Recovering from Shock

[paupau]

My Aunt and Uncle surprised me with a very mature fig tree that they were removing from their yard.

They dug it out a few days ago and kept it in a large container with regular potting mix. I drove out yesterday and picked it up. The leaves were all wilted but the green new growth was still firm. First Pic is what it looked like when they dug it out.

It was a 3ish hour trip across NC and I had to lay it down in the back of my dad's truck and so any leaves thay stuck out on top of the tail gate pretty much got shredded. Surprisingly most of the leaves still stayed attached instead of flying off which I took as a good sign.

What should I do to help rehabilitate the tree? 2nd Pic is what it looks like now.

 

[ktrain]

Definitely keep it in shade and watered.
I usually tie a heavy trash bag around the branches when trasporting openly. (ie truck bed)
It should bounce back...maybe trimming a couple of the smaller braches off too since some of the root mass is gone.
But....not too much, it will cause a bit of stress too.

 

[ChicagoFigs]

Yikes!

Def keep it out of direct sunlight for now let it recover, keep it watered as in moist but not swampy wet either. and patience.

 

[Poplee]

Definitely keep it in shade and watered.
I usually tie a heavy trash bag around the branches when trasporting openly. (ie truck bed)
It should bounce back...maybe trimming a couple of the smaller braches off too since some of the root mass is gone.
But....not too much, it will cause a bit of stress too.

What I did once to haul 15 gallon fig to our son was use a washing machine box to enclose in truck. Strap pot behind cab then cut slit on each side of box for those straps and turn upside down over fig. Another strap over box and should be zero damage.

 

[ktrain]

What I did once to haul 15 gallon fig to our son was use a washing machine box to enclose in truck. Strap pot behind cab then cut slit on each side of box for those straps and turn upside down over fig. Another strap over box and should be zero damage.

Sometimes you just have to get creative.

 

[Poplee]

Sometimes you just have to get creative.

And cheap! Cheap always works for me

 

[Figgin' A]

while digging that tree out a lot of feeder roots were severed and left in the ground. The current root ball looks too small compared to the canopy and likely won’t be able to support it until those roots grow back out. To keep that tree in balance and healthy, the canopy needs to be reduced proportionately.

 

[paupau]

while digging that tree out a lot of feeder roots were severed and left in the ground. The current root ball looks too small compared to the canopy and likely won’t be able to support it until those roots grow back out. To keep that tree in balance and healthy, the canopy needs to be reduced proportionately.

Should I do that now or after it shows signs of bouncing back?

 

[Figgin' A]

Should I do that now or after it shows signs of bouncing back?

Normally, you want to remove a similar percentage of the canopy as you did of the root system right away to minimize shock. I would do it asap. This tree won't have enough roots to support that big canopy. I doubt it will bounce back entirely. I'd expect some limbs to die off. But if it does, well, no need to prune... though unlikely.

 

[BruceB]

And cheap! Cheap always works for me

I prefer to think of it as frugal!

 

[paupau]

How's this?

 

[paupau]

How's this?
View attachment 22713

 

[Kompakfigs]

You might need to be more extreme. 2 years ago, I bought a large RLBV from a SC grower who had dug it up to install a french drain. She pruned it heavily to reduce the shock but it died due to my inexperience dealing with it.

 

[paupau]

You might need to be more extreme. 2 years ago, I bought a large RLBV from a SC grower who had dug it up to install a french drain. She pruned it heavily to reduce the shock but it died due to my inexperience dealing with it.

Oh! I guess i should also probably try to start some fig pops from the cuttings as insurance too?

 

[paupau]

You might need to be more extreme. 2 years ago, I bought a large RLBV from a SC grower who had dug it up to install a french drain. She pruned it heavily to reduce the shock but it died due to my inexperience dealing with it.

Also how long did it take for yours to die? It's been a full 8 days since mine has been out of the ground.

 

[Kompakfigs]

A full growing season.

 

[paupau]

Ok my plan is to put it in a raised spot on the ground once it has recovered. Hopefully that happens soon enough that it can send some new roots into the ground

 

[paupau]

alright i've reduced it further and i planted 9 of the thickest cuttings in various spots in my garden. still have a bunch of wood left not sure if i'll do anything with it at this point. they all were still green when scratched so probably should take off as long as i'm not as unlucky with them as i was with my superbowl figs

 

[4evercurious]

Definitely keep it in shade and watered.
I usually tie a heavy trash bag around the branches when trasporting openly. (ie truck bed)
It should bounce back...maybe trimming a couple of the smaller braches off too since some of the root mass is gone.
But....not too much, it will cause a bit of stress to

My Aunt and Uncle surprised me with a very mature fig tree that they were removing from their yard.

They dug it out a few days ago and kept it in a large container with regular potting mix. I drove out yesterday and picked it up. The leaves were all wilted but the green new growth was still firm. First Pic is what it looked like when they dug it out.

It was a 3ish hour trip across NC and I had to lay it down in the back of my dad's truck and so any leaves thay stuck out on top of the tail gate pretty much got shredded. Surprisingly most of the leaves still stayed attached instead of flying off which I took as a good sign.

What should I do to help rehabilitate the tree? 2nd Pic is what it looks like now.

Definitely agree with a lot of the advice given. Nothing to add, but wishing you luck that the tree lives.

 

[paupau]

alright i've reduced it further and i planted 9 of the thickest cuttings in various spots in my garden. still have a bunch of wood left not sure if i'll do anything with it at this point. they all were still green when scratched so probably should take off as long as i'm not as unlucky with them as i was with my superbowl figs

Fig YOLO for the leftovers lolol