Hi:
I am also new to figs. But maybe you should look into joining this figs4fun. Also whenever you will be pruning, I would love to have some cuttings for postage.
Good luck and have fun!!!!
Gardenfreak

Thanks for the site reference. I have 1.8 acres in an urban-metro area that I want to turn into raised garden beds for vegetables, backyard orchard culture, and edible landscaping. Sadly, I have the desire but not the knowledge, funding, or man power. Thought I would start with the fig trees.

Meditating,

As you have time....read some of the old posts on the forum and you will be amazed at some of the information that you will find. Don't let the topic or "Subject of Posting" fool you........many threads do have some great information gems buried inside those threads.

Dan

meditating, First off you don't necessarily "have" to prune the trees. If you have enough space around them and they are not crowding anything else you can leave them as is. Now if you need to trim them back because they are causing problems then have at it. It's hard to hurt an adult fig tree. Being the trees are so old some careful pruning to rejuvenate the tree is very acceptable. You may want to start by trimming away dead or broken branches. Next would be ones touching the ground or just too low to the ground. Trimming away some of the older branches will cause new one to grow thus perhaps increasing your harvest. Don't prune away more than 1/3 of the tree in one season is the general rule. By doing it in 3 years you could have your trees pruned back to a more manageable size and perhaps much more productive in short order. We in the south don't have the problems our northern fig friends have. I've seen trees as old as yours that have had nothing done to them except to trim away branches that get in the way and they're still doing great. The one thing in your favor if you decide to trim them back, this is the right season. Then again, as I said in the beginning, you don't have to prune at all and you just might want to wait a least one season before you do. That will give you time to learn a little more about figs and fig trees and you will have gotten a harvest in. You will then know if they are figs to be kept or make way for better ones. You may also want to take down a couple and put in other varieties.

My advise is to read, read, read, and talk to anyone who will listen. You may have some locals that can visit you and make recommendations.

From the bayou,
"gene"

meditating, if you don't mind me asking, where are you located exactly?

if it is close to heere, i would be happy to help, if possible. if it's not close by, i talk to a lot of georgians and might be able to help you meet up with someone who either likes figs or practices gardening on a budget.

Thank so much for the many kind responses, especially Satellitehead. If I lived live in GA, I would invite you over but I live in SC.

The trees are unruly, I am sure of that. Two are each located in separate parts of the yard. They appear to be 20' tall. One has branches all the way to the ground like a monstrous bush but the other looks like a tree.

The other 3 are close together and near my fence. They are actually 20' bushes and their trunks are all located in a 20' row. I can't imagine how you get inside them to pick fruit.

From what little I have read, I am concerned about adequate air circulation. However, I was told that the trees were so full of fruit this season that they were bowing from the weight, although I did not see them until September when there was no fruit. I don't want to harm them by doing anything improper to them, so I will just keep educating myself until I feel comfortable touching them.

Good day meditating, I concur with what others here have said. To me this is one of the best places to gain information to assist you with your tree. Fig4Fun forum is another good place to gain information but some of the member there are as members of this site. We have other experts in my mind that will be willing to help you. However, they don't know you and you're going to have to introduce yourself listing your goals and needs. Here are a few friends that are expert gardeners in my mind Herman2, Martin, Cecil, KK, Lou, Jose, Talpas, Bass, Peg, Sal, Dan, Sue, and Maggie to name a few. Search the forums and you will find a lot of information to help you. Cheers, Dennis

Thanks Dennis, (snaglpus)

That was very kind of you to put my name in there, but I'm not deserving of that honor........expert, I'm not!

But if I can help someone I sure as heck try!

Welcome aboard meditating!

Cecil

Am I the only one who would like to see some pictures of these 25-40 year old fig trees?

Some one please tell me I'm not the only one.

Poor thisisme addicted to fig porn.

When I find my camera I will post some pics. Most of my belongings are still packed up.

I went out and looked at them today, remembering my post. I think they might actually be 15-18 feet tall. Where the 3 are together, there are probably 30 new fig shoots coming up out of the ground at different heights, some as tall as 3'. The tree in the middle is much smaller than the other two and maybe just needs to be removed.

I would be surprised to learn they aren't considered a mess given their current condition, but I don't know anything about figs yet.

The way you describe them meditating they sound like they are a mess. Seeing them will make it easier for people to recommend the best way to attack the situation. Its great to hear that they are productive. However some serious pruning is in order seeing that most of them are either to high to pick or where they cannot be reached for one reason or another.

I live in Canada and gets very cooled -30 i have to fig trees which i got in the summer, i put them in the house for the winter, when in spring should i put them out side.
Thanks Harry.

thisisme,

Too much info dude ( LOL ).
Already watched that weird fig video from tyty and now your comment ( LOL )?

But I have to say that was very funny.

rafed

I mean this in a good humored way: Bend them to your will.

I have seen everything from fig trees pruned like a speading oak to fig trees pruned to a bush. IMO the bush type pruning doesn't look good when they lose their leaves during their dormant stage but that is me.

I'll volunteer my general rules: Cut out all suckers. Cut off all branches that go straight up or straight down. All branches that cross, pick the one you want to keep and cut off the other one. I clean out the low center branches too. I like to end up with 3-5 large limbs branching from the trunk with none in the center. No small limbs anywhere within ~3' of the ground at the trunk.

Outside of ~5' diameter circle around the trunk cut all branches within 4-5' of the ground. Lot of wiggle room here. You want working access to the trunk area for everything from fertilizer to raking leaves. On the other end, I have grandchildren so now I can see someone intentionally growing fruit low to the ground for young hands.

If you can't get to it, it goes. There are techniques like a bamboo pole with the end split and separated to get high fruit and ladders of course. You can leave the high fruit to the wild things but know that once they get used to feeding on your tree they will not discriminate against your lower fruit.

You end up with trees shaped like portobello mushroom. All the energy that would be spent on suckers and growing high goes sideways. For me it is much about convenience over style.

Rick

Rick, That's an interesting way to prune you trees. It's easy to see the practicality and convenience of it. Do you have a picture of such a pruning job, it so I'd love to see it. Maybe one with the leaves on and one with the leaves off.

From the bayou,
"gene"

Rick and Gene,

Rick, that is exactly how I prune my trees. If I cant get to them with a small ladder or from the ground, it goes. You get very short bushy trees. Rick, you are also right about being able to get into them. I also shape my trees to have an open inside and be short and squatty. I can also put a small bird net up with minimal help.

Jose, perhaps you would have a few pictures to illustrate your method and be kind enough to post.

From the bayou,
"gene"

Rick, thanks for your input. I would love to see pics of your trees, especially now while they are bare. This sounds very much like the principles of backyard orchard culture.

Can I actually prune off several of these great big branches and not kill these tree? Hate to sound like a city girl but that is exactly what I have been. I'm just starting the conversion. These branches are as thick as my upper arms. This is the time of year to prune these trees, right? If so, I don't have much time for a learning curve. Chop. Chop.

How is the yield on the branches that are left? Is it easier to apply a net over that shape tree to keep the birds off? I am hoping for the most part to live off my land and there isn't much point in investing in fruit I can't reach or protect.

One last thing, you fig tree lovers rock! I posted a few questions about other issues on this site and elsewhere and no responses at all. I am completely changing my way of life and don't want to screw up anything that can be accomplished or injure this land. I really appreciate the guidance.

This is kinda of a bad picture but the tree was an overgrown bush when I got it and I wasnt done shaping it. Another thing to remember is if your trees give one (spring or fall) or two crops (spring and fall).

This photo was from this spring and it gave a bumper crop of figs. I have to do some summer pruning for shape and proper ripening and because I fertilized it. It hadnt been fertilized in 25+ years. This tree was a main cropper. This is the ABQ-BB1 fig, the figs were great with taste of cantaloupes and the tree survives unprotected in our climate.

I am starting over after we sold our ranch so my current trees are to young to use as an example BUT a neighbor has a tree that I really admire. I have to talk to them to find out if they have a history in ranching. VERY professional job, I aspire to do this kind of work.

The fruit is borne on the laterals so it hangs down like it is on a thousand clothes lines. This is important for producing unblemished fruit because it doesn't get rubbed against the branch in windy conditions.

You can tell that they started off with a less then perfect tree. There are the scars from two lower limbs that were removed and IMHO the one limb close to the ground could have been taken off. This would be tampering with perfection because it is appropriate for the location. They have that low limb trained at a steeper angle to get it out of the way so it is just a choice of styles.

The tree is a heavy producer of figs and looks glorious when fully leaved. You can see how cleaning out the low limbs allows sun for the grass to grow, give access, and during the summer they ring the tree with potted flowers.

One of the other tips that they may have been professional growers at some time is the way they have nothing growing for ~4' circle around the trunk. Any suckers, weeds, et cetera are treated as freeloaders that take money out of your pocket by stealing nutients and energy from your money crop.

Rick

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:745473}}

I am interested in trading fig tree cuttings. In anyone has fig tree cuttings please let me know.
Luigi

Luigi, you don't have your email activated on your membership page. How can we contact you?