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Gardening in Oz

Potted Fig

11 years ago

The Fig has been moved to a new position We had a tree growing here for abt 3 years from what I thought was an old Hibiscus stump but it grew 4 trunks and got to abt 14 ft high. I showed it the axe and the saw but it did not rrespond so it had to come down. a hard job and i Ithink the tap root must be almost to England. The wood was white and hard so now the fig has taken its place. I dont want to put it in thr ground for the root reason so how do you treat a fig in a pot.?It has had a few figs this year but have since fallen off. any advice thsnkfully received.
chas

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Comments (5)

tuppitoo
Original Author
11 years ago
This is the stump that has been replaced by the fig Note the white wood. Might have made a good cricket bat.
chas
alisonoz_gw
11 years ago
I don;t know that fruiting fig roots are so damaging? But I don't know. I'd say, get ready to increase the pot as needed to the biggest size you can, even improvising with garbage bins, if you want to keep it out of the ground.
I bought a brown turkey about 2 years ago, was being chucked out by Bunnings as a runt. My soil's pathetic so I potted it up but it was pathetic the first year. Set 3 fruit but not edible. Recently I put it in a larger pot with extra fertilizer and have been careful to keep up the water and it's increased size dramatically in the last few weeks since it broke dormancy, and some fruit already forming. Also I'd say mulch well on top to stop evaporation
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First its best to root prune when plant is dormant as you risk shocking and in worst case killing plant. Yours stored at 60 degree lowest temp does not let the plant go fully dormant and with a little increase in temp they wake up right away as that is why they are leafing out too early. Mine are kept on cement floor in attached garage during winter where in a normal winter according to thermometer it goes to about 15 or so during coldest month of January but each winter is different. During some very cold winters here i have seen the thermometer go as far as 6 below zero with some limb damage on a few . Many years ago i killed a few first season plants in garage and quickly learned to put those up in cold attic but no need anymore. Waking up early in our attached garage has never been a problem because of the cold temps and they being fully dormant . I do have to bring them onto driveway on sunny day when temps are near 50 to slowly wake them up to get a jump start on season here and at night back in garage. Martin
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This is what i do and afterward i trim branches (canopy) some as well because less roots will support a smaller canopy and if not done risk later figs dropping because of that. I slice some off top and bottom of rootball then cut out wedges as seen in pictures then slice outer part of wedge then backfill tight once it is back in container. Bought the electric saw for 19.00 on sale years back and use wood pruning blades made for it ts much easier than a handsaw that was used in years prior. Hope this gives you idea's. Martin
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These are very common questions on this forum. In fact this was addressed just a day or so ago. Furthermore, a search through earlier threads will provide an abundance of information on the subject. Still, I'll share my experience on the topic having a couple seasons behind me growing figs in zone 6, and over wintering them in the garage. First off, it sounds like you've done the right thing by keeping them in a cold, dark, garage, through the coldest part of the season. When you take them out depends on your geographic location or growing zone and the resulting warming trends. My garage has windows so they get some light, and I find that mine start to leaf out when the daytime temps start to go up into the mid to upper 50s consistently. Those temps along with the longer daylight prompt them to start. The higher the temps the faster they grow. I usually start shuffling them in and out when the first leaves are fully open and only bring them back in if the overnight temp is forecast to be less than 35 degrees, as they are a hardy variety. When you are able to safely put yours out depends again, on your zone, the variety you grow, and the amount of work you are willing to do to get as much sunlight as possible for a productive season.
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I don't, but people wrap their plants is to moderate the temperature swings over short periods of time such as overnight. If the air temperature drops to 10 for an hour or two, a well wrapped/insulated plant may only drop to 20 or something like that which would be less harmful. Additionally, it may keep the plant's tips from drying out during extended periods of cold dry spells. If you plan to prune your plant you'll want to be able to pick and choose which tips you eliminate to attain the shape you desire. If you have significant tip damage you will have fewer to choose from and will likely have to remove more than if you didn't have the damage. This could slow down the plants growth as it has already setup the buds and will have to replace them before it takes off. I would bet that slowing down the plants growth will also slow down the fruit production. Excess vegetative growth could also inhibit fruit production, but you'll want to get cranked up asap and then possibly nip the tips to get it to set fruit.
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tuppitoo
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks Alison,It was moved to make room as it grew from seeds dropped by birds, It had fruit last year and abt 8 this year
that have fallen off. It had a root into the ground that had to be broken to move the pot. We don.t want a big tree so we will mulch and water as suggested and have some fun watching it grow
chas
funnelweb
11 years ago
I bought a 'brown-turkey' from Bunnings some years ago too. After a season or two it put on a couple of nice developing fruit but I went out one morning and found the bloody bats (flying foxes) had made a complete mess of them - flying foxes inhabit the night here. I persisted with it for a while after that but eventually considered it a waste of time and consigned the tree to the compost bin.
B.
tuppitoo
Original Author
11 years ago
I don't think we'll get many jars of jam from this fellow at the moment Bill, its a wait and watch .however one plus is the lovely scent that it emanates after watering-I'd better get to it after a shocker of a night but we're promised rain for the weekend.
chas

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