Breba crop and main crop

A fig tree can carry two crops in a year.¹

The breba crop forms in autumn as small embryonic figs on the previous season's wood, overwinters on the bare branch, and ripens in early summer. The main crop forms in the leaf axils of the current season's new growth and ripens from late summer into autumn.

Not every variety produces a worthwhile breba. Some, like Celeste, usually drop it. Others, like Brown Turkey, can give a decent early picking. In cold climates the breba is often lost anyway: any winter dieback removes the wood it was sitting on.

Why it matters when you prune

If you prune a fig hard in winter you remove last year's wood and with it the breba crop. That is a fair trade for a cold-climate grower who relies on the main crop from new wood, and it is why Chicago Hardy can be cut to the ground by frost and still fruit the same year. If you want the breba, prune lightly and only in summer after it has ripened.

In our garden

In Rockaway Park the breba is a bonus in a mild year and absent after a hard winter. Our jam comes from the main crop, which starts in late August and runs until the first serious cold.