Need Pruning Advice

Figneer

Figneer

Member
1st post in this new forum, happy to see familiar names!
I have a 2nd year grafted Robert Golden Rainbow RGR that shot up 4 feet straight, I have few questions on how should I approach pruning it this winter to get max fruits and which one of the questions I should focus on if I cant get all what I am looking for? What would you do?

Q1: how to prune it to get some brebas? 
Q2: how to prune it to get side branches?
Q3: how to prune it to get max figs next season?
Q4: I have few figs just appeared in October, are these brebas? Are they worth keeping over winter?


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@"Figneer"#151. Welcome to our forum. You've landed in exactly the right place to get expert advice. Unfortunately I am not the most experienced member here. I started shaping my cuttings as soon as they hit 2 ft in height. I have been doing this all summer so most of my cuttings were pinched, and shaped already. Let's invite the more knowledgeable members.

@"Oak Fig"#32 is kind of my go-to advisor on pinching shaping, and pruning fig trees. That being said it may be a while before he would respond to this post.@Ktrain @"Figology"#21
@"9ah-figlet"#12 has a very large collection, and is posting today. I would let your Roberts Golden Rainbow. Continue to enjoy that Arizona sunshine so you achieve dormancy in your climate zone. Probably in late December. Then I would cut it back to 20 in, or 2 ft. You'll have some cuttings to give away.

My other suggestion would be to cut it back to that length now, 2 ft length, and let it start branching in the autumn season since it's a long one in Arizona. I have about six trees that I did not pinch in time. Some will finish off at 8 ft a few will finish off over 10 ft tall. I will wait to dormancy, harvest the cuttings, and spread them out to our members. Cutting them at the 2-foot Mark maybe even as low 20 in height. On the other hand this winter will be my first dormancy. While I have been setting and shaping all my fig trees this summer, I am hardly an expert. The good news is we have experts here. I personally would not attempt to build scaffolds at 4 feet of height if your fig trees do not already have lower branches growing. I know you posted a lot of pictures but I couldn't really tell what scaffolds you have going on them.
 
I prune all my in ground trees to 30 inches in order to have them branch from that height. It usually takes 2-3 seasons before I get the shape I want.
I’ll grow 4-5 main branches from one trunk, usually one in each direction. The second level of branches I’ll try to have them grown at an angle between the right angle branches below- this helps with sunlight penetration. 

 I keep the tree pruned to around 48inches which leaves 18 inches for any breba to form and main crop is still reachable after that. 

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@"Figology"#21 
Thank you so much for the feedback and valuable info

@"Figless"#18 thanks for sharing your experience, I will learn from you and other people as well, I have been growing figs for few years and still feel lost sometimes  :)
 
Thanks @"Figless"#18 and welcome to the forum @"Figneer"#151 .

As we’re in such different growing environments, I don’t think any of my pruning advice would apply to you. I prune severely to fit my collection in the garage in winter, and that normally means I don’t get much breba. In general, I try to follow the Japanese pruning techniques where you form 3-5 scaffolds after doing a heading cut at the end of the first season. I do my heading cut high enough that I can stack a pot underneath it in the off season.

@"Figology"#21 is definitely the one to trust. I’m glad to hear that it takes several seasons to get the shape you like—I wasn’t happy with how my scaffolds formed this year (too vertical on the trees that were competing for light) and will likely start over next season on some trees.
 
I would first answer the question of “how do I want the tree / graft to look once mature” and base all decisions off of that.

1 - You can not prune at all to maximize breba this year, but that may be short sighted if you want to have a lower branched mature tree. 

2 - Typically, wherever you prune or pinch, the next nodes down will start branching out and you can start to form your tree. Rub off the branches you don’t want and leave the branches you want to form scaffolds.

3 - I’m still not convinced there is a pruning strategy for max fig production. Some folks with potted trees that have to prune hard for space constraints can get huge growth every season and set figs at every node spaced every few inches. Without pruning or minimal pruning you can achieve the same or similar amount of figs, but spaced closer together. I only prune ingrounds in the Spring to remove any dead wood and will only prune potted trees for shape. In my opinion, it all comes down to tree health and the shape you’re after.

4 - I think they’re just later forming main crop figs. I have some like that I’m hoping will ripen in the next few weeks.
 
@"Figneer"#151    Hey buddy, it has been a long time since I've seen you around.
I'm glad you decided to join here, I missed ya man. :)
Some good advice above so I won't bore you with more....lol
Hope you stick around!
Cheers
 
@"ktrain"#2 Thank you, 😊 agree been quite but I am following the posts especially by you and the “ older by participation” members but haven’t not been posting a lot, need to do better! I am getting older and my laziness is extending to typing a message 😀
Cheers
 
[font='Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Thanks @[/font][font='Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Figless[/font]. Lot's of good advice given above. Our climates and growing preferences are quite different, so I am not sure I can provide specific advice.

A few words on maximizing production. It massively depends on the growing season and growing conditions (heat and light). I head-started some of my trees in February in a grow tent with lot's of intense light and warmth. I then pinched apical buds of the most vigorous branches to slow down vertical growth about 2 months later. The led to branching out and more fruit set. I was quite happy with the production, which was about 15-20 figs per gallon of soil, depending on the variety.

That said, all my trees are potted and headstarted with lots of warmth and intense light. I have a pretty good handle on how to maximize production in my growing conditions but that may not apply to someone else's. Inground trees behave differently too.
 
@"Figneer"#151. Not only is he in ground but he's also grafted. I suppose he would have to make the grafted branch the dominant trunk. Good thing we have you, @"Oak Fig"#32 kfig ,and @"Figology"#21 to help.

BTW almost all my trees are pinched, and pre-shaped for the spring thanks to you.
 
I was going to chime in but good advice already given here as far as the pruning. 

If you have difficulty getting branches where you want them, consider top-notching over the desired nodes. I haven't found a better method to promote branching ob stubborn trees. It's not pretty, but it gets the job done.

@"Figneer"#151   Welcome. Good to hear from you..
 
@"Figless"#18 you make a good point, I already planning of thinning out the many low branches and leave 2-3 to give them better chance of growing as I believe one of the problems I have to many branches on the tree as a whole
 
I suppose too many branches is a better problem to have. Some trees of mine are just so stubborn and just won't branch where I need them.
 
@"TorontoJoe"#1 😀 I have the same issue with the tree even though is not showing in the pictures I have high branches 5 feet high and the ones very low/ suckers and nothing in between. I tried in previous years to notch in the middle but the tree just doesn't want to push branches from the middle , thats I had to use the suckers to graft into them so I know the feeling
 
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@"Figneer"#151 

This was my Exquisito this year... This picture is from July... Not a bad scaffold but it only grew from the tips.... I got a bunch of figs from it... (the raccoons got more) ... but even at the end of the season, nothing budded from the scaffolds.. just the tips... so weird.
 
This Exquisito Only grew from the tips this year and nothing from the nodes on the branches... I still got a bunch of figs... (raccoons got more) but the existing nodes would not shoot.... Next year I need to notch... This picture is from july



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@"TorontoJoe"#1 wow that is weird ! and even the tip growth on the lower scaffolds seems weak. It seems only feeding the high branches
 
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