You want roots way before they leaf out. Some people use bottom heat with the tops exposed by using those seedling heat mats but that's too much if you don't already own one. Rooting figs is honestly as easy as sticking the cutting in some good potting soil or even in the ground. The more buds under the soil the better. If there are 6 buds on a cutting put 4 below the soil, if it has 3 buds put 2 under the soil. I'm not sure if transparent bags would be the best option either, some plant roots are sensitive to light.

Help! It's rooting or rotting?

@Shekay sorry for the late reply. It looks like roots trying to forum but the bud above the leaf scar looks dried out. If the bud is dead it can still form roots but will never grow any foliage and the roots will slowly die.

Hello all!

I mostly stick to the Rose forum where someone mentioned their figs and it got me thinking how nice it would be to have one of my own. I'd like to grow one in a container and can move it into the garage to over winter if necessary. I'd like one that is fast growing so I can place it on the patio in my treeless backyard and get some shade along with some fruit. I read through this post and it sounds like Desert King, Jolly Tiger and Hardy Chicago are good options? Any advice to steer me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. Specifically, which cultivar would work best in my climate. General maintenance and care, ie pruning, fertilizing, etc.

Thanks in advance!

Update: I checked a local nurseries website and they list:

Brown Turkey, Celeste, Chicago Hardy and Little Miss Figgy

No such fig as little miss figgy. I'd go with hardy Chicago for your area but get it from somewhere else besides that nursery. If they are making up fig names chances are you'll get a wrongly labeled plant.

sorry, but I was curious, MOBOT lists Little Miss Figgy here
https://www.missouribotanicalg...

looks like plain old Negrone aka violet de Bordeaux to me. Which is already known as a dwarf fig due to its slow growth rate. The leaves and figs look the same too me. Maybe it's a super dwarf or something but 9 times out of 10 it's a sells pitch and way to brand an older plant.

I went with Hardy Chicago; thanks again for the advice. I ordered it online and received last week. It's been re-potted and fertilized with Alaska Fish Fertilizer. Can anyone point me to a good resource site for overall care and maintenance? I'd like to train it to a tree form but not sure if I should prune it now or just let it be and prune it when it's dormant? I read some info on fertilizer but would love to learn more specifics on type/frequency.

@Ray_Gun My experience with figs are that they don't need that much food! Yes like once in the season with manure; ideally chicken coop manure and that's it. My figs sucker and will continue doing so. Mine are being grown as a multiple trunks shrub. I prefer to keep my trees low so that fruit picking is easy ( this is a world tendency in all types of fruit trees to reduce labour costs). My secondary suckers are as fruit bearing as the main trunks. I keep them watered, on the drier side.
Arturo

@hampartsum, I appreciate the info, thanks Arturo. What I have been able to learn in my research aligns with what you're saying in terms of light feeding. Also, I've been reading you don't want to give them a fert that is too high in nitrogen since you want to encourage fruit production vs. foliage. However, I'm assuming that's more for established trees. I figured tomato-tone would be ideal. I too want to keep mine on the shorter side which is part of the reason I'm keeping it in a container but I was hoping for around 6 - 10' tall? I'm not even sure how realistic that is in my climate and in a container. I came across a youtube video with instructions on pruning to a single trunk tree but I'm not sure if the timing is right considering we're in the middle of summer, temps are in the high 80's/low 90's all week and it's already 'stressed' from travel and re-potting. Do you think I should give it this season to just do it's thing as is and then prune next spring or is it better to prune now while it's young?

Ray potted figs are so much different then in ground trees. You are going to have to root prune your tree yearly to keep it happy and healthy. Stay away from high nitrogen fertilizers and only apply in spring. If you was growing it in ground with the intent of wrapping it in winter I'd say never feterlize it. Lush growth is tender but slow growth is hardy. If your tree jumps up from 12 inches to 6 ft in its first year temps as low as the mid 20's can damage it. Not kill it but set you back where you started. Slow and steady wins the race with northern grown fig trees even those grown in pots. Be sure to keep wherever you are overwintering it at cool and dark so it don't break dormancy and pick all unripened figs from your tree prior to storing it. Good luck and keep us updated

Daniel, make sense. Thanks for the tip on annual root pruning I assumed I'd only be doing that as I potted up and then on a more regular basis once it's in it's largest sized pot. I have no problem being patient I just want to make sure I'm doing everything I should be doing at this stage. My instinct is to leave it be until next spring and then prune it for shape accordingly. I'll be overwintering it in my windowless unheated garage. I thought the unripened figs stay on and become the breba crop but maybe I'm misunderstanding the concept?

I'll be sure to keep you posted and I no doubt will have more questions. I appreciate the advice and well wishes!

@Ray_Gun <<< I too want to keep mine on the shorter side which is part of the reason I'm keeping it in a container but I was hoping for around 6 - 10' tall? >>> I agree The maximum that you might want it to grow is your height plus your arm streched... Eventually a short stool's height add an extra ft. No more.The best brebas are just at the tips and the heighest points... ( After the years wait you don't want to loose them precisely... )
I would stick to Daniel's advice ! I wouldn't fertlize with anything this first season and let it grow...slowly...better. You might want to separate a few suckers eventually already rooted if they appear in the base or make your own extras. Perhaps with your CH variety you might winter them in ground...You must be almost at sea level so you might have enough benign winters there.( I went to grad school on LI in SUNY Stony Brook) so perhaps you learn how to push your zone for this fig variety. I would only try with my own cuttings not the purchase plant though...
Let us know how you fare as the season advances
Arturo

In 7a you can zone push by planting them on the south facing side of a structure like a house, shed, rock outcrop ext. Anything to basicialy stop the northly winds from damaging your tree and absorb heat during the day and transfer it back out at night when the temps get the lowest. Some people that make perfect micro climates for their trees don't even wrap them in 7a but if you want to play it safe keep it in a pot. One thing I will add is let it go dormant when its time. So many new fig growers bring them inside in fall and overwinter them in a sunny window don't do that. It wants to go dormant and you don't want plants that where outside in your home or soon you'll have gnats and whatever else was in the soil in your home. An unheated garage or shed is a good place to store fig trees. Unheated basements and root celers work great also.

Arturo, I'm a 5 minute drive from SUNY Stony Brook; small world! Yes, we have pretty mild winters in general and certainly more so recently then I remember growing up. I went to undergrad at SUNY Buffalo...now those are some harsh winters! Glad to hear my instincts are mostly accurate. I'll just have to research more on best pruning practices to get that desired tree look and the height that I want to maintain. Good thing I enjoy the research.

Daniel, as always great advice. I considered putting it in the ground but I don't have much room on my south facing side of my property. I just put in a 300 square foot rose garden along that fence and what's left I want to keep grass. The south side of my house is the narrower side and I wouldn't be able to enjoy the fig from the patio; it'd be kind of hidden. All in all, based off what I want to achieve and what space I have available container growing is ideal. Good point on not bringing it in too early I guess I wait until the leaves fall off/after the first couple frosts?

THANK YOU BOTH!

<<<I wait until the leaves fall off/after the first couple frosts? >>> in my part leaves start falling off after the first light frosts which it can tolerate. But I would place under cover when there's threat of the lower 20ºF's since its still a very young plant.I would say not lower than 28ºF. Then in should go.
Arturo

I need to move one of my figs to a pot, it was sent to me already too tall, I could barely reach the figs last year, it doesn't espalier properly. The birds got all of my figs. I think when I come back one set of figs would be gone too. Sad. They were green when we left.

Don't dig it up. In ground is where you want your fig tree in your zone. Try cutting it all the way back to the ground then pick a few of the new limbs to espalier. Figs are among the most commonly espalier grown trees. You just have to start from the ground up

SoCalGardenNut said:I need to move one of my figs to a pot, it was sent to me already too tall, I could barely reach the figs last year, it doesn't espalier properly. The birds got all of my figs. I think when I come back one set of figs would be gone too. Sad. They were green when we left.

I have been growing figs for many years. I think I can be of help.

I agree that you should leave the tree in the ground in your zone if at all possible. I do not recommend cutting it to the ground. You could but it's not a good idea in your zone this time of year. Though the tree will likely need to be cut. But not too aggressively during the summer in your zone.

Can you post a picture?
Do you want it to be espaliered?
How tall is the tree and how tall do you want it to be?

thisisme2 said:

I have been growing figs for many years. I think I can be of help.

I agree that you should leave the tree in the ground in your zone if at all possible. I do not recommend cutting it to the ground. You could but it's not a good idea in your zone this time of year. Though the tree will likely need to be cut. But not too aggressively during the summer in your zone.

Can you post a picture?
Do you want it to be espaliered?
How tall is the tree and how tall do you want it to be?

I will cut the tall branch down and espalier from there. But I've heard fig roots are aggressive, that's why I want it to be pot bound. I have other fruit tree there that might not grow. But I certainly don't like to dig up anything, it might be too big and shade up other fruit trees.