I would wait & lift it in spring or this fall after the leaves are shed, bare-root it and root prune if necessary, and put it in a durable, well-aerated soil that drains freely. If you lift it now, it would likely face a considerable struggle & probably go into winter with low energy reserves.

Al

Not that Al needs anyone backing him but he's right and especially so in a zone 9. I would not pot it up now unless its current planting is expected to lead to the trees immediate and untimely demise.

Just a thought But I would add some fertilizer and sprinkle a couple pounds of lime If the growth stays stunted or not to your expectations follow what Al said and remove when dormant. Might save you a back ache
Best of luck
Sal

Trace,

You need to keep the ground ALWAYS moist around a young fig tree that is planted in the ground......especially in zone 9. This is more important than fertilizer for the growth and development of a young fig tree. This point cannot be stressed enough. I would fertilize that tree right now with a small dose of 8-8-8 sprinkled on the ground and water it in with a hose. Keep the ground moist and your tree will respond and grow for you this year. I grow all of my many fig trees in the ground and can tell you firsthand that MOIST ground is the secret to getting a young fig tree to grow rapidly in the first couple of years of its life.

Dan

While I must agree that available moisture is one of many criterion required for good growth, I wouldn't put so much faith in the power of a single cultural condition.

The secret to getting any plant to grow to its genetic potential doesn't reside in a single facet of husbandry, but with good husbandry in general. Light, soil/media quality and fertility levels, root congestion, soil moisture levels, temperatures, soil/media pH, insect/disease control, and other cultural factors all combine to yield the best growth when they are optimal or when you take the initiative to optimize.

We know that any one of a multitude of factors have the potential to limit growth. It is only by improving the single most limiting factor that growth can resume. Once that factor is improved to the point it is no longer limiting, another limiting factor takes its place, unless ALL other factors are optimal. (Search "Liebig's Law of the Minimum".)

If the soil's moisture level is the limiting factor, increasing moisture levels will improve growth. If it's not, it won't. The same is true of fertility. The single element most lacking is the ONE that limits growth. Increasing the supply of THAT element so it is no longer limiting allows growth to resume only to the point the next most limiting element allows. Supplying ANY element beyond the level where it is no longer limiting cannot improve growth and in fact has a detrimental effect on the growth of the organism.

Al

Hi there Trace___Stew
growing in container has good and bad points. I grow in containers in my colder zone. In a zone such as yours they would be inground for less hassle than in containers.
What Dan says in my opinion is good advice if you decide to leave inground.
In container if you never done this before do what Tapla suggested and wait till season has past by.
I will mention in containers in your area in sun they will need much much water and every couple years plant will have to be pulled to root prune.
Fig plants are very forgiving , give them sun, water and once in a while fertilzer and there happy in warmer zones like yours water is something they would like more of im sure.
Martin

I too have found that keeping a young tree's soil moist and properly fertilized can result in what I would call hyper accelerated vegetative growth. Not something I would want to do year after year. However when a tree is young it can help size a tree up much quicker.

Thanks for all the advice. I just rigged up a watering system from the horses' water trough. It will drip line water as long as the trough stays at a certain level...which it does with the help of a float. I also put some composted hay around the base of the trees...about 3 inches away from the base. I'm going to pay extra attention to these trees...ones a Black Jack and one is a Brown Turkey. If it looks like they are getting too much water, I can just move the line. Thanks again for all the advice.

I think maybe you guys missed the point. I wasn't saying that adequate moisture & nutrients weren't a good thing or that they weren't requirements for good growth - only that the only way the tree CAN respond favorably is if moisture or one of the elements contained in the fertilizer was the growth-limiting factor. At this point, we don't really know - only that growth is poor and TS suspects it's from under-watering.

Lets imagine that soil pH is too high or too low, or there are unseen root issues, poor light levels ..... if any of those conditions (or others) are the limiting factor, providing perfect moisture and nutritional conditions, can't 'make up' for the limiting factor. If the plant is suffering from a Mg deficiency, dumping fertilizer that contains no Mg and watering like crazy isn't going to make it grow better.

I always keep in-ground, fresh perennial (trees are perennials, too) plantings well-watered. Since I go to considerable length to make sure my soil is healthy, I'm fortunate in that I don't normally need to fertilize, but I would be looking for signs of nutritional deficiencies and apply my choice of fertilizer if I thought it was required.

It's certainly best to make sure the tree is well-watered and has ample nutrition, but you can't accurately predict those factors will improve growth unless you're sure they were what was limiting growth to begin with.

That's kind of like insisting a higher octane fuel will make a race car fast enough to break the track record while you ignore the two flat tires. ;o)

Al

Figs trees are certainly tough and they definitely can remain little trees for many years if neglected. However, if you want to see your tree really take off RIGHT NOW, try what I have suggested. Don't overdo the fertilizer this late in the season as "hyper accelerated vegetative growth" needs time to harden off before any freezing weather or frost arrives in your area. You still have time to see good results before winter arrives if you start the suggested regimen right now.

Next spring fertilize your tree as I have suggested above using an 8:8:8 or a 10:10:10 all purpose type fertilizer. Do this just a few weeks BEFORE the buds open. Again, keep that ground always moist, and your tree WILL respond to that treatment. I guarantee it!!! That's LSU's (and Dan's) Law.........and it works great on fig trees that are grown in the ground.

The reason why it is so important to keep the ground always moist for the first couple of years a fig tree's life in the ground...........is because fig trees DO NOT HAVE TAP ROOTS. Tap roots are roots that first emerge from "seed" propagation and its function is to drill deep into the ground to find water. Fig trees DO NOT HAVE TAPROOTS because they were not propagated by seed; rather, they were propagated by "cloning" through cutting rooting. Accordingly, young fig trees will have their roots just below the surface of the soil. Those "fine" feeder root hairs can get heavily damaged if you let the soil get too dry. Keeping the soil ALWAYS damp (mulch helps too) PREVENTS those hair-like roots from "drying out" and allows a good, healthy root system to develop on your young tree. A good root system is essential to support a larger top portion of your tree. Encourage a healthy root system to develop and your tree WILL respond in kind above the ground.....both in leaf mass and in fruit production.

As I've stated above.........I grow all of my many fig trees in the ground and can tell you FIRSTHAND that MOIST ground is the secret to getting a young fig tree to grow rapidly in the first couple of years of its life. Fig trees do not need a lot of fertilizer; however, they absolutely love fertilizer in early spring just before bud break.

Dan

Just a tip - you can keep your trees (in-ground and in containers) more compact and minimize rampant growth, rapid branch extension, and long internodes by withholding fertilizer until branch extension has slowed in late spring to early summer.

Al

Hi Trace!

I like to see stocky growth on my fig tree babies, not have them shoot up too fast and be spindly. I like to see girth forming in the leader and branches. Making sure that the trees have well-balanced conditions all round is a good idea. Mulch is good for the trees. That's a must to keep the roots from drying out. Fig trees send roots way out from the trunk to pick up moisture and the roots are close to the surface, so mulching keeps them cooler and helps keep moisture from evaporating so fast. Make sure you have mulched adequately far enough out from each tree. By that, I mean the outer edge of the mulch. Mulching up to the trunk doesn't hurt them, they will just send roots into mulch that is close to the trunks and that's all right, too.

Where do you live? What kind of soil do you have? When you planted the babies, did you add in soil conditioners to help keep the soil from getting compacted? Are the babies in the full sun, or do they get any shade?

If your soil is sandy, root knot nematodes are a possibility and you can see that by looking at the roots. RKNs form nodules on the roots. The richer the soil is, the harder it is for RKNs to survive. Is your soil well-drained? Sodden soil will kill fig trees because the roots can't get air to breathe, so they need to be kept moist without getting drowned. Since your trees are young, you can dig them up and, or move them before they break dormancy in the Spring, if you wish, and they should be all right.

If you opt for pots, I can tell you that the sun in our zone will cook the roots fast. I'm trying pots, but am not so crazy about the notion anymore. I like to keep the babies in pots the first couple of years, but that's just my preference. Some people bury the pots to keep them cool and use white pots to reflect the sun, but the sun and heat down here is brutal. Mine are mulched in their pots as well.

I've been keeping my babies' pots where they only get morning sun and they've been doing well so far. Pots in full sun, here, absolutely no.

Depending upon where you live, if you have tender growth still on the trees when it gets cold, if it gets cold where you live, the trees would need to be protected from the cold. My two Celestes went through late tender growth when they were little and covering them kept them from getting cold-splitting.

Good luck with your trees,

Vivian

Let me re-emphasise what I've said earlier. Fertilize your fig tree just BEFORE bud break in the Spring. Your tree will produce more figs if you do. How do I know that? I have personally seen it in other large fig orchards and private plantings. Also, I have well over one hundred fig trees IN THE GROUND that I was not able to fertilize at the proper time this year. My fig crop is pathetic in comparison to the crop that I had last year on these same trees. Live and learn.........

Vivian, painting your pots white with a cheap spray paint will help your figs that are growing in containers. Also, some people double pot their figs by placing the fig's container inside of another larger container......and filling in the void between the two pots with some large pieces of pine bark. Both strategies work in our area by keeping the roots cooler.

Dan

...... should have also added;

If I were to grow my figs in containers in hot South Louisiana, I would use a white Styrofoam bucket or Styrofoam ice chest. This type of container would keep the roots cooler than other type containers. Styrofoam does have some ability to breathe a bit and does have very good insulating properties.....which is helpful in both winter and summer. This is just my thoughts and not a specific recommendation as I have not tried to grow figs in this manner.

Dan

To answer some questions,I live at the North end of the San Joaquin Valley. Pretty much considered desert/scrub. Winters are usually mild. Rains coming in November -March or so. Lowest it gets is probably 25 or so, once or twice. Summers are hot, dry, and did I mention hot?

The trees are two whips that I got from the local nursery when we bought the house in December. Our house sits on a N - S facing hill. The whips are on the South side. They get full sun. The soil is sandy loam, and this particular part of the property has blackberries, mulberries, and a pepper tree. About 100 feet away, there is a stand of eucalyptus trees.

Unfortunately, the area is typical Zone 9...the sun bakes the soil during the summer, the wind blows all the good topsoil away. I know that my pasture is Nitrogen deficient, and I'm seeing signs of that in my little peach tree that's on another part of the property. I do really well growing weeds, though.

BUT, as Dan pointed out, I do think the culprit is lack of water. I honestly forgot about the trees, and when I remembered them, they'd only put out two leaves on top, and on one, those fell off when I touch the tree. As I routinely watered, they put out more leaves and bud, but no growth in height or any branches. Could have I pushed it into a dormant state by forgetting to water it?

I don't see any signs of nematodes, Vivian, and the bark and leaves look healthy. BUT, and this is my issue, there are no branches forming..I have a stick with three leaves on top. And, it's a spindly stick.

I don't want to force the tree to grow right now by fertilizing it, so I will wait until spring, as suggested, to do that. We're enjoying the balmy 95-107 degrees of summer, and I'm afraid that would stress the trees too much to ask them to grow in an accelerated rate.

I guess my goal is to make sure I get some adequate growth to enable the trees to make them through the winter. We get some nasty wind here, and I'm hoping to get them prepared. I thought that maybe if I potted them, I could protect them better.

Thank you all for helping me try to save my trees.

Trace