Disappointing fig tree

We're in zone 15/16, Aptos Hills, Ca. Last year our 4-year-old mission fig FINALLY had some fruit - but not this year! It gets enough (drip system) water & has no infestations. The leaves are ok tho' not very dark or shiny. It's about 4 ft. tall.

Still pretty small for a bearing fig tree. I would have pulled the figs off last year to encourage more growth. Is it in full sun?

Thanks, Tropical', Yes, our fig tree is in full sun - all day. We did "harvest" the 4 or 5 figs last year. I guess you meant that we should not have let them develop..?

You mentioned using a drip system. When you water how much water is the tree getting? How many emitters do you have around the tree? It is possible that you were underwatering your fig tree prior to this year.

You did have a heavier than normal rainy season this year. Figs require good drainage. Were you still watering this spring when you were getting all that rain?

Trees that grow less than a foot or grow in a pot need fertilizer.

You might find this article useful.

http://doityourself.com/fruits/fabulousfigs.htm

losrobles...
I'm in Northern NJ Zone 7 and have a fig tree in the backyard that was planted in 1957 when my father-in-law built the house I am now in. I'm sure it was from a cutting from one of his Italian friends and no-one on the web has been able to ID it for me over the years. In any event for 20 years after his passing it was never wrapped for the winter, just trimmed, and never died. It actually flourished reaching heights of 18-20 ft. each year producing many hundreds of large delicious figs. The winter before last was extremely cold and it died completely to the ground. I cut it down and to my surprise in early July it started thowing up shoots although it produced no figs. I trimmed it and wrapped the 3 ft. shoots last winter not expecting much more from it this year. However, finally getting to my point, I have started using Messenger every three weeks on all the plants in my garden including the fig tree. The tree is now about 8 ft. tall and loaded with figs, they normally ripen here in mid August. I can't say for sure that Messenger is the reason for the rapid rebound from the total die off but everything in my garden this year from tomato plants to hydrangias look better than I can ever remember and you might want to consider giving Messenger a try. I've attached a pic of the tree taken last week (sorry not the best quality) and if you look closely you can see the large number of fruits that have set.

Rich

This message was edited Jul 18, 2005 9:01 PM

Ritchh, ok I give up what is Messenger? A fertilizer I am guessing? Never heard of it.

Messenger is a harmless protein which triggers a defensive response in plants, causing them to toughen up/grow faster/reproduce. There's quite a few members trialing it and most feedback has been very positive, though the reported results mostly don't include controls (similar plants in similar locations not treated with messenger for comparison) so it's still early to know what the final word is on it. (Sorry to butt in with my response, but figured I might as well since I'm leaving the note below.)

Ritchh, that sounds typical of my experience with figs. They come back very aggressively from the roots, especially when well established. I've had a lot of success with root propagation (with non-grafted plants, of course). Hardiness varies greatly between cultivars, too. Your figs are looking good there.

Thanks tropicalaria....you saved me some typing and sorry everyone for not being more specific about Messenger. You are right about not having a control but my gut feeling is that it does work based on the fact that despite everything being planted at least 2 weeks late because of our cold damp spring, everything is growing better than I've ever seen before. I have 3 EB's with cucumbers and 3 with summer squash and I am just inundated with both. My tomato plants both in EB's and in the ground are absolutely loading with fruit and I am picking two weeks earlier than normal despite putting them out two weeks late. I have a Juliett grape tomato EB that is about 8 ft. tall right now and still growing!

Rich

tropicalaria, thanks for the info. I had never heard of this but am very interested.

Just in case you are interested - I also heard about a study using aspirin from Drew_n_Corinn that was supposed to be similar to / rival Messenger.

After months, I FINALLY found out the proper ratio, which is: 1:10,000 - or, 3 aspirin to 4 gal of water. More could be toxic, so suggest using only the 3/4 aspirin per gal of water.

It would be great to see someone set up the experiment using aspirin, messenger and none for the control; testing these on a variety of items!! ~ Suzi :)