Introduced from France and planted at Monticello by Thomas Jefferson, 'Marseille' carries both a provenance and a practical argument for itself: vigorous shoot growth, prolific fruiting, and a fruit color — pale green-yellow — that keeps it off the radar of birds long enough for the gardener to harvest first. It grows 10 to 12 feet tall and 8 to 10 feet wide with enough energy that pruning back to shape each early spring is worthwhile, and it fruits reliably on new wood. The cultivar goes by several names — Oregon Prolific and St. Anthony Fig among them — depending on where it was sold.

It performs best in the warm winters of the South but will grow in zones 6 to 9 with some protection from cold. Plant in full sun to partial shade in well-drained, acidic to neutral soil. Drought tolerance is a genuine asset in drier summers. Its clean disease resistance means less time troubleshooting and more time harvesting. Train it against a fence, let it grow as a freestanding specimen, or espalier it along a south wall — 'Marseille' adapts without complaint to most situations a garden might offer.