cordon structure. Young trees get there by topping in the first season.
Winter: head last year's wood back. Up to 50–90% for the strongest response; a milder 15–20% if you want to keep more breba. Timing details are in when to prune fig trees.
Spring: let the breba crop (if you kept one) ripen, and let the new shoots grow and set the first main crop.
Pinch by around June 15 (Philadelphia area): once the first main crop is setting, pinch the growing tips, all or some. Your own cutoff is your first frost minus about 100 days for a fast variety like Ronde de Bordeaux, or about 120 days for a 90-day variety.
Keep pinching: as the new branches grow, you can pinch them again to set more figs.
All season: keep soil moisture adequate, especially in warm, dry climates.
Respect the cutoff: near Philadelphia, a pinch after about late July probably won't ripen a new set of a fast variety like Ronde de Bordeaux before a November 1 frost. A 90-day variety needs to be pinched by around early July.
Skip the drastic summer cut: don't head back half the season's growth as a substitute for winter pruning.
What Success Depends On
There's no special “everbearing fig variety.” Success comes from management, the tree's structure, and your season.
What decides your results is the structure you built (lots of trunks and scaffolds to push new growth), how hard you pruned in winter, how much you pinch, whether the soil stays moist, and how many frost-free days you have to ripen each new set. In my own trials, Green Michurinska and Moro de Caneva gave me figs for 4 of my 6 months, and Ronde de Bordeaux responded especially well. Try the approach on the varieties you already grow, and compare varieties in the Fig Variety Directory.
Common Mistakes
Pinching a tree that wasn't pruned in winter: it's already done growing, so it usually won't branch.
Letting the soil dry out: the tree goes defensive, stops growing, and may drop leaves or fruit.
Expecting an everbearing breba crop: brebas form on last year's wood. The everbearing effect is a main-crop effect.
Confusing a stalled tree with a non-fruiting tree: no first crop at all is a different problem — see why your fig tree is not fruiting.
Everbearing Fig Tree FAQ
Are there everbearing fig trees?
Not as a special type. “Everbearing” is an effect you create: hard winter heading cuts, pinching during the season, and adequate soil moisture keep the tree growing and setting main-crop figs until frost.
Why did my fig tree stop producing after the first crop?
Most trees that weren't pruned in a specific way put out a fixed amount of growth and leaves, set figs on it, and then stop growing. No new growth means no new main-crop figs.
Can I get a third crop of figs?
Yes. After the breba and the first main crop, pinching the growing tips (Rivers pruning) turns one shoot into three or four, and those new branches set another main crop — as long as the tree was pruned properly the prior winter and the soil stays moist.
How much should I prune in winter for an everbearing effect?
Once the form is established, heading last year's wood back 50–90% gives the strongest response. I've also had a milder 15–20% cut keep a decent breba crop and still set two main crops with pinching.
Do fig trees need dormancy or chill hours to fruit?
No. Fig trees don't need a dormancy period or 100 chill hours to grow and fruit. A Malaysian greenhouse grower known as Dato' cuts new growth back 50–90% to get the same response with no winter at all.
Do I need to water more for an everbearing fig tree?
You need adequate soil moisture, not necessarily more water. In warm, dry climates that's critical. In a wetter climate like mine, established in-ground trees often need no added water.
Does this work in a short season?
It can. Near Philadelphia we have about 180 frost-free days, and I've gotten multiple sets of main crop. My Ronde de Bordeaux produced about 400 figs one year that way.
Which fig varieties have given you the longest harvest with Rivers pruning?
Green Michurinska and Moro de Caneva. With Rivers pruning, both produced figs for 4 of my 6-month growing season near Philadelphia.
When should I pinch for another crop of figs?
Near Philadelphia (first frost around November 1), around June 15 is ideal. After pinching, it takes about 30-ish days for the new branches to form and the new figs to set, then the variety's own ripening time — about 65 days for Ronde de Bordeaux, or 90 days for a later variety. That's about 100 to 120 days in total. That puts the last practical cutoff around late July (around July 24) for a fast variety like Ronde de Bordeaux, and around early July (around July 4) for a 90-day variety. For your own dates, subtract about 100 days (fast varieties) or about 120 days (90-day varieties) from your first frost.
Sources & Notes
Everbearing pruning, pinching, watering and the Ronde de Bordeaux results are from my own trials near Philadelphia (about 180 frost-free days).
Rivers pruning: I first learned about it in Montserrat Pons's book, Fig Trees of the Balearic Islands.
Timing math (about 30-ish days after pinching for new branches to form and the new figs to set, then about 65 days to ripen for Ronde de Bordeaux or about 90 days for a later variety, for a total of about 100 to 120 days; first frost around November 1 near Philadelphia) is from my own trials, along with my pruning-hormones, Ronde de Bordeaux, and fig evaluation articles.
The tropical, no-dormancy example is from a Malaysian grower known as Dato', who grows figs in greenhouses and cuts new growth back 50–90%.
