They can get large in our zone, and they do sucker.

@SoCalGardenNut .A well fruiting fig tree grew in the center of where aunt Maria kept her 7 laying hens when I was just a child....a VERY long time ago. It was in one of the corners of her yard in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. I suppose that it could be considered zone 10 a or perhaps slightly warmer even. The fig tree only received chicken poop underneath and covered the full area of 6x6 sq ft. In winter it lost its leaves. My aunt would prune it lightly and kept within the perimeter of the hen enclosure. Outside a grapefruit tree and an navel orange tree grew as well. I never noticed that my aunt felt competition with these other fruit trees. Nor that the fig tree had very aggresive roots. We had our fill with brebas by Xmas and later she would show up with delicious fig preserves made in February of the main crop. She did prune always short. That is the highest breba ought to be reached from a simple stool. That fig tree stayed alive for many decades until Aunt Maria passed away...
Arturo

I might not move them, but I might prune them back to my height. The position where this fig tree is, it's competing with my neighbors hedge, that's why I planted the fruit tree there in the first place. But I have 6 fig trees total and two are espaliered on the fence. 4 are in containers. I will have plenty of figs. Fig preserve is my favorite, I buy them around Christmas and to serve with Brie and crackers.

What 6 do you grow? Let me take a guess since you are in SoCal. kodota, VDB, claiforina brown turkey, alma, excell, and black mission? If you are looking for a great fig for preserves you should try Atreano if you don't already have it. It's not the best for fresh eating but it's mild flavor makes it prfect for preseves. If you grow black mission you should try it on some pizza with goat cheese. There are plenty of recipes online, you won't be disappointed

VDB, Brown Fig, Tiger Panache, Black mission, Peter's honey, and maybe Desert King.

good list. I love a nice ripe Peter's honey

ctcarol said:They can get large in our zone, and they do sucker.

Keeping the area under the tree covered in bark or really anything that shades the roots will limit the sucking. If any part of the root is hit by sunlight they will sucker. When they do sucker it's best to cut them off below ground and cover the area again.

SoCalGardenNut said:I might not move them, but I might prune them back to my height. The position where this fig tree is, it's competing with my neighbors hedge, that's why I planted the fruit tree there in the first place. But I have 6 fig trees total and two are espaliered on the fence. 4 are in containers. I will have plenty of figs. Fig preserve is my favorite, I buy them around Christmas and to serve with Brie and crackers.

IIn zone 9a or higher. Any major pruning should be done when the tree is dormant. Figs are vigorous and can be pruned any time of year once established. But you should not prune off more than 1/3 of the trees mass in your zone when it is not dormant.

If you want it too all be at a height that is easy to pick. If there are no branches at the height you desire. When it is dormant in the winter. Cut the tree off to a height of 18"-24". When it comes out of dormancy the following year. Don't give it any fertilizer until it has a flush of new growth. But only give it a half dose or you run the risk of burning the leaves.

thisisme2 said:

IIn zone 9a or higher. Any major pruning should be done when the tree is dormant. Figs are vigorous and can be pruned any time of year once established. But you should not prune off more than 1/3 of the trees mass in your zone when it is not dormant.

If you want it too all be at a height that is easy to pick. If there are no branches at the height you desire. When it is dormant in the winter. Cut the tree off to a height of 18"-24". When it comes out of dormancy the following year. Don't give it any fertilizer until it has a flush of new growth. But only give it a half dose or you run the risk of burning the leaves.

I'm waiting after this fruiting season to prune it.

I know you are tired of getting advice but if you make any big cuts be sure to hit them with some pruning sealer.

We had trouble keeping fig trees in the ground here in our zone 7b. They wouldn't make it over our cold winters. That was until we read that they do better close to the house or near a cement patio where the roots will be better protected.

We planted these two fig trees near a patio several years ago and they are thriving! Last year dh had to prune one of them way back (the one on the left) because it had grown so tall. I don't remember when that was done, I think after it fruited the second time, late summer or early autumn. Now we can reach most of the fruit or at least pull the branches down to get to them.

Brown Turkey figs



They're fruiting like crazy right now.

Is your Brown turkey figs brownish purple or tan when ripe?

They don't get real dark. I only know they are ripe by the way they droop. And I can't leave them too long or all the critters will get them.

This one looks ready.


Four quarts of fig preserves were made yesterday and there's at least that many more ready today.

Great looking harvest
I'm not sure if its just the photo or what but the figs in the first pic look like Celeste but the ones in the bowl with the purple ribs is BT without a doubt. Do the figs look the same on both trees or does one produce slightly smaller figs with a sweeter flavor?

I found some pictures of my fig trees.
This is a dark brown fig, it's ripened up to a dark brown. It's in container but doing really well.





This is the fig tree I want to cut down, you can see it's in the middle of the pergola, reaches higher up. This is the one I want to cut to my height. But it has to reach higher for light. Its roots are well in the shade, plus it's near a wall.






This one is to the left of the previous fig tree, it's doing quite well, I should be able to tying down to my level, no pruning is necessary.






Anyway, I'm off to some river rafting. Wish me luck.

Lookin' good, SoCal.

Daniel, it might just be the lighting in that first picture, I just took it and the sun was hitting. Both trees are about the same in flavor, I think. Although one tree is much larger than the other. I just figure it's because the bigger one gets a little more sun than the smaller.

I went to the farmers market and all the black mission figs were all gone. Selling like hot cakes. That made me think I need to grow one. It's going to be on my list to purchase next year.