Fig

October 6, 2018

I have tried to root some fig tree cuttings and plum tree sprouts from the yard of our old family home to try to move them to a new residence. I have had a lot of success over the summer in doing this and they have almost all grown and developed well. However, there is no place to plant them yet this fall in the new location. I have the new plantings in 12 inch pots outside right now. Should I leave them outside over the winter in these pots or bring them inside my current residence over the winter, or should I re-pot them into larger pots now, leave them outside over the winter, and mulch around them? Any advice would be really appreciated!

Neither figs nor plums would be happy inside, but in pots they will need some protection and care this winter. If you have shrubs at the new location, you can group all of your rooted plants together (either in their current pots or upgraded to the next size up) next to the foundation of your house between the house and the shrubs. This is a more protected site. Add mulch or straw around the base of the pots as winter approaches. Pay attention to water needs even this winter, particularly before a hard freeze. An added light layer of mulch after they have gone dormant can also help them survive. Another option would be to store them in a garage or in a crawl space under the house after they have gone dormant.

January 27, 2018

We have two fiddle leaf figs sitting side by side. They are beautiful plants but recently, one is getting brown spots. Some spots are near the edge and some are in the center of the large leafs. What am I doing wrong? Over watering? Under watering? Should I remove the damaged leaves? Should I cut out the brown spots?

Overwatering would be the most common cause of houseplant damage, but to be sure, take a leaf sample in to your local county extension office. They can send it to the disease diagnostic lab and find out for sure. Most houseplants require very little water indoors in the winter. Most plants slow down in their growth habit during the winter with the lower light, lower humidity, and constant temperatures.

February 1, 2017

I planted a Brown Turkey fig tree on the south side of my house around 1990. I think Brown Turkey figs taste the best although they are smaller than other figs. The greatest attacker of fig trees is not disease or vermin but birds, particularly Robins. (I’ve never caught any other bird species eating my figs.) The robins love to eat figs and they do it one or two days before the figs are ripe. The only defense is a tightly closed enclosure of bird netting. If there is any portion of the netting not staked to the ground, to an adjoining wall, or any slit open the robins will get in and eats every fig. You suggested letting them grow tall so they can eat the top ones and leave the lower ones for you, but they won’t eat the ones on top and leave the bottom one’s for you, they eat them all. So should I prune?

I often say let them grow if you have the space, to allow the birds to have some fruit too. I do know they will eat the lower ones too if they aren’t covered, but it is often difficult to cover a large tree, so covering the lower portion for you to have fruit and leaving the top uncovered still can let them have a taste of figs! I have several fig trees and cover those that I can reach and have had more than enough figs for my personal consumption.

October 2016

Will fig trees (bushes) grow well in NW Arkansas and on which side of the house should they be planted? I am not sure the climate is warm enough in the winter.

For many years, fig trees got frozen back even in central Arkansas and many of us called them fig bushes, because they never achieved any height because of the dieback, but that changed in 2000 and they are now large trees in many parts of Arkansas. Many people are growing them even in NW Arkansas, but they can suffer when we have a cold winter. The good news is, even if they get nipped, they still set fruit on the new growth. Plant them where they get at least six to eight hours of sunlight and if possible on the east or north side of the house, which is a bit more protected than the south/west.

February 13, 2016

We need to know how far back to cut on the branches when pruning our fig tree this spring. We remove all of the "suckers" growing at the base of the tree, assuming these are drawing nutrition away from the main areas that bear fruit. For our pear tree, how far back should we prune back the "aerial branches" that grow straight up in the tree? Both are old, established trees that have been shaped.

I would wait to prune the fig tree until we are sure we aren’t having any winter. The past two winters have caused considerable die-back on many fig trees. If you prune now and we get severe cold, you could have more damage to prune off. It would not be harmful to wait even until early March to prune the figs. Prune only as needed. Some people try to keep them a manageable height to aid in harvest, but if you have a large tree, let the tops of the tree feed the birds, so they leave the lower fruit for you. Pruning out suckers will keep it more in tree form, versus a fig bush. For the pears, they are typically pruned with an almost Christmas tree form—taller central leader and the subsequent branches coming in lower. Keeping it pruned to a height that you can pick from is helpful, but you may also need to thin out excess suckering or branches that occur within the tree as pears often produce too many new branches each season. Excessive growth will cut down on air flow and can produce too many small pears, versus nice large ones. I would prune pears any time from now until the end of the month.

January 30, 2016

My husband is eager to prune our crape myrtles and our fig trees. I think you said to wait until February to do this. Please advise.

Since we finally have had some winter weather, I think it is important to wait until late February before pruning, especially to prune your fig tree. If you prune it too early, you expose more of the plant to potential damage. The past two winters have not been kind to fig trees, and I would make sure they are out of the woods from winter weather before pruning. I don’t think it is a bad idea to even wait until March, depending on what the rest of the winter brings. I have seen many crape myrtles already butchered, and even when pruned properly you still have a more unattractive plant when pruned than when it is full of limbs. Early pruning does expose more of the plant to winter injury should we get any severe weather, so tell him to be patient.

January 2, 2016

We recently moved into a new home and we now have fig trees. I was told that they almost died the past two winters, but they are about 10 feet tall so I guess they rebounded pretty well. How tall do fig trees get? I have never grown one and know nothing about them. Is there anything I should be doing now that they are dormant to protect them from winter damage?

For years we considered figs as bushes rather than trees because they froze back so often. Then we entered mild winter weather and figs responded and we now have some that are easily 15-20 feet tall and some almost that big around. The past two winters did cause some dieback, and a few died completely. Fig roots are usually much hardier than the top-growth. Figs also bear fruit on the current season growth so even when damaged you get some figs—just not as many. We can keep our fingers crossed that winter weather will be milder, but if temperatures below 20 degrees are predicted, adding extra mulch or covering may give you a bit more protection, but it is hard to cover a tree..

October 17, 2015

I have a 12 year old Turkish brown fig which is about eight feet tall. Last winter it froze to the ground. I wanted to get rid of it, but my wife asked me to give it a chance to survive. It did and now has a lot of figs on it. Because they came on so late, I don’t think they will have a chance to ripen. I would like to protect this fig bush this fall and winter. Is there a practical way to protect it from freezing? It is in the middle of my backyard

I believe you have a Brown Turkey fig—the most common grown in Arkansas. When I started work back in 1980 we used to call them fig bushes, because they got frozen to the ground so frequently. Then our winters became milder and we started getting large fig trees. The past two winters were reminiscent of the 80’s and many trees took a hit with the colder than normal winter. The beauty of Brown Turkey is that it can bear on the new growth as well as the old. They have the potential to have two crops per year. Your late season crop (in a milder growing location) could overwinter and be harvested very early in the spring, and then another crop would be produced which has larger fruits. To answer your question about protection the best suggestion would be to build a cage around the tree—as large as you can manage both in height and width, then gradually start adding leaves into the cage. Don’t pack the leaves in, just lightly fill. In really cold weather—in the single digits—you could add an extra layer of protection by wrapping the cage with a sheet or even plastic. When we are frost free, release the cage and rake up the leaves and your tree should be protected.

(August 2010)

We have a 15 foot tall by 18 foot wide fig tree. It's produced a marvelous amount of figs this year, but needs to be trimmed back. It's still producing a few small figs. Any suggestions about how much to cut them back and when? We, the birds, and raccoons love it.

Figs bear their fruit on the current season growth. The best time to prune them is right before they start growing in the spring. Figs used to suffer winter damage, and many years were frozen back by one half or more. That hasn’t been the case in the past ten years or so, and now the figs are becoming trees, instead of bushes, but we still want them to get through the winter before pruning. Pruning can be done if they are intruding into other areas, but if there is room for the large size I recommend leaving them tall. Let the top figs go for the birds and you can harvest the lower section.

(June 2010)

When is the best time to transplant a fig tree?

If you have a choice, I would do so in late February through early April. Figs used to be a bit winter challenged in Arkansas, but have fared much better in recent years. Still, I would prefer it go into fall and winter with a strong root system and move it after the bulk of winter weather has passed. It is so hot and humid now that it would be a shock to the plant if it were moved now. It could be done, and if you kept up with the water needs, it could be successful, but it would be easier on you and the plant to wait until next year.

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