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Dormant tree with fruit

14 years ago

My potted fig trees (3yrs old) have gone dormant (all leaves dropped) but still have 6-8 figs on each tree. The figs are thumb-sized or better and mostly hard (unripe). Is there a chance they will ripen yet in dormant stage? Or should I remove them to let the plant go fully dormant?

Is this a standard occurrence for northern climates?

Southwestern Ontario, Canada area.

Thanks

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Comments (6)

thisisme
14 years ago
Hi rono99, I don't live in a northern climate but here in the south the figs would hold on and ripen the next season.
satellitehead
14 years ago
I don't know if this following GW FF link will help, but it discusses oiling of figs late in the season to force ripening.

Here is a link that might be useful: Oiling figs to force ripening
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goodground
14 years ago
Are the figs from breba or main crop? If breba, next year remove the brebas and maybe the main crop will get ripe.
I'm not an expert but I doubt your figs will continue to ripen.
ottawan_z5a
14 years ago
Rono99
It is better to remove the figs from the plant because these are not going to ripen if they are hard. Give the plant a complete rest and also avoid rotting of fruit on the wood when in storage.
ccc1
14 years ago
I tried leaving some unripe figs on one of my trees last winter, and in the spring, the ones that didn't fall off actually did ripen. They were insipid, yuck. Worse, they drained so much energy from the tree, that it delayed leafing out and fruiting so much that I didn't get a single ripe fruit from that tree this year.

Do yourself a favor, and remove the fruit.
rono99
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks all for the great advice. I think it makes sense now to remove the unripe fruit. They haven't changed much in ripeness in several weeks; only 3 figs actually ripened then. The oil thing is intriguing though, so i left several on one plant and put a drop of oil on a few with a few left as control. I'll check in a few weeks if any change.
It's a shame to remove the fruit...they look so nice.

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