Hi, Julstexas, Figs are great trees and have wonderful fruit (I have many varieties), but the wood of figs is notoriously weak and prone to splitting. Fortunately, your tree probably has a very good root system, and properly cared for, will rejuvenate strongly from the roots. What I would do, if I was you, assuming that the trunks are not large enough to do damage to your house, should they fall, is to allow the trunks to remain through the summer months. Any parts of the tree that still maintain a connection with the roots will continue to grow and help maintain the root system until the winter months when the tree is dormant. The parts of the tree that are separated from the root system will die. When you are sure that the limbs are dead (scratch the bark and look for green underneath), then you can trim the limbs back. Early next spring, a couple of weeks prior to when the fig would leaf out, cut the tree back to your satisfaction. The tree will probably sucker out prolifically from the roots. Let the shoots grow and after a year or so choose the strongest and most symettrical 7 trunks or so. Make sure that the fig has plenty of sun by trimming back any branches that shade the fig. Moderately fertilize the tree next spring. Good luck!

thanks both. Figs started appearing just after this post. So now I'm reluctant to trim roots. I'll wait til root trimming time of year (after 2nd growth?) and hopefully remember to do it this time. Hard to believe that any fruit appeared considering how root bound they are.

At this stage there is probably enough nutrients in the soil mix for the cutting to grow. I've never done a comparison on starting cuttings with slow release fertilizer and one without. The cutting is putting energy into growing roots and then the leaves develop almost separately but it takes time for the two to work together so its not necessarily taking up nutrients from the soil like a mature fig tree does. Slow and steady wins the raise type of deal. You can probably keep cuttings for over a year if you routinely inspect them and keep them damp and change the paper towels or newspaper periodically to prevent mold issues. Some people say that the moss has it's own anti fungal properties.

"Is it ok to both prune and repot at the same time?" Yes. If your plant is healthy and your first root reduction requires removing a significant volume of roots, removing a commensurate volume of foliage can help keep the plant from indiscriminately shedding the leaves and branches IT will "decide" to shed. Many growers are very quick to repeat the current/conventional mantra that foliage shouldn't be reduced at transplant time; but w/o taking into consideration the fact that you're also going to remove a significant volume of roots, repeating the singsong mantra is rather meaningless. Your tree is an organism that receives chemical messengers that will tell it to shed foliage if the roots are significantly reduced, and roots if the canopy is significantly reduced. It's better to make the reductions yourself so you have the choice in the matter. It might not be all that significant for your tree, which only has the central stem; but it could be disastrous if you had a well-developed branch structure and the tree shed branches critical to the tree's eye appeal after you repotted. Typically, the first couple of repots end up being the most stressful because more work needs doing to get the root mass straightened out. Too, my repots are usually pretty severe; severe to the degree than I wouldn't suggest you try to emulate what I do. Because of that, I regularly prune quite hard when I repot or very soon after - as in as soon as I see new growth appearing. This really does little to slow development or growth of the tree. Root pruning represents a short-term setback, but that setback is more than repaid in the form of growth much more robust than your plant would have realized had you NOT repotted it. "Should I look to sort out the roots and then move onto the pruning?" That's typically what I would do if the repot wasn't one of those epochal sessions where a very large fraction of the roots were removed (75-90%). "I would also like to propagate the off cut stem into another tree, as the cutting will be approx. 1m. I thought spring would be the best time for this, is that correct? The best time for propagating cuttings would be just before Christmas for you. That's when the plant will have the most stored energy. Any advice and/or tips would be appreciated." If you like, you can increase the probability of your cutting striking (growing roots) and the speed with which it will strike by doing this: Purchase some IBA rooting powder. Cut 2 pieces of electrical tape long enough to make at least 2 wraps around the stem. Sprinkle one end of each piece of tape with the powder, making sure it sticks to the tape, then wrap the tape where you want roots to grow on the stem so the powder is against the bark and secure the tape. The tape will create darkness, so you'll be 'blanching' the stem. It will also trap moisture against the trunk. These cultural conditions will help stimulate root initials to form. The IBA hormone will work in concert to help stem cells in the vascular cambium decide they want to be roots, rather than whatever other organ cultural conditions would push the plant toward developing. In mid-Dec, you can sever the cutting just below the lowest tape, remove the tape, cut off leaves at the node immediately above the tape, and stick the cutting in a highly aerated, damp (but never wet or soggy) medium in open shade and out of wind. You'll want 2 nodes buried and 2 healthy leaves left on the cutting. If you want a single-stemmed plant, make a tip cutting. If you want a multi-stemmed bushy plant, take an internodal cutting. It's helpful to cut the leaves left on the plant in half across venation to reduce the likelihood of the plant shedding the leaves as a drought response. You can always start an air layer now if you like. It should be ready to separate around Christmas or just before when you do your repotting. I apologize for the tardy reply. I only got to your message asking me to look at your post tonight. I get at least 10-20 plant-related messages from Houzz members every day, and it's taken me this long to catch up after being away for a week's vacation around mid-Aug. I hope I've provided you with some insight you can put to work for you and your plant. Give a lot of thought to the medium you'll ultimately provide as a home for roots. The need to fight your soil for control of your plant's vitality takes much of the fun and reward from growing, so soil choice is a key factor that influences how rewarding your growing experience CAN be. Your turn for questions or added input. I hope I'm not too late to have provided anything useful. Al