I have a question about pruning a Fig Tree

I have a fig tree that is HUGE and it has some lower branches I need to saw off but they are loaded with figs and I am afraid to trim it because I don't want it to get a disease and die. Does anyone grow figs or know the best time to prune and if I need to put something on the wounds so it won't get a fungus? It is 20 feet tall and about that wide. I love it because it is my name sake and I love figs so I don't want to hurt it. Any info would be appreciated.
Celeste

I am not an expert on this, so do not want to tell you the wrong information. But, I and my newghbors have cut our fig trees down to three or four feet every three years and they come back with more fruit than ever. I do not even know what type of figs they are. Good luck.

Also only anecdotal, but I had to cut mine back to about a foot to try & get rid of the honeysuckle strangling it. The next year it was almost as big as if I'd never cut it. But I'd wait until after the fruit ripens so you don't loose all those good figs :-)

Also - the birds here LOVE figs, but they never seem to finish them. I get a whole bush of figs with a bird-sized bite out of each one. Might want to get some sort of bird deterrent if you actually want a harvest for yourself.

Off topic: my mother tells me that her grandfather was 'convinced' that there was only a single honeysuckle vine in the whole world. All we see are the tips of it sprouting through the soil - and that's why you can never seem to get rid of the darn things. Kind of like trying to kill a hydra. :-)

I have a 55 year old tree that has died back to the ground more than once just to come back stronger than ever. I cut mine back to 6-8 ft. every year just to keep it manageable in my small back yard and have cut some of it back to the ground on many occasions. I wouldn't even consider doing any major cutting until the leaves drop in the fall and the tree goes dormant.

Rich

THanks everybody for the info.
Celeste

Did you know that if you beat the end of the branch you cut off the fig tree with a hammer to make it raggedy, then put it in water for a few hours, then plant it, the branch will grow into a TREE!!!! I have 3 trees growing and doing well with figs on them! Try it next time you trim your fig tree. The same goes for evergreen shrubs. My neighbor was trimming his shrubs and gave me the biggest pieces, I landscaped the front of my yard and it turned out great.

Wow that is great info!
Thanks

I've had a "white" fig tree in my garden for some years now and have had fruit from it once or twice, and not too many at that. What am I doing wrong, or rather, what can I do to make it produce more?

Roose, go to "just fruit and exotics" and click on figs, scroll all the way down to the bottom and hit the "Just the facts" panic button. A whole bunch of important information on figs comes up. They are on my list of favorites.

Thanks caribbeanjoe, but where do I find "just fruit trees and exotics"

This message was edited Jun 1, 2006 12:12 AM

www.justfruitsandexotics.com

Thank you escambiaguy, my mouth was watering just reading the descriptions but great info. Thank you also caribbeanjoe, for the info.

I have a young fig tree that I thought I killed this past fall. It was looking thoroughly dead. I felt very guilty for not giving it the attention it needed (namely water). The dried limbs just snapped off - it was very sad. I was going to dig it up in the spring, but low and behold it started growing again! I got another chance not to kill it off!! I've been fertilizing and watering religiously since early spring, and now it had figs on it :-)