Living in San Diego allows me to push the boundaries of what’s considered “local” produce, and few things excite me more than the Ronde De Bordeaux fig. While everyone else is growing standard Black Missions or Brown Turkeys, I fell in love with this smaller, intensely flavorful French variety years ago. If you have ever tasted a fig that reminded you more of raspberry jam than actual fruit, you probably just ate a Ronde De Bordeaux (RdB).
Commonly referred to as RdB in growing circles, this variety of Ficus carica hails from the Bordeaux region of France. You might hear old-timers call it pure “Rouge de Bordeaux,” though that can get confusing with wine grapes. In the trade, we simply call it the “candy fig” because of its high sugar content and distinct berry acidity.
This isn’t just another fig; it is an early-ripening powerhouse that thrives in our Mediterranean-style climate. Unlike the larger, milder commercial varieties, the RdB produces smaller fruit, about the size of a golf ball or slightly smaller (20-30 grams), with deep jet-black skin and a vibrant strawberry-red interior.
Site Selection and Soil Preparation
Getting the location right is 90% of the battle. In San Diego, we are blessed with intense sun, but even here, shading can ruin a crop. I plant my RdB trees where they receive a minimum of 8 hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight daily. Anything less results in leggy growth and fruit that lacks that signature berry punch.
Ever wonder why some figs taste like watered-down syrup while others explode with flavor? The secret often lies in the soil drainage rather than the fertilizer bag.
My soil here is naturally heavy clay, which is a death sentence for fig roots if left unamended. Figs hate “wet feet.” I excavate a hole 3 times the width of the pot but no deeper than the root ball. For every 5 shovels of native clay, I mix in 3 shovels of coarse sand and 2 shovels of composted pine bark. This creates a sandy loam texture that mimics their Mediterranean origins.
Here at Exotic Fruits and Vegetables, we’ve found that creating a raised mound 6 to 10 inches above the grade prevents root rot during our winter rains. I once lost three beautiful two-year-old trees because I planted them flush with the ground in a low spot; a single week of heavy rain drowned them. Now, I always plant high.
The “Battery” Analogy
Think of your soil as a rechargeable battery. Organic matter acts as the storage cells, holding onto nutrients and moisture just long enough for the roots to access them without drowning the plant. If the battery is too small (poor soil), the plant runs out of energy mid-day. If it leaks (sand only), the energy dissipates before the plant can use it.
Watering and Fertilization Strategies
Ronde De Bordeaux is vigorous, bordering on aggressive. If you feed it too much nitrogen, you will get six feet of beautiful green wood and zero figs. I learned this the hard way four years ago when I treated my figs like my citrus trees. I ended up with a gorgeous, leafy shade tree that produced exactly two figs.
Do NOT use high-nitrogen fertilizers like Miracle-Gro or standard lawn food on RdB figs. Excessive nitrogen forces vegetative growth at the expense of fruit production and causes the few fruits that do form to split before ripening.
I use a balanced 10-10-10 granular fertilizer only once a year, right as the buds break in late February. I apply 1 cup per inch of trunk diameter. After that, I switch to a 0-10-10 liquid feed or bone meal in May to encourage fruit set.
My Watering Schedule for Established RdB
| Month | Frequency | Volume per Tree | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – Mar | Natural Rain only | 0 gallons | Dormancy |
| Apr – Jun | Every 7 days | 10 gallons | Canopy growth |
| Jul – Aug | Every 10-14 days | 15-20 gallons | Fruit swelling |
| Sep – Oct | Every 14 days | 15 gallons | Final ripening |
| Nov – Dec | Stop watering | 0 gallons | Induce dormancy |
Pruning: The Art of Control
Pruning Ronde De Bordeaux is not optional; it is a requirement for survival. This variety grows horizontally and vertically with intense speed. Without pruning, the center becomes a tangled mess where fungal diseases hide and sunlight cannot penetrate.
I use the “Open Center Vase” method. Picture a wine glass made of branches. I keep 3 to 4 main scaffold branches growing outward and remove everything in the middle. Pruning is like giving the plant a haircut; you are directing energy away from chaotic growth and toward the fruit-bearing nodes.
For the best yield, pinch the terminal buds (the very tip of the growing branch) once the branch reaches 5 to 6 leaves in length. This stops the branch from lengthening and forces the tree to push out figs at the leaf axils immediately.
Step-by-Step Winter Pruning
- Sanitize your tools: I wipe my bypass pruners with 70% isopropyl alcohol between every tree to prevent the spread of Fig Mosaic Virus (FMV).
- Remove the “Three Ds”: Cut out all Dead, Damaged, or Diseased wood flush to the healthy branch.
- Clear the center: Remove any vertical shoots growing directly in the center of the tree to allow sunlight to hit the trunk.
- Select scaffolds: Choose 3 or 4 strong branches growing at 45-degree angles from the trunk and remove competing branches.
- Head back: Cut the remaining scavenger branches back by 50% of last year’s growth, cutting just above an outward-facing bud.
Harvesting the Berry Bomb
The harvest window for RdB in San Diego usually starts in early August and runs through late September. Unlike some varieties that ripen over months, RdB tends to ripen its main crop in a concentrated burst of 4 to 6 weeks.
The flavor profile of a perfectly ripe Ronde De Bordeaux is complex: notes of raspberry, blackberry, and Concord grape mix with a thick, jammy texture. It lacks the “green” or latex flavor found in under-ripe figs.
Our team at Exotic Fruits and Vegetables loves this variety because it is practically rain-proof. The “eye” (ostiole) of the fruit is tight and small, preventing souring beetles and moisture from entering and spoiling the fruit inside.
How to Identify a Ripe RdB
You cannot rely on color alone, as they turn black a few days before they are actually sweet. You must look for the “droop.” A ripe fig will lose its structural integrity at the neck and hang vertically, looking like it is about to fall off.
1. Touch Test: The fruit should feel like a half-filled water balloon—soft and yielding.
2. Skin Texture: Look for “cracks” or “stretch marks” in the black skin. This indicates the sugar content is peaking.
3. The Neck: The neck should be shriveled. If the neck is stiff, walk away.
Fig sap contains furocoumarins, which can cause phytophotodermatitis. If you get the white milky sap on your skin and then expose it to sunlight, you can get severe burns and blisters. Always wear long sleeves and gloves when harvesting or pruning.
I recall a specific harvest morning two years ago. I went out at 6:00 AM, before the heat hit. The dew was still on the leaves. I harvested 18 pounds of RdB from just two trees. The aroma in the orchard wasn’t just “green”; it smelled like a bakery making berry pies. That specific batch made the best fig preserves I have ever canned, primarily because I waited until the fruit was shriveled and ugly on the tree.
What’s the real secret to success with figs? Patience. A fig picked one day too early is a vegetable; a fig picked one day late is a delicacy.
Varietal Comparison
To help you decide if RdB is right for your garden, here is how it stacks up against other common varieties I grow here.
| Feature | Ronde De Bordeaux | Black Mission | Panache (Tiger Fig) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flavor | Berry/Jam | Sweet/Melon | Strawberry/Citrus |
| Skin Thickness | Thin (edible) | Medium | Thick |
| Ripening Time | Very Early | Mid-Season | Late |
| Rain Resistance | Excellent | Poor (splits easily) | Moderate |
| Tree Vigor | High (needs space) | Very High | Moderate |
Why You Need This Tree
Through our work with Exotic Fruits and Vegetables farm, we have tested dozens of varieties, and RdB consistently ranks in the top three for taste and reliability. It doesn’t require the agonizingly long, hot summer that a Panache needs, nor does it split open at the first sign of coastal mist like a Black Mission.
- Cold Hardiness: It is surprisingly hardy, surviving down to zone 7 without protection, making it versatile beyond San Diego.
- Pest Resistance: The closed eye keeps dried fruit beetles and ants at bay better than most open-eye varieties.
- Drying Potential: Because they are small and high in sugar, they can dry right on the tree in our dry autumns, turning into natural candy.
- Container Culture: Despite its vigor, it adapts exceptionally well to 15 or 20-gallon containers if root-pruned every three years.
If you have limited space and only want one dark fig variety, Ronde De Bordeaux is the superior choice over Black Mission. The depth of flavor is simply in a different league.
“Growing food is the act of printing your own money, but growing figs is like printing gold bullion.” – An old grower friend of mine from Escondido.
Ronde De Bordeaux offers a return on investment that few other fruit trees can match. It asks for little water, tolerates our clay soils if mounded, and provides a fruit that you simply cannot buy in a supermarket. The skin is too thin for shipping, which means if you want to experience this berry-flavored explosion, you have to grow it yourself. And believe me, once you taste that first sun-warmed, drooping fruit, you’ll never look at a store-bought fig the same way again.
