I’ve been asked about our fig tree, and pruning it, so I thought I would do a post. If you’re not interested in fig trees, then you won’t be interested in this post.
My first experience with a fig tree was in the back yard of a house I rented in Portland back in approximately 1975 (at 76th Ave and Stark St). I liked it. Mary Ann and I got our first fig tree from the Phoenix Urban Gardening program. It was a Kadota fig. We had it for several years, and it didn’t do anything. Then, when Mary Ann’s mom died (in January of 2012), her prayer group bought her a Brown Turkey Fig tree in honor of her mom. We replaced the Kadota fig with it, and it has flourished.
I’m not an expert in pruning figs. Everything I know is from the internet. A commercial grower would likely be critical of my pruning. But, it’s worked for us, and we get a ton of figs. In order to use them up, Mary Ann makes fig bread, fig muffins, fig jam, fig chutney, chicken and figs, fig smoothies, etc.
The good news for an amateur like me is that the fig tree is very hardy, and can handle severe pruning. So, I can’t really mess it up too badly. I prune it to about my height every spring. This keeps the size in check, and makes harvesting the figs easier, since they are lower to the ground. I try (maybe not too successfully) to make a ‘structure’ that supports the new growth (as I learned on the internet). Compared to the internet pictures, I may leave too many branches after pruning. We have an irrigation system to water it, and I fertilize it three times a year (Valentines Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day). I use a general purpose fertilizer called ‘Arizona’s Best’.
You’ll find on the internet that fig trees produce two crops. The first is called the Breba crop, which grows on last year’s branches, and the second crop is on the new branches. The way I prune the tree, we don’t get many Breba figs.
8 Comments
That’s one heck of a prune job but the fruit is beautiful! Tony and Christy have a fig tree too! I don’t love figs but would like a date tree – probably the wrong climate here for dates!
Yes, I doubt date palms would do well there. They require a dry, arid, climate. They do well here in the Phoenix area. I don’t see a lot of them in home landscapes, though. Maybe they are high maintenance.
Nice post, even though I do not like figs. MA looks very happy with her crop.
MJ
She’s happy with the crop, but it’s hard to figure out what to do with them all.
Don’t do such a good job of pruning and caring for them! Haha. JK.
MJ
I love fig trees and have been thinking about planting one for years. This is great information. It inspires me to get to done. Is it best to plant when it’s cooler?
And I love the photo of the figs in the bowl… would make a great painting1
I don’t know the best time to plant. My guess is you could plant any time, but there’s probably a more ideal time. I think we planted ours in February. You’d have to ask at the nursery.
Hal informed that the Italian side of his family grew figs also. What they did, they flattened them and laid them out to dry, then strung them up to hang for later utility. Isn’t it great to see the fruits of your labor?