A Comprehensive Guide to Pruning Fig Trees | In Containers, Large in Ground trees, Young Trees & Old

Рет қаралды 42,604

Жыл бұрын

Proper pruning is what separates a good fig grower from the exceptional.
This applies to any fruit tree. The more we can maximize photosynthesis, the better fruit quality we'll have.
In this video, I hope to improve your fig tree pruning skills. We're going to look at a number of situations because everyone's tree is different. We all also have different goals. What do we want is the question everyone should ask themselves before pruning anything. Are your cuts with intention? Do we want a better form? More fruits? A healthier tree? These are all questions you should ask yourself and dramatically change your approach and my advice.
The Silky pruning saw that I love to use. Make any pruning job so simple: tinyurl.com/2s3cz5ph
The Felco 8 pruning shears. Unrivaled in quality: tinyurl.com/4mrtv8n9
The Felco loppers: tinyurl.com/2ary3rzu
Zone 7A - Greater Philadelphia
Website & Blog: www.figboss.com/
The Fruit Talk! Podcast: anchor.fm/rossraddi
Social Media:
/ rossraddi
/ rossraddi
Support My Work!
Become a Patron: / rossraddi
Consulting Services: www.figboss.com/consulting
One Time Donations: www.paypal.com/paypalme/rossr...
Our Shop!
Cuttings & Plants for Sale: www.figbid.com/Browse?Seller=...
Products I use to Grow Food: www.amazon.com/shop/rossraddi
Other important links:
The Ever-expanding Fruit Growing Spreadsheet: goo.gl/X6ye9e
Growing Fruit Trees Community: growingfruit.org/
2018 Fig Variety Album: photos.app.goo.gl/a9MLNYaf3pq...
2019 Fig Variety Album: photos.app.goo.gl/bSFfDZnVuwS...

Пікірлер: 62

@lukey726 8 ай бұрын

Hi from Japan! Thank you Ross, I enjoyed watching your videos! One more reason of unfruitfulness is that trees do not feel that they need to bear fruits because they can spread up their roots. One way to promote fruitfulness is to limit the area of root system. That way, fig feels the need of produce its fruits.

@antonibelov 7 ай бұрын

Exactly! A very nice comment!

@sallykempis5341 8 күн бұрын

Thank you for sharing..I learned now how to handle fig trees..also their characteristics

@slamrock17 7 ай бұрын

I had an old tree form fig that I pulled a branch into the middle of the tree and bent it towards the opposite direction it was originally growing. I wedged it in a way that it actually stayed in place and as the tree got bigger I used the branch as a step to reach the fruit.

@utubewatcher806 7 ай бұрын

What a show-off! Big, big, fig fruit!

@user-qm4xf4ob4t Ай бұрын

Thanks for the lesson.

@joshoutdoors7993 Жыл бұрын

Great Video Ross! Alot of Valuable information. 👍👍👍

@tarottime3219 Жыл бұрын

I’m saving this video, thanks Ross your the best!

@davidb6961 Жыл бұрын

Ross this video makes a lot of sense to me. Pruning advice on very small plants to advanced plants. I will watch this again to further my knowledge. You have given us the big picture on pruning or not pruning. Thank you.

@gardenofseeden Жыл бұрын

Second Spring. I am still picking figs and even some of my strawberries produced again.

@MultiTestPage Ай бұрын

This guy knows his figs. My main takeaway is that pruning is about light exposure and future growth.

@sallykempis5341 8 күн бұрын

I just trained young branches entwining them to go upward..I don't cut...until very necessary

@mdiflo228 Жыл бұрын

Great video, finishing my 1st season in 5B

@RossRaddi Жыл бұрын

Congrats, Mike. It only gets better.

@jackjuliuscooks 8 ай бұрын

I have a fig tree on the east side of my house… Planted several years ago. I get an average of several hundred figs to 1000 each season. The tree is about 10 to 12 feet tall and about 10 to 12 feet wide in a circle. It’s a beautiful When it’s growing. I would like to know how to prune the bottoms and sides to keep it more maintainable…

@andersonsoutdoors4873 Жыл бұрын

Thanks Ross. Great info. I'm fairly new to fig growing (4-5 years) and having a lot of fun with it. Are there any good fig growing books you have found? I have been looking and don't seem to find much out there.

@RossRaddi Жыл бұрын

the Fig tree of the Baleric Islands. Get the English version. There are others depending on where you're growing.

@mattpeacock5208 Жыл бұрын

The branches I cut off of my one year old fig tree and planted last May have fruit on them right now. S.E. Texas has its advantages.

@tinaperez9756 Жыл бұрын

I have a small fig tree in a wine barrel. Several years old and I get great figs every year. Black Mission Figs. It stays quite short because of how it was grafted when I bought it. It's always bothered me just a short little stump for the main branch. So today I bought one that is growing straight up and I also put that one in tree planter (wooden tree container). I don't want either of them in the ground as I do not have space for a large fig tree. I have never pruned that tree. But now that I have another tree, I'm trying to figure all this out with the pruning. Honestly, I found this video very confusing and never saw fig trees look like a bunch of bushes like you have. Why do you have so many fig trees? I just never seen all those branches that look like bushes so I think that's what's confusing me. I do not want my fig tree getting very tall so I guess I should pinch off the top as soon as it gets to the height I want? Should I trim off the side growths that are lower to the ground along the main stem of the tree of leave those?

@barrygraber9776 Жыл бұрын

Ross 4-5 years ago you suggested for my in ground fig tree that at the end of the season after frost I should cut my trunks down to around 12 inches. Which I have been doing. I then wrap what is left in black plastic and pile on some leaves. Come spring (142 days) I uncover and watch it grow. Typically my tree reaches about about 8-9 foot. I try and open up the center of the tree. Pretty easy on my part. dont know how you feel about my method but it seems to work. Thanks for another informative video

@Chris-bx4vk Жыл бұрын

Are you getting fruit every year? Still just as vigorous? I've tried this and wasted a whole season because of it

@barrygraber9776 Жыл бұрын

Yes plenty of fruit this year but unfortunately much of it never ripened because of some heavy frost

@RossRaddi Жыл бұрын

The method mentioned in this video for size control is better, but whatever works for you! That's the important part.

@dvssayer5621 6 ай бұрын

That was a great explanation on pruning! Um, its a little complicated, but ill watch again! Id like to keep the trees lower...so maybe if i get on the ladder and pinch off the apical buds now in December, it won't grow higher, but will branch out, but i wont get fruit next summer? Seems so hard to get fruit! Im going to net every one next yr so critters cant get them. Another reason to keep them smaller. I wonder if you got a huge high tunnel to put over your in ground trees would that work? I bet they are expensive, but the in ground trees might like it!!! ? What do i know! Not much🙄

@sandyg3043 4 ай бұрын

Hi Ross from beautiful Silicon Valley in California! We have a beautiful, old, huge, I mean huge like 20' high by 20' wide, fig tree. The trunk diameter alone is about 3' !!!! Sorry not sure what type but figs are huge, green and flesh is dark pinkish/red. It has not been pruned for a year or two now hence it's size. This baby produces soooo much fruit that the wildlife just loves! We want to cut this baby back because she is too big and too messy. Can you give me any suggestions to cut her back so she doesn't get as high, as wide and produces less fruit? Is it healthy for her if I cut her back to her main, thick branch stubs off the main trunk? Thank you for your great videos and advice!

@Shshsh732 3 ай бұрын

I'm having the same issue. My fig is probably more like 15x15 but everything I can find on KZfaq are people teaching pruning on very small trees, new trees in containers etc. Cuts that can be made without a saw. Also I have many wounds in my tree from winters and previous cuts that didn't heal, and don't know how far to cut back or what wounds will heal and where to take off a limb. Nobody is talking by about this. They teach how to train a relatively young tree but not how to deal with a neglected one that's 20 years old. Mine is also very productive.

@EarlybirdFarmSC 9 ай бұрын

Ross, I have a Black Mission fig that hasn't produced any fruit yet. It is about 6 ft tall. Any idea why? It is about 4 years old. It gets full sun for 10 hours at least. I have never pruned it. I have a Brown Turkey just a few feet over and it has produced the last two years. I have had a late frost the last two years that has killed the previous years wood as it was greening up, but each year they have growed back from the roots bigger each year.

@mulox1 2 ай бұрын

Hey Ross, I am a little confused - you mention several times to not cut off apical buds, but I vaguely recall in one of your pinching videos that you do just that. What's the difference please?

@mssavedin92 5 ай бұрын

Hi Ross, can you tell us about root pruning container figs? I have a 4 yr old Desert King, never pruned it or the roots.I had the pot inside a 20 gallon pot with leaf mulch to protect it from last winter. Well, I put the whole setup on the deck in spring and it was growing and setting fruit. One day, I decided to remove the fig tree out of the 20 gallon winter pot and the roots had grown through into the leaf mulch winter pot, subsequently, the roots were disturbed, some tore off and the weeks that followed, ALL fruit dropped off. So, my question is....should I take the tree out of the main pot and do some root pruning now?

@dizazati8627 Жыл бұрын

I'm in 7b. In ground trees. Trees came out of dormancy and started leafing out in February!!! Then we had like 3 weeks of 22° ish....branches are black and bark is peeling off even on the main trunks. I thought they were all dead. But today I went out to inspect and there are new shoots coming from the ground near the root stock on all 4! Should I cut the tree all the way down to 8"-12" and allow the shoots to grow out? Would that severe pruning encourage those smaller shoots?

@romanmetcalf4116 5 ай бұрын

It’s 12 degrees outside and my brown turkey didn’t get wrapped this year. My tarp got ripped in half. Any chance to take cuttings next weekend? I pulled my air layering balls off last weekend. They’re potted inside. Trying to wake them up in the bath tub before last frost so they can get some nice growth outside

@Sara-od2li 4 ай бұрын

I heard that you have to cut back your figs quite a bit if they're in pots or they may Peter out in a few years and not produce for you. I also heard that you need to root prune every other year or every third year once they're in their biggest pot. My figs are a little bigger and I would hate to have to cut them down to a foot and a half especially since I'm in the Pacific Northwest. So I'm not sure if I should keep them bigger like 5 or 6 ft? And I'm also concerned that if the roots aren't enough to support the bigger tree, should I be root pruning? Another question is, if I want to keep my plants smaller which time of the year produces the least rebound growth? I'm also confused with your pruning method of going down to the ground or a whole Branch because if you have your tree formed to the main branches if you cut it off it would be lopsided wouldn't it, and wouldn't it be big on all sides? Thanks

@kwlweapons Жыл бұрын

When removing the apical bud it is important to top where there is a good amount of spacing between the terminal nodes. Pinching just the tip can mess up the hormones in a tree due to tight node spacing left by improper tipping.

@DN-kz7xl 8 ай бұрын

Is the apical bud where the new leaves grow out? I have a potted figtree and started growing now in spring. It has a lot of new leaves basically daily. Someone mentioned that the tip buds should be pinched off to stimulate the development of figs down the branch. Please advise.

@asasupplies8749 Жыл бұрын

@rossraddi - Im in South Florida and we don't have "Frost" and our figs usually always have their leaves. When will it be a good time to prune down here? Thank you!

@kwlweapons Жыл бұрын

Look into biodynamic gardening, during the growing new moon phase (now) is the best time to propagate cuttings.

@RossRaddi Жыл бұрын

During your coldest period.

@asasupplies8749 Жыл бұрын

@@RossRaddi Thank you Ross. Here in south florida that is but 2 days lol. But your video has given me new information about pruning. Thank you.

@jesseflammer4947 6 ай бұрын

Hi, Jesse from Hamburg here. Iam in middle of the cloning season, and starting the figs. So last years clones/ yearlings. How far up a fig thats only a foot to two foot high do cut. Being iam now learn to properly shape my tree?

@jesseflammer4947 6 ай бұрын

Yea, Ross Jesse again. I did find one of your videos, that was answering my prior question. And I lost it. You were a long a wall. With a bunch of year old figs. And you were showing how to shape the youngsters for the future. Can you hook me up with that video. Couldn't find it.😊

@AM-lz2jr Жыл бұрын

From my impression of what youre saying, it seems to me that you prefer to tip your tree in the growing season for scaffold branches, rather than make a heading cut in the dormant season. Correct?

@RossRaddi Жыл бұрын

That's one of the points, yeah. I'll have a video showing results of exactly that soon.

@rondacorkhill1654 Жыл бұрын

Ugh, I could have used this video a month ago. LOL. Still learning.

@carleenmessina5022 Жыл бұрын

My figs developed but were tiny…Chicago hardy. Are they supposed to be really small? Second season

@RossRaddi Жыл бұрын

What's tiny? They average about 30-40 grams depending on the variety of Hardy Chicago you have. Fruit size is quite variable when the tree is young.

@mattpeacock5208 Жыл бұрын

My fig died back to nothing in the Valentines day massacre of 2021, and made fruit the following summer. S.E. Texas has its advantages. I say ot again.

@josephjude1290 Жыл бұрын

Ross; how are your pomegranate trees doing? Thanks

@RossRaddi Жыл бұрын

No fruit to report!

@josephjude1290 Жыл бұрын

@@RossRaddi thanks for the update. I’m getting one in a few days. I plan to keep it potted and under grow lights come this spring. Thanks for all the great videos

@joanp105 Жыл бұрын

Watched this video and then went back to pruning video from 2 years ago. In that one you took off many apical tips. In this video you told us to not do that until into the growing season. Please explain this seeming difference in information.

@RossRaddi Жыл бұрын

Every year you learn new things, Joan. I think I spoke to you on this before. Pretty much all of the old information on pruning is not wrong, but inferior. The information regarding form did not change though.

@mishkahappy3839 9 ай бұрын

You can split that little ruby and have two!

@christophermauchline2586 Жыл бұрын

Would you do anything differently for a San Pedro or breba crop fig

@RossRaddi Жыл бұрын

No. You just do the recycling process I mentioned for size control.

@Neab6 Жыл бұрын

My fig (6 years old) south jersey every year dies back to the ground whether I wrap it or not. It’s in the ground and I’m bright sun. It does not produce no matter what I do. I’ve pruned it, not pruned it. Made no difference It’s a common fig Whaaa

@RossRaddi Жыл бұрын

Don't give up on protecting it. The tree must survive the winter if you're going to get fruits.

@gingerfield1089 Жыл бұрын

Love you Ross! An added note, a big figger in NYC posted that she digs up and sacrifices non producers. JUST SAYING! I root every part but I’m only 3 years in.

@miramihajlovic9139 11 ай бұрын

Too much repetition and no information on pruning a large tree. What about removing suckers? What about growing angles?

@NYHunter27 Ай бұрын

It’s a lesson, not a “do this to every tree”. Every tree is a different project. He is teaching you to put thought into it and how to think about it for success versus a numbered steps process. It’s an art, man! Have fun growing and learning from experience! Happy growing 🤙🏼