Fig trees making zero or only a couple figs after 3 to 4 years.

W

Woodlot

Member
After 4 years of planting fig trees started by various means and watching over them closely, I now have 8 trees planted in the ground. One was planted in ground 4 years ago, 3 planted in ground 3 years ago, and 2 planted in ground last year.

Judging by the size and health of these trees, and what I've read about how soon fig trees bear fruit, I would have expected more than 6 or 7 figs total production from all these trees.

One tree is 8 feet tall, one is 7 feet tall, two are about five feet tall and two are about three feet tall.

All of these trees set one or two fruit when they were young cuttings still in the pots.

But the last two years, all trees combined have produced less than 10 figs in total.

They get more than 6 hours direct sunlight per day and are growing in a rich dark sandy loam in which no crops have been grown in more than 50 years.

After seeing online photos of smaller trees loaded with figs growing in pots, I am concerned that waiting for my trees to mature enough to produce more fruit is a mistake. I just don't want to go through another year without a reasonable yield.

Am I missing something?

Thanks for your thoughts.
 
I remember my Inchario Preto I put in ground at my old house in San Diego took a couple years to produce. It focused on building a solid foundation first, but then was my most productive tree.
 
Woodlot said:
After 4 years of planting fig trees started by various means and watching over them closely, I now have 8 trees planted in the ground. One was planted in ground 4 years ago, 3 planted in ground 3 years ago, and 2 planted in ground last year.

Judging by the size and health of these trees, and what I've read about how soon fig trees bear fruit, I would have expected more than 6 or 7 figs total production from all these trees.

One tree is 8 feet tall, one is 7 feet tall, two are about five feet tall and two are about three feet tall.

All of these trees set one or two fruit when they were young cuttings still in the pots.

But the last two years, all trees combined have produced less than 10 figs in total.

They get more than 6 hours direct sunlight per day and are growing in a rich dark sandy loam in which no crops have been grown in more than 50 years.

After seeing online photos of smaller trees loaded with figs growing in pots, I am concerned that waiting for my trees to mature enough to produce more fruit is a mistake. I just don't want to go through another year without a reasonable yield.

Am I missing something?

Thanks for your thoughts.
Click to expand...
My husband is a barber and one of his customers told us he has a Brown Turkey tree that’s 10 years old and never produced any figs. He got his tree from a cutting off his mother’s tree which produces tons of figs. Now that’s a mind boggler. Last week he came in for a haircut and I gifed him a rooted LSU Gold and some Cuccidati cookies. He always brings us things every time he comes for a haircut not to mention he’s an hour ride to get to our house (we have our shop at our home). We wanted to show him we appreciate his kindness and loyalty. He and his wife were so happy. Here’s a picture of him and his wife

IMG_2145.jpeg
 
Some varieties are more prone to low fruit production. Zaffiro and Smith are like that for me. Nothing. It doesn't matter what I do or dont do.

Most varieties i have respond to moderate stress by producing significant fruit. Lower water, high heat, lots of sun during may and June will help.

Your soil could have too much nitrogen. It could have too much water. The varieties could need more heat to set more fruit. They could be stuck in a hormonal rhythm of high vegetative growth. Dying to the ground? Too much pruning can signal the trees to keep growing stems. Some varieties are very sensitive to hormonal changes
 
It is a little late in the season to add anything now. But early next year after last frost I would add manure as Tom said. Start about a foot from the trunk and go out about three foot in a circle around the tree. Depending on the size of the tree the circle may need to be smaller or larger. Mulch that in and see if that helps. I would also check the roots just to be sure there is no RKN.
 
Lot’s of excellent advice above.

Too much nitrogen could very much be the cause but for me, learning how much of a factor micro nutrients…. Especially calcium and iron play in setting lots of figs was a game-changer. Things like bone and feather meal are a good way to achieve this. I’ve been using CalMag with much success. It’s immediately available to the plants.

There is one product that I would absolutely love to try but I can’t get it in Canada. (Hint-hint). By the formulation I think it would be outstanding



.
 
After coming close to cutting down the first tree down last summer when it was 7 feet tall, I stumbled upon a parable in the bible. Roughly paraphrazing, it goes like this:
The master of an orchard noticed a fig tree had not bear fruit, so he told his servant to cut it down. The servant said, master, let's dung it and see if it bears fruit next year, and if it does not, then cut it down.

So I acquired about 150 pounds of well cured manure from the dairy where I get my milk, and spread it around the base of the tree that I almost cut down, as well as 3 other fig trees and a few blueberry bushes.

This year, the tree made 5 figs, all of them falling off but one which ripened.

I do not like using chemical fertilizer on my plants and had not used any at all until a month ago when I realized that most, maybe even all those having great success with figs on youtube were using various chemical fertilizers. So the first strong dose of nitrogem my trees got was the manure I spread late last winter.

Instead of store bought fertilizers, I compost with a compost tea brewed in a large 50 gallin bin, and mulch with compost.

I also applied half a cup of pulverized limestone to each tree two years ago since many fig growers online say calcium is a requirement for fig production.

But there is some contradiction online about what PH figs prefer, some sources saying slightly acidic, some saying slightly alkaline. Further, some people use oyster shell saying it provides calcium without raising Ph, with which I do not agree. Oyster shell may release less calcium and slower, but it will increase Ph.

That said, any calcium will increase alkalinity, and since my soil is naturally 6.5, I can't get away with using much lime or oyster shell, regardless if figs prefer slightly acidic or slightly alkaline.

I must say that I do suspect some kind of mineral deficiency is preventing fruiting. But I grow blueberries, asparagus, potatoes, tomatoes, and various other crops with mo apparent deficiency, and have only applied compost, compost tea, deciduous tree leaf mulch, pulverized limestone and a bit of wood ash to raise ph for plants ghat prefer neutral of slightly alkaline soil.

I will leave it at that for now since I hsve chores to do.

Thank you all for considering!!!
 
Woodlot said:
After coming close to cutting down the first tree down last summer when it was 7 feet tall, I stumbled upon a parable in the bible. Roughly paraphrazing, it goes like this:
The master of an orchard noticed a fig tree had not bear fruit, so he told his servant to cut it down. The servant said, master, let's dung it and see if it bears fruit next year, and if it does not, then cut it down.

So I acquired about 150 pounds of well cured manure from the dairy where I get my milk, and spread it around the base of the tree that I almost cut down, as well as 3 other fig trees and a few blueberry bushes.

This year, the tree made 5 figs, all of them falling off but one which ripened.

I do not like using chemical fertilizer on my plants and had not used any at all until a month ago when I realized that most, maybe even all those having great success with figs on youtube were using various chemical fertilizers. So the first strong dose of nitrogem my trees got was the manure I spread late last winter.

Instead of store bought fertilizers, I compost with a compost tea brewed in a large 50 gallin bin, and mulch with compost.

I also applied half a cup of pulverized limestone to each tree two years ago since many fig growers online say calcium is a requirement for fig production.

But there is some contradiction online about what PH figs prefer, some sources saying slightly acidic, some saying slightly alkaline. Further, some people use oyster shell saying it provides calcium without raising Ph, with which I do not agree. Oyster shell may release less calcium and slower, but it will increase Ph.

That said, any calcium will increase alkalinity, and since my soil is naturally 6.5, I can't get away with using much lime or oyster shell, regardless if figs prefer slightly acidic or slightly alkaline.

I must say that I do suspect some kind of mineral deficiency is preventing fruiting. But I grow blueberries, asparagus, potatoes, tomatoes, and various other crops with mo apparent deficiency, and have only applied compost, compost tea, deciduous tree leaf mulch, pulverized limestone and a bit of wood ash to raise ph for plants ghat prefer neutral of slightly alkaline soil.

I will leave it at that for now since I hsve chores to do.

Thank you all for considering!!!
Click to expand...
Just be careful when buying manure. Ask the person if their animals eat anything that was sprayed with Grazon. It’s a chemical that farmers spray on their fields to prevent insects from eating it but once they animals eat it it’s then in their poop and when you apply it on your plants it will kill them.
 
Your growing conditions seem to be more than adequate to harvest more than a few figs per year. Can you post photos of the trees and growing location? A 7’ single stem whip 1/2” diameter is much different than a 7’ multi branched tree 2” in diameter.
 
PS I purchased bone meal a month ago to make sure there isn't a phosphorous deficiency, but the season is too far gone to use it this year. I plan on applying a liberal amount in late February along with some epsom salt to make sure I'm not being impeded with a magnesium deficiency.

I don't know a lot about figs ability to uptake iron, but I live in Georgia and my understanding is that iron gives the subsoil its yellowish or reddish color and is suspected by some of being the culprit behind high rates of kidney stones here. I do know that men should avoid consumption of iron in the diet, especially nutritional supplements that contain iron, because it accumulates to toxic levels. But that has nothing to do with fig production except that I don't want to eat iron rich figs. LOL.
 
I agree 100% with the need to be careful of the source for manure.

The manure I used is positively free of any herbicide or other toxins as it came from an organic farmer/homesteader who has only 5 pet cows and uses the manure on all his wonderful gardens.
 
TorontoJoe said:
Lot’s of excellent advice above.

Too much nitrogen could very much be the cause but for me, learning how much of a factor micro nutrients…. Especially calcium and iron play in setting lots of figs was a game-changer. Things like bone and feather meal are a good way to achieve this. I’ve been using CalMag with much success. It’s immediately available to the plants.

There is one product that I would absolutely love to try but I can’t get it in Canada. (Hint-hint). By the formulation I think it would be outstanding



.
Click to expand...
I got you
 
Before applying anything other than a balanced organic fertilizer or compost, you’d be better off getting a soil test done. UGA offers soil analysis at a good price.

extension.uga.edu

Soil Testing for Home Lawns, Gardens and Wildlife Food Plots

Developing and maintaining productive soils begin with soil testing. Soils tests provide information on the soil's actual nutrient status. Test results are used to determine the amount and kind of nutrients that should be added for the best growth of lawn, garden, and other types of plants.
extension.uga.edu extension.uga.edu

 
Lots of stuff to consider in the article called Fig Tree Not Fruiting at thefigjam.com.

Thank you!

Except for boron, copper and manganese, I have much of it covered.

The only pruning I have ever done is:
1.cut off the terminal bud from two fast growing shoots that were getting past 6 feet tall. I did so because I don't want to have to climb a ladder to pick figs, and
2.remove about 1/4 of the terminal buds off the 4 year old tree in Mid June this year in an effort to stimulate fig production as was suggested by one online fig grower. That didn't seem to have any effect.

I just went out in the rain tk geg a few photos. Will be trying to upload them so you can see them.

Oh, one more thing.
I have no idea what kind of figs I'm growing.
Since producing lots of fruit with as maintanance free farming as possible, I decided to propagate completely neglected fig trees that are growing very successfully in my local area.

I would have liked to try LSU Gold but at this point, I think I have enough trees.

Photos to follow, I hope!
 
The 4 year old tree.
I realize there is competition for nutrients with this tree, but there is a 6 inch mulch of weeds at its base accumulated as I occasionally pull out the competing vegitation. It didn't look that bad two months ago.

The tall plants are common milkweed and a young native persimmon.
 

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This is a 3 and a half year old tree.
It is unrelated to any other trees I have, but like my oldest tree, it kept a single trunk form all on its own.
It is 7 feet tall and produced 3 figs this year.
 

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