10 Perfect Plants for Your Chicago Hardy Fig Tree Guild

One of the best ways to support your Chicago hardy fig tree is by planting companion plants around it to provide services such as building soil, attracting beneficial insects, mulching, and creating a microclimate to shelter it in winter. This community of plants growing together and supporting each other around a central fruit tree is called a guild.

This article provides some options for what to plant with a fig tree as well as the reasons why. My hope is that this approach will help you select the best plants for your fig tree guild, even if they aren’t the same plants I’ve chosen for mine.

Where Do Fig Trees Grow?

Figs grow naturally in many Mediterranean countries and are easily cultivated in warm climates. When we lived in Arizona we had a large fig tree in our backyard. It was incredible. In fig season we ate figs fresh from the tree, squeezed them onto toast, dried them, and baked them into bread. Having homegrown figs felt like decadence above our pay grade. Then we moved to Idaho.

I thought we’d never have a fig tree again in our cold Idaho climate. That is until I learned about cold-hardy figs. It turns out many people grow figs, even the less hardy varieties, in climates as cold as my zone 6b/7a and colder.

The less hardy varieties are either grown in containers and brought inside for the winter, or they are heavily winterized by bending the branches up and wrapping them or even burying them in a berm.

Hardy Fig Trees

Chicago hardy fig is the most cold-hardy fig I am aware of. It’s hardy down to zone 5, although winter protection is still recommended. Without adequate protection, it may die back in winter, but will likely regrow the following season.

Figs can grow as trees or shrubs depending on how they are pruned. In cold climates, figs allowed to grow in shrub form will be more frost-resistant.

What Does A Fig Tree Need?

When designing a fruit tree guild, I like to start by asking, what does the centerpiece tree need? And how can other plants support it? The basic needs of a fig tree are similar to most other fruit trees, but they do have a few specific differences to consider. 

• Figs need relatively less nitrogen than many other fruit trees. In fact, if a fig isn’t producing fruit well, the reason could be that it has too much nitrogen, leading it to focus most of its energy on growing leaves. 
• Potassium, on the other hand, is particularly important to figs for good fruit production.
• Some fig trees are pollinated by wasps, but the Chicago hardy fig is self-fertile, so I’m not concerned with attracting fig wasps.
• Although fig trees can tolerate some shade, they prefer full sun for the best fruit production.
• With their broad leaves and dense canopy, once they leaf out for the season, fig trees cast more shade than many other fruit trees. 
• Once established, figs are relatively drought-tolerant, but in dry areas, they’ll need deep watering every week or so.
• Well-drained soil is important since figs don’t like wet feet.
• Fig roots are close to the surface, so plants with deeper roots won’t compete as much for space.

Where to Plant a Fig Guild

Because growing figs in cold temperate climates pushes limits, location can make a huge difference to their survivability as well as the level of winterization needed.

For this reason, a good place for a fig tree guild is on the south side of a stone or brick feature such as a wall or even a pile of river rocks. Locating a fig guild on the south side of a house, garden shed, or other structure can raise the temperature enough to make the difference between a fig tree dying back over winter and not.

One caution with planting figs close to buildings is that their roots can be aggressive and possibly interfere with foundations.

Chicago Hardy Fig Guild

Below is my plant list for the guild I’m experimenting with, followed by a little explanation of why I selected each plant. At the end of this article, I list a few extra plants that I think would also work great in a hardy fig tree guild but didn’t make the cut for my final guild plant list.

Fig Tree Guild Plant List

• Alpine strawberry
• German chamomile
• Parsley
• Ebbing’s Silverberry

1. Alpine Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)

I’m planting strawberries under many of my fruit trees, including my figs. As a kid, I remember collecting wild strawberries in the mountains and delighting in the flavor of the tiny berries. Of course, we grew strawberries in the garden, but there was something special about those tiny wild berries. The wild strawberries I remember are a different species (Fragaria virginica) from the alpine strawberries in this guild (F. vesca), but I chose alpine strawberries for a couple of specific reasons.

Why I chose Alpine Strawberry Over Other Varieties

• Most strawberries (even wild strawberries) need full sun to produce fruit, but alpine strawberry is shade tolerant, so they should do well beneath the fig’s canopy.
• Unlike other strawberries, Alpine strawberries bear fruit continuously from June through October. This long and slow harvest season is perfect for grazing children.

Other Strawberry Benefits

• Strawberry flowers attract pollinators, which benefit the guild and the rest of the property.
• Leaves of strawberry plants cover and protect the ground as a living mulch.
• Strawberry plants accumulate iron from the soil.

2. German Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)

Chamomile is one of my favorite herbal teas, so it’s a plant I’d like to add to my permaculture garden. German chamomile is the upright variety used to make tea. It’s the chamomile flower that’s dried and steeped rather than the leaves. Roman chamomile is a different variety, a low-growing groundcover, sometimes used to fill the space between pavers.

Benefits of German Chamomile

• In addition to making a good tea, chamomile flowers can be eaten raw or cooked. The seed and leaves are edible as well, although the leaves may be bitter.
• Medicinally, chamomile is said to promote relaxation and sleep, reduce anxiety, and aid digestion.
• I mentioned above that fig trees need a good dose of potassium, particularly as fruits develop. Chamomile roots bring up potassium (as well as phosphorus and calcium) into their foliage.
• The plants produce a lot of thick, matting foliage that can be cut and left in place (chop-and-drop) at the end of the season to mulch and add those minerals back to the soil. 
• Chamomile flowers attract beneficial insects.
• Its strong smell keeps pests away.
• Antifungal properties of chamomile may help protect fruit trees from fungal diseases.

The sunny side of the guild and partially under the fig’s canopy is the best place for camomile because it likes full sun to partial shade. 

We’ll leave the shady side of the guild for another plant, coming up next.

3. Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)

Parsley doesn’t mind partial shade, so it should do well on the shady side of a fig tree. It’s one of those herbs that’s expensive to buy fresh but easy to grow, and super healthy.

Usually, we think of the leaves as the edible parts of the parsley plant. But, there is a variety of parsley grown for its root. I didn’t know this until recently, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for it. Root parsley is also called Hamburg parsley or turnip parsley (Petroselinum crispum var. tuberosum). For this guild, I’ll probably use flat-leaf parsley, which is my favorite type to use in the kitchen.

Benefits of Parsley

• Both curly and flat-leaf parsley are packed with nutrients, including vitamins A, C, and K, folate, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, and loads of phytonutrients.
• Yet another dynamic accumulator, parsley draws up calcium, potassium, iron, and magnesium from deep in the soil. Not surprisingly, these are the same minerals listed in the health benefits of parsley.
• Parsley also attracts beneficial insects.

4. Ebbing’s Silverberry (Elaeagnus x ebbingei)

So far, this guild leaves out an important way to support a fig tree, particularly in a northern climate, and that’s winter shelter.

Any evergreen hedge shrub planted on the cold or windy side of the guild could help create a microclimate to protect the fig tree and other sensitive plants in the guild.

I’ve chosen Ebbing’s Silverberry for several reasons.

Ebbing’s Silverberry is in the same family as two other permaculture plants that are gaining popularity — sea buckthorn, and goumi berry. All three species provide multiple functions for a permaculture garden. I opted for Ebbing’s Silverberry for this guild over the other two because it’s evergreen.

Benefits of Ebbing’s Silverberry

• Ebbing’s Silverberry is wind resistant and grows well as hedges, making it a good windbreak and shelter plant.
• Plus, it’s evergreen, so its foliage will continue to provide shelter in the winter when figs need protection the most.
• Silverberry fixes nitrogen. Although figs don’t need a lot of nitrogen, they do need some, and the other plants in the guild will benefit from more nitrogen in the soil as well. Particularly parsley and strawberry, which are heavy feeders.
• Ebbing’s Silverberry produces an edible berry that is ridiculously healthy. In addition to vitamins and minerals, the berries contain flavonoids and bioactive compounds. These same compounds are also found in sea buckthorn, which studies have shown to prevent cancer and even reverse already existing cancerous growths.

Alternate Fig Tree Guild Plants

In my research, I came up with so many good options to include in this guild that I could have designed a completely different fig tree guild with them. Here are a few of the extras that didn’t make it into my guild.

5. Peas

If no other nitrogen-fixing plant is present, peas could make a good addition to this guild. Use either dwarf peas that need little to no trellising. Or, with a larger fig tree, the pea vines could be trained up the fig tree itself.

Peas like cool weather, so they’ll likely reach their peak before the fig tree fully leafs out in the summer, giving them access to plenty of sunlight.

After harvesting the peas, cut the vines down at the base and lay them on the ground as mulch. Remember to save some peas to seed more pea plants the following year.

6. Chicory

An herbaceous plant that accumulates potassium and calcium, chicory also provides shelter for beneficial insects and nectar and pollen for generalist pollinators, especially bees.

Its dandelion-like leaves are edible and its long taproot can be dried and ground and made into a drink, also similar to dandelion root. 

7. Chives

Chives accumulate potassium and calcium, important to fig fruit production. As alliums, they are excellent aromatic confusers that keep pests away. Planted at the drip line, chives also act as a grass and weed barrier.

Additionally, chives are dynamic accumulators of potassium and calcium.

8. Ginger

Plant ginger under the canopy where it will be sheltered by the shady and more humid microclimate of the mature fig tree.

Ginger is a perennial in zones 9-12 but can be grown as an annual in colder climates. Some varieties are hardy to zone 7, so it is possible that measures taken to protect the fig through winter may also protect the ginger.

9. Violet

Violet is a vigorous ground cover with edible, purple, flowers. Shade tolerant, it grows well under thicker shrubs and trees. They are best used as the only ground cover in an area because they’ll outcompete other low plants.

10. Nasturtium

This shade-tolerant ground cover has edible red, yellow, orange, or cream-colored flowers and edible leaves, both with a spicy peppery flavor. Two or three plants at the trunk base climbing a few inches up the fig trunk would be a beautiful addition to the guild.

Conclusion

The fig guild example above is the result of much research and thoughtful design. So far it’s only theoretical. The next step is to plant it and observe how the plants interact with each other and with the landscape over time. Inevitably, it won’t work out exactly as planned. However, it’s a solid starting point.

I hope these thoughts on my Chicago hardy fig tree guild gave you some ideas and inspiration for planning and planting your own fig tree guild.

And if you like growing fruit trees, you might like to grow a whole food forest. Learn more about food forests here: What is a Forest Garden? And How to Grow Amazing Food in Your Backyard.

Happy fig growing!

References

https://lynehamcommons.wordpress.com/landscape-plan/berm-2/fig-guild/

https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/fragaria_vesca.shtml

https://permaculturekernow.org/wp/chamomile/

http://tcpermaculture.com/site/2013/04/30/permaculture-plants-parsley/

https://thegrownetwork.com/growing-parsley/

https://pfaf.org/user/cmspage.aspx?pageid=61

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/elaeagnus-x-ebbingei/…