Fruit Tree Planner

Plan compatible pollination partners, compare varieties, and understand flowering compatibility for apples, pears, plums, blueberries, cherries, and more.

Step 1

Choose a fruit type

Fruit type

Start here. The helper uses different rules for apples, plums, blueberries, kiwis, and other fruit groups.

41 options available.

Type to narrow the list.

Selected fruit

Fig

8 tracked varieties

Common figs do not need a second tree for pollination in most home gardens. A second fig is still useful if you want more total fruit, a longer harvest, or backup after winter damage.

Figs do not need a nearby partner for normal home-garden fruiting, but grouping two varieties can still be handy for harvest timing and insurance.

Step 2

Choose what you want to check

Current goal

Single variety

Choose one variety and Willowbottom will show the best pollination partners.

Step 3

Choose your variety

Main variety

Choose one variety to see the strongest pollination partners.

8 options available.

Optional comparison variety

Optional direct pair check.

7 options available.

USDA zone (optional)

Used to sort matches and flag climate cautions.

Pick a variety first, then scroll to Step 4 for ranked partners, warnings, and the optional pair check.

Step 4

See recommendations

Selected variety

LSU Purple

Fig

Mid bloom - summer fruiting season

Can fruit alone, but still benefits from a partnerPartner guidance included

Bloom timing

Bloom group summer - summer fruiting season.

What to do

Common figs do not need a second tree for pollination, but a second variety can still give you more total fruit and better backup.

About this variety

LSU Purple is sweet with just enough acidity to stay lively, with soft, juicy flesh and medium fruit. Choose it for humid southern climates and Gulf Coast home orchards where fig rust is a concern, but skip it if you want cold climates or a finer-flavored dessert fig in drier conditions. It usually ripens around September.

This shows compatible pollinators. Choose based on flavor and harvest timing.

Usually grown in USDA zones 7-10.

LSU Purple can fruit alone, but it still benefits from a partner. Common figs do not need a second tree for pollination, but a second variety can still give you more total fruit and better backup. It flowers in summer fruiting season, which is worth knowing if you add a second tree later. Usually grown in USDA zones 7-10.

The good news is you have real choices here. The strongest partners are Black Mission, Brown Turkey, Chicago Hardy, and Violette de Bordeaux. Any one of them is enough to get fruit set going. If your nursery has none of those, Celeste, Desert King, or Kadota will also do the job. Figs do not need a nearby partner for normal home-garden fruiting, but grouping two varieties can still be handy for harvest timing and insurance.

One thing to keep in mind. Common figs do not need a second tree for pollination. Extra varieties are optional, not required. Chill note: Less than 300 chill hours.

To put that into practice: at a minimum, one common fig is enough for fruit in most home plantings. Better still, plant two common figs only if you want a longer season, more total harvest, or a backup after cold damage. If a fig is not fruiting well, fix winter injury, sunlight, and pruning first before assuming it needs a pollination partner.

Best matches

These are the strongest practical partners based on bloom overlap, compatibility, and overall fit.

Black Mission

Same fruit type

Mid bloom - summer fruiting season

Best match

Blooms in the same window. Zone fit is unknown or not a major tie-breaker here. Chill needs line up well.

Zone unknownSame bloom window

Why choose this?

Black Mission is very sweet with low acidity and real depth, with soft, juicy flesh and medium fruit. In this group, this is one of the sweetest and richest picks. Choose it for fresh eating, drying, jam, and all-purpose backyard fig harvests, but skip it if you want cold climates above zone 7 or a very pale flesh with mild flavor. It usually ripens around September, in the middle of this group.

Brown Turkey

Same fruit type

Mid bloom - summer fruiting season

Best match

Blooms in the same window. Zone fit is unknown or not a major tie-breaker here. Chill needs line up well.

Zone unknownSame bloom window

Why choose this?

Brown Turkey is very sweet with low acidity and real depth, with soft, juicy flesh and medium fruit. In this group, this is one of the sweetest and richest picks. Choose it for fresh eating, drying, and preserves, but skip it if you want rough transport, crisp texture, or a very firm kitchen fruit. It usually ripens around September, in the middle of this group.

Chicago Hardy

Same fruit type

Mid bloom - summer fruiting season

Best match

Blooms in the same window. Zone fit is unknown or not a major tie-breaker here. Chill needs line up well.

Zone unknownSame bloom window

Why choose this?

Chicago Hardy is sweet with just enough acidity to stay lively, with soft, juicy flesh and medium fruit. In this group, this brings more acidity and bite than most of the others shown. Choose it for cold-climate container growing and the most reliable fig north of zone 6, but skip it if you want the richest, most intensely sweet fig flavor, as cold-climate survival comes at some cost to flavor depth. It usually ripens around September, in the middle of this group.

Violette de Bordeaux

Same fruit type

Mid bloom - summer fruiting season

Best match

Blooms in the same window. Zone fit is unknown or not a major tie-breaker here. Chill needs line up well.

Zone unknownSame bloom window

Why choose this?

Violette de Bordeaux is sweet with just enough acidity to stay lively, with soft, juicy flesh and small fruit. In this group, this brings more acidity and bite than most of the others shown. Choose it for fresh eating, container growing, and the richest-flavored small fig, but skip it if you want large-batch preserving or big fruit for impressive presentation. It usually ripens around September, in the middle of this group.

Good backups

These are still useful choices when the very best option is not available at your nursery.

Celeste

Same fruit type

Early bloom - early summer fruiting season

Good backup

Blooms close enough to overlap in many home plantings. Zone fit is unknown or not a major tie-breaker here. Chill needs line up well.

Zone unknownNearby bloom window

Why choose this?

Celeste is very sweet with low acidity and real depth, with soft, juicy flesh and small fruit. In this group, this is one of the sweetest and richest picks. Choose it for fresh eating, home drying, and southeastern backyard fig plantings, but skip it if you want large impressive fruit or heavy preserving quantities. It usually ripens around September, in the middle of this group.

Desert King

Same fruit type

Early bloom - early summer fruiting season

Good backup

Blooms close enough to overlap in many home plantings. Zone fit is unknown or not a major tie-breaker here. Chill needs line up well.

Zone unknownNearby bloom window

Why choose this?

Desert King is very sweet with low acidity and real depth, with soft, juicy flesh and large fruit. In this group, this is one of the sweetest and richest picks. Choose it for fresh eating and cool-summer climates like the Pacific Northwest where most figs ripen poorly, but skip it if you want hot, dry climates or a dark-skinned fig for drying. It usually ripens around mid August, earlier than most of the others shown.

Kadota

Same fruit type

Mid bloom - mid-summer fruiting season

Good backup

Blooms close enough to overlap in many home plantings. Zone fit is unknown or not a major tie-breaker here. Chill needs line up well.

Zone unknownNearby bloom window

Why choose this?

Kadota is sweet with a soft acidic lift, with firm, dense flesh and medium fruit. In this group, this brings more acidity and bite than most of the others shown. Choose it for canning, preserving, and a milder commercial-style fig, but skip it if you want rich sweet dessert figs for fresh eating right off the tree. It usually ripens around late September, later than most of the others shown.

Minimum planting guidance

Use the minimum, ideal, and fallback plan to size the planting to your space and goals.

Minimum setup

One common fig is enough for fruit in most home plantings.

Ideal setup

Plant two common figs only if you want a longer season, more total harvest, or a backup after cold damage.

Fallback plan

If a fig is not fruiting well, fix winter injury, sunlight, and pruning first before assuming it needs a pollination partner.

Important notes

These notes keep the key cautions and practical details easy to scan.

Warnings

Common figs do not need a second tree for pollination. Extra varieties are optional, not required.

Helpful notes

Figs do not need a nearby partner for normal home-garden fruiting, but grouping two varieties can still be handy for harvest timing and insurance.

Chill note: Less than 300 chill hours.

Want to understand why these pairings work? Read the full pollination guide →

New to fruit trees? Start with fruit tree husbandry →

Every fruit and variety we cover

444 varieties across 41 fruit types. Open a crop to see the varieties, or pick one to jump straight to its pollination partners.

Apple25 varieties

Peach17 varieties

Pear22 varieties

Cherry25 varieties

Plum21 varieties

Blueberry31 varieties

Strawberry13 varieties

Raspberry16 varieties

Blackberry13 varieties

Grape14 varieties

Fig8 varieties

Apricot10 varieties

Nectarine8 varieties

Persimmon9 varieties

Pomegranate2 varieties

Mulberry8 varieties

Elderberry10 varieties

Quince7 varieties

Serviceberry8 varieties

Pawpaw7 varieties

Currant9 varieties

Gooseberry7 varieties

Jujube9 varieties

Aronia6 varieties

Honeyberry29 varieties

Hazelnut21 varieties

Cranberry7 varieties

Lingonberry6 varieties

Goji Berry5 varieties

Hardy Kiwi6 varieties

Kiwi5 varieties

Passion Fruit / Maypop4 varieties

Mango14 varieties

Avocado7 varieties

Mandarin5 varieties

Tangerine5 varieties

Kumquat5 varieties

Calamondin4 varieties

Citron4 varieties

Cherimoya6 varieties

Date Palm6 varieties