Weeping fig pruning help
Hi all,
I'm back after almost a year absence.
Hoping to get some advice on how to prune this guy, before summer really sets in and I get some beautiful new growth. I know someone will ask what is my goal for this plant and I don't know exactly, I think I want it to get to a nice large floor houseplant/tree.
For some background info, I live in Canada near Toronto and this ficus is potted in a 2:4:1 mix of bark: potting mix: perlite.I don't believe I have any overwatering issues :). During the summer it lived in a south facing window and actually put out a ton of growth. I believe I've read every single one of Al's posts and have made the 5:1:1 mix but am not using it with this plant.
The second photo is taken a quarter turn to the right from the first photo. The third photo is a closeup of the branching.
I know the theory that I should remove lanky winter growth but frankly I can't tell what is winter growth and what isn't, and actually it all looks pretty lanky to me.
I've also seen advice to remove branches growing towards the middle but I don't quite understand where I should cut.. do I remove the whole branch or leave some latent buds to sprout new branches? Also if I do this, won't I end up with a "bald spot" in the middle?
Thanks!
Comments (10)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
last yearRelated Discussions
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Comments (9)Thankfully the deer never hang around in the summer around here...of course, someday I might eat my words! With the location of the tree being right by the house, it would be pretty pointless for me to fence it off...meaning, not much point in having a nice big garden if I have to put an unattractive fence around it. I live on a farm, so it would have to be a very big, very expensive fence to put up anything permanent! I'll definitely keep my eyes out for deer this summer though. And I will be putting up a removabe fence during the winter. Since the one day the deer went to town on it, they haven't touched it. thetman - the spruce is about 4 feet tall, or maybe a litte less. I agree, spruce usually isn't something deer eat...I don't think they actually ate it though, they just bit a bunch of branches off and left them there. They may have just been rubbing it, and they broke off. I wouldn't worry too much though. They won't "go after" it..but if they are constantly browsing in your yard, they might take a bite, or rub their antlers. You are right..these days, nothing is deer-proof. They also pawed through the snow to my blue star juniper and bit off half of it. Grrr...See MoreFiddle Leaf Fig/Ficus Lyrata lower leaf growth/pruning HELP!!
Comments (9)If it were mine and I wanted it pretty much the way it is now, single stem with a bushy top, I would cut it back below the branches on each prong of the 'trident'. Put it outside in partial shade for a couple weeks to acclimate, and then move to full sun. Ficus back bud easily, and full sun will encourage this. Once new growth is under way, move into part shade so as not to produce sun leaves, which will not like being moved into a relatively dark house for winter. Ficus are known to drop their leaves if a shadow passes over them lol. If you want a bushy plant that branches near the soil line, you can cut the main stem to 6-12 inches, and proceed as above. There is a chance, however slight, that the plant will not like being chopped on and turn up it's toes, but I think it's a chance worth taking considering the state the plant is in now....See MoreHelp us save our fig - not sure how much to prune diseased fig
Comments (2)"Really it was very productive last year." The more cuts, the longer it will take to get back to the same production. Decide what your end goal is now. Max figs? Just cutting bad sections out? Opening it up more and making it easier to reach? I think I see tiny holes so it may be something boring into the trunk + maybe frost damage: http://www.caes.uga.edu/newswire/story.html?storyid=5161 Hard pruning (section 8): http://figs4fun.com/basics.html You should be have no worries about chain sawing away any of the branches. If you really want harder pruning, that main trunk's diameter looks very large. I've never seen anyone prune that hard i.e. mature fig tree -> open vase. Your zone may prohibit that; also the other cuts above may require some frost protection for a few years....See MorePruning help for Overgrown and underproducing fig
Comments (5)No, pruning is not the problem. My trees were very healthy and well pruned. I checked GardenWeb many times back in the day when it was so well used and found information eventually that the problem was a common one with those varieties. They produce well for a few years and then suffer from fruit drop Both of mine did produce figs every year, but they pretty much all drop off before ripening; so frustrating. If I had known that, I would have gotten a different variety. Being zone 7/8, I bought what was recommended. To do over, I would have chosen differently and then planted in a spot on a South facing wall and protected by microclimate. After several years of being disappointed, but giving them "just one more try" we finally got rid of them last year....See MoreElena Nuta
last year
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
last yearElena Nuta
last yeartapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
last yearWhy will doing nothing result in a less realistic-looking tree? In nature, tree branches get thinner and thinner toward the top of the tree, and the lowest branches on the tree are the thickest. Your tree exhibits a considerable amount of apical dominance, with the tree being programmed to spend about 2/3 of its available energy (food/ photosynthate created during photosynthesis) on growth in the top 1/3 of the plant. Your tree is developing very thick branching in the top and has weak and thin branching toward the bottom. To key to correcting the fact this is already underway and preventing it from being a continual problem lies in first pruning the top half of the tree back hard, followed by learning how to employ selective pruning and pinching of mostly the top of the tree in order to force more food/energy to be spent on lower branches.
When a tree is in development, there will always be a decision to be made when it comes to ..... do I allow the tree to do what it wants, which makes it look ok in a temporal sense, or do I bite the bullet and pull the tree back in bounds, then start employing techniques that slow the progression of heaviness in the top. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will be to correct the issue.
I understand both perspectives, and you sure wouldn't hurt my feelings if you were to simply start pinching, or even just enjoy the tree as it is, but I clearly see where the tree is headed.
Inosculated (fused) Ficus b:
After defoliation:
Notice how heavy branches were cut back to finer branches ^^^^, and the branching low on the tree is heaviest.
Below, the tree is just starting to fill in after it was defoliated.
This tree has purposely been kept small because it's a bonsai in training. You don't have to make that imposition on your tree, but you can significantly improve the tree's potential for eye appeal by reigning in the top and beginning a program of pinching and selective defoliation of the top (primarily).
What is an "appropriate" direction for the branching? Usually it's growing away from the tree's central axis, but not always. When pruning, I choose my pruning cuts mainly based on A) does the branch contribute to the composition, and B) would it be more productive if I left the branch or chose another point along the branch to prune. Most pruning cuts are to remove a branch entirely, or to shorten the branch back to a branch an order lower order branch growing in a more appropriate direction. I assume out but then I'm back to worrying about a bald spot. Usually it's a branch growing away from the tree's central axis, but that changes at the very top of the tree, with some branches oriented in every direction except downward.
Al
Elena Nuta
last yearWell I did something, can't say I feel great about it. Thoughts? Too much, too little?
Elena Nuta
last yearHard to tell from the photos, but all the new growth has such long internodes! I thought doing such a hard prune would prevent that, is there anything else I can do about that?
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
last yearHard to tell from the photos, but all the new growth has such long internodes! Internode length is governed primarily by light levels (the brighter the light the shorter the internodes if all else is equal), fertility levels (fertilizing at luxury levels, particularity where N is concerned, promotes long internodes), root congestion (the tighter the roots the shorter will be the internodes), and a few other cultural influences, but those listed are the major players. Don't worry too much, though, you'll always get long internodes initially when you prune hard. Is there anything else I can do about that. As new leaves appear, you can cut them in half or even leave only 1/3 of the leaf. Stop that strategy sometime in Aug, depending on where you live. This decreases the photosynthesizing surface and the amount of food the tree is capable of synthesizing (during photosynthesis). Not to worry though, as those leggy branches thicken, the plant will produce adventitious buds after pruning. You probably told us where you live, but I don't remember. That has much to do with how and how hard you can prune.
Ficus microcarpa, defoliated almost entirely and remaining leaves cut to 1/2-1/3 normal size for the sole purpose of increasing ramification (branch and leaf density).
Al
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)