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Propagating Figs

Fig trees are easy to propagate, and a home planting can be started at very little expense but for most people one tree will be sufficient for a family.. The simplest and easiest method of propagating figs is by stem cuttings from an older bush. Make cuttings in late February or March. The cutting can be 6 to 10 inches long from 1-year-old wood. The upper end should be cut just above a node. Tips and soft growth may not root as easily as more mature shoots.  However, I have rooted all kinds of cuttings. Most cuttings root easily, grow rapidly and make good trees for permanent planting in the fall.
Figs can also be propagated during the growing season by rooting leafy cuttings under mist, or by air layerage.
To make an air layer, a ring of bark ¾ inch wide should be removed from a large twig or small branch. Moist sphagnum moss should be placed over the wounded area and covered with polyethylene film, and the film should be tied at both ends.
Fruiting
If you look for blossoms on your fig tree, you probably won’t find them — they are inside the fruit.
1.Young, vigorous plants and over-fertilized plants will often produce fruit that drops off before maturing. If the plants are excessively vigorous, stop fertilizing them. Quite often, three or four years may pass before the plant matures a crop because most figs have a long juvenile period before producing edible quality fruit. If the distance between the nodes (leaves) on the current season’s shoots is more than 3 inches, the plant is probably excessively vigorous.
2.Dry, hot periods that occur before ripening can cause poor fruit quality. If this is the case, mulching and supplemental watering during dry spells will reduce the problem.
3. The variety Celeste will often drop fruit prematurely in hot weather, regardless of the quality of plant care. However, it is still one of the best varieties.
4. An infestation of root-knot nematodes can intensify the problem when conditions are as described in items 2 and 3 above.
5. I am currently growing a Petite Noir variety that has dark fruit with pink flesh. I obtained in by mail order several years ago as a tiny cutting only a couple of inches high. My intent was to grow it in the greenhouse for a few years, propagate in a few times and then test it for hardiness in the garden. We are in a borderline area here in Albuquerque and although many people have fig trees outside that produce year after year I was not sure whether this variety would do well here. So far it has been fabulous and this year has or is producing two crops. A small one on the old wood and a larger one on this seasons growth.

Soil Preparation and Planting
Soil preparation may include a preplant soil test to determine needed nutrients.  Soil amendments should be added where the figs will be planted, then till the soil. If possible, till at least a 6-foot by 6-foot area where each bush will be planted at least 8 inches deep.
Figs can be grown in the bush form or as a tree. Plant fig trees while they are dormant. In New Mexico, it is best to set them out in spring after danger of hard winter freezes have passed. Container-grown plants can be transplanted later than bare-root plants.
Before planting a bare-root tree, prune about one-third of its top, unless it was topped by the nursery. Container-grown plants can be transplanted without being pruned; just remove them from the container, spread their roots, and set them in the planting hole.
Set trees in the planting hole 4 inches deeper than they were in the nursery to encourage low branching for bush form. Fill the hole with soil; water heavily enough to settle the soil around the roots. Do not apply fertilizer in the hole at planting time as the plant can not use the fertilizer until much later.
In colder climates it may be best to grow the fig as an indoor-outdoor plant in a pot as large as a person can handle. A twelve inch pot will hold a small plant that will produce both a spring and a fall crop if the plant is brought inside before hard freezes occur. The leaves will usually drop and the plant will rest until spring comes. I have had figs remain on the plant and ripen in early spring for an unexpected delight.
One can also wrap a tree in fall with a blanket or with wire netting and fill the netting with dry fallen leaves. This will protect the plant enough from the cold so that any figs that have not ripened because of the cold will ripen once the spring weather arrives.
Varieties
 If you want to try to grow figs in the mountains, select a protected site and try Celeste. In addition, some varieties such as Brown Turkey will produce some figs on the current season’s growth after being killed to the ground by a freeze.

Common Fig Varieties for zone 7

Training and Pruning
Although fig plants can be trained to either tree or bush form, the tree form is not practical for colder climates. In this region, fig plants are frequently frozen back to the ground, making the tree form difficult to maintain.
Bush form is generally recommended for other areas. In the bush form, more of the fruit will be closer to ground level and easier to pick.
Begin training to bush form at the time of planting by cutting off one-third of the young plant. This forces shoots to grow from the base of the plant. Let these shoots grow through the first season. Then, late during the winter after the first growing season, select three to eight vigorous, widely spaced shoots to serve as leaders. Remove all other shoots.
Be sure the leaders you select are far enough apart to grow to 3 to 4 inches in diameter without crowding each other. If they are too close together, the leaders cannot grow thick enough to support themselves and their crop, and they tend to fall over or split off under stress of high winds. If this happens, remove the damaged leader and select a new one late the next winter by choosing one of the many suckers that arise annually.
If more branching is desired, head back the bush each spring beginning the second year after planting, after danger of frost is past but before growth has started. Do this by removing about one-third to one-half the length of the last year’s growth.
Also, prune all dead wood and remove branches that interfere with the leaders’ growth. Cut off low-growing lateral branches and all sucker growth that is not needed to replace broken leaders.
Do not leave bare, unproductive stubs when you prune. These stubs are entry points for wood decay organisms. Make all pruning cuts back to a bud or branch.

Fertilization and Watering
Fertilizing: Fig trees grow satisfactorily in moderately fertile soils with limited fertilizer. But fertilizer is needed in soils of low fertility or where competition from other plants is heavy.
Although nitrogen is usually the only needed plant nutrient, other nutrients may be lacking in some areas. If your soil is not very fertile, follow these general guidelines:
1. Use a fertilizer with an analysis of 8-8-8 or 10-10-10.
2. Apply fertilizer three times a year to bushes you are trying to bring into full production: early spring, mid-May, and mid-July. Mature bushes can be fertilized just once a year in the early spring.
3. Fertilize newly set bushes with about 1½ ounce of fertilizer at each application. Spread the fertilizer evenly over a circle 18" in diameter with the bush in the center. On second-year bushes, increase the amount of fertilizer to 3 ounces at each application and the diameter of the circle to 24".
4. On bushes 3 to 5 years old you are trying to bring into full production, apply ¹/₃ pound per foot of bush height per application. If the fruit are not reaching maturity and ripening properly, excess fertilizer or drought may be the problem; fertilization should be reduced.
5. Mature bushes 6 years and older should be fertilized once a year in early spring. On bushes spaced 10 feet apart, apply ½ pound of fertilizer per foot of height, up to 5 pounds per year. On bushes spaced 20 feet apart, apply 1 pound of fertilizer per foot height, up to 10 pounds per year. Scatter the fertilizer evenly under and around the bush. A satisfactory amount of shoot growth for mature plants is about 1 foot per year.
6. I personally prefer to use natural fertilizers such as compost or collected urea. A mulch of compost each spring around the base of the tree or bush will supply the plant with nutrients for the entire year.
Watering: For highest yields, figs need watering throughout the summer. The frequency and the amount of water depends to a large extent on the soil. As a rule of thumb, 1 to 1½ inches of water per week from rain or irrigation is adequate. Yellowing and dropping of leaves may indicate drought.
In lawns, the grass beneath fig plants may wilt in the heat while the rest of the lawn does not. This indicates the figs need water. Figs grown with lawn grasses may require one or more waterings a week during hot, dry periods.
Mulching: Figs respond well to mulching with organic materials. Mulch may reduce the effects of nematode problems.
Winter injury in figs is directly related to the amount of vigor. A vigorous, fast-growing plant is easily killed by low winter temperatures. If figs are frequently winter injured in your area, halve the fertilization recommendations.
If you are attempting to grow figs near the mountains, limited fertilizer should be applied to make the plants as cold hardy as possible.

Fig Disease
Nematodes
Root-knot nematodes are the leading killer of fig trees. Root-knot shares this honor with cold damage. An on-the-spot diagnosis of root-knot infection is possible. Dig up a few roots and look for the characteristic galling caused by the nematode. There is NO other similar problem in figs.
Root-knot nematode infected fig trees CANNOT be cured with chemical treatment. Pruning the tops to balance with the weakened root system and attentive watering and fertilization may prolong the life of root-knot infected fig trees. Usually, however, they will die sooner or later regardless of the care they receive.
In planting a new fig tree, select a site as far as possible from any old garden sites. Take a nematode sample in this site. If root-knot nematodes are present, do not plant figs.
Rust
Fig rust attacks the leaves, usually in late summer. Severely infected leaves turn yellow-brown and drop. The underside of the fallen leaves will have numerous small, somewhat raised, reddish brown spots. These spots are often covered with a dusty golden-yellow mass of rust spores. Fig rust is usually not fatal, but repeated epidemics will weaken the plant. In any given year, heavy leaf drop from rust will reduce size and quality of the fruit. Gather all infected leaves from the ground under the bushes in the fall and remove them from the area.
Souring
Fig fruit souring is caused by yeasts spread by insects. Souring becomes noticeable as the figs begin to ripen. A souring fig will often show gas bubbles, scummy masses oozing from the eye, or both. These figs will give off an offensive fermented odor. Souring cannot be controlled with chemical sprays. The only control is to grow fig varieties that have a tight or closed eye that prevents insects form entering the fig fruit.
Pink Blight
Pink blight appears as a dirty white to pale pink velvety growth on dying and dead twigs. It usually occurs in the interior of the tree. Remove infected branches and prune the tree to allow good air movement within the tree.
Leaf Blight (Thread Blight)
Leaf blight is another fungus disease that attacks leaves and fruit. Infection may start as a semicircular brown spot at the base of the leaf. Some leaves shrivel and die; others may be covered with brown spots that break out to leave irregular holes. During hot, wet weather, leaves can die and drop very quickly. Dead leaves are often matted together and held to the tree by threadlike strands similar to spider webs.

 02/01/2009
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