Lemon and fig in containers: southern fruit on the terrace

Freshly picked lemons for a summer drink, ripe figs for breakfast: with two container plants anyone can bring a piece of the Mediterranean onto their terrace. Both are easier to care for than their reputation suggests – provided a few basic rules are followed.

Location

Full sun and warm, sheltered from wind.

Container

With a drainage hole, only one size larger than the root ball.

Water

Low-lime, thorough, then let it dry out.

Winter

Lemon bright at 5–12 °C, fig dark and frost-free.

The lemon: flower and fruit at once

Remontant varieties such as the lemon tree “Four Seasons” flower several times a year. A lemon takes six to nine months to ripen, however – which is why blossom, green and yellow fruit often hang on the tree at the same time.

Citrus plants like consistency: waterlogging leads to yellow leaves, complete dryness to the loss of flowers and young fruit.

The fig: tougher than you think

Figs are among the most straightforward container plants. The variety “Brown Turkey” is self-fertile and tolerates light frost down to −5 °C in a container. It loses its leaves in autumn and can therefore overwinter in the dark in a garage or cellar.

Yellow leaves with green veins on citrus plants are almost always a sign of iron deficiency – usually because they are watered with hard tap water.

The right container

• Choose only one size larger than the old pot
• A drainage layer of clay pebbles against waterlogging
• Light materials such as fibreglass make moving indoors easier
• A plant caddy under large containers saves your back