You have included no information re: your climate zone, nor how you plan to overwinter this small, young tree. This size plant needs lots of TLC for the cool winter weather. If you allow the sprouts to grow from the bottom portion of the stem, you will eventually have a bushy plant. Allowing only the main stem to grow, and removing bottom shoots will give you a standard, tree-form with a single stem. It depends on what you want. Multi-stemmed bushes will give you more figs, and more insurance in case some stems are killed back in cold weather. In any event, you can let that small tree grow for a number of years before deciding which way to go. You can always air-layer all the extra stems, and start new trees. You have many options. Good luck, good growing. Frank

Take a black plastic container 1-2gallon size. Cut one side so you can wrap around the main trunk, centering the trunk in the middle of the bottom of the container (you may have to trim out a small opening from the bottom of the container to allow room for the diameter of the trunk). Then tape the cut side of your container. Fill the container full of potting soil and gently pack, water, fill, pack, etc. Leave about an inch space at the top of the container for watering. Never let this pot dry out. Every couple of days, you should water the pot. In four to five weeks, you'll have a potted fig tree with roots. At that time, cut the main trunk below the pot and separate. Leave the remaining plant in the ground. In the Spring, you'll get shoots growing from the roots left in the ground. For added frost protection, place an 8-10inch mound of mulch over this area. Good luck. You should have two trees to work with in the spring. A potted one and the bush that will grow from the remaining roots in the ground.

If the tree is not too large you could snip or pinch off the little figlets as they appear. If that is not an option then contact your county agricultural agent and see if he can suggest some sort of hormone spray which impedes fruiting. I have hunted squirrels for about sixty years (started when very young) and have never observed that type of food-source protection. Are you sure this aggressive display is associated directly with the figs, or could it just be too much familiarity with humans? And yes, squirrels DO EAT figs, at least below the United States-Canadian border. Granted, it is an acquired taste for them as figs do not occur naturally.

Thisisme in my opinion is very correct in saying it depends on conatianer size, fertilizer used, tree size in container. Some of my larger ones are grown in i would say 30 gallon containers i come to realize, i say this because i was at Menards yesterday and saw what was advertised as 23 gallon containers for 5.98 in black and blue color almost bought a few , there the kind with the rope handles but im thinking of keeping my new plants in smaller ones for space in garage. Soory to vear off here. Anyhoot,when i kept count 2 years back i had 150 from el.sals hardy chiago was near 100 and my unknown was at 30 figs and 75% never ripened because its a late riper in my climate. Since then i stopped counting. This year bad year cause of bad weather. Martin