Old Wives Tales or Stubborn Opinions on Fig Growing

bushdoctor82

bushdoctor82

Well-known member
What are some of your opinions on fig growing that you won’t budge on? Here’s a few of mine - there’s nuance and some logic to many of them, but I just left them as statements for now.
  • Better to uppot too early than too late
  • Fig roots aren’t as delicate as frequently stated
  • Grafted trees benefit the seller, not the buyer
  • No fig tastes like baked goods or alcoholic beverages
  • Cold hardy means above ground wood surviving Winter unprotected
  • Never prune inground trees before Winter
  • Better to have fewer trees than too many
 
  • In ground tree require less maintenance than potted trees.
  • Up pot incrementally i.e. figpop to 1 gal to 5 gal to, etc.
  • Organic gardening is as effective as standard gardening
  • Are expensive varieties better tasting than inexpensive varieties.
 
  • Does washing and sanitizing cuttings prevent cutting propagation failure
  • Does scoring cuttings hasten speedy rooting
  • Is ProMix HP the best soil to use for propagation
  • Is too much aeration in a potting mix that beneficial.
 
bushdoctor82 said:
What are some of your opinions on fig growing that you won’t budge on? Here’s a few of mine - there’s nuance and some logic to many of them, but I just left them as statements for now.
  • Better to uppot too early than too late
  • Fig roots aren’t as delicate as frequently stated
  • Grafted trees benefit the seller, not the buyer
  • No fig tastes like baked goods or alcoholic beverages
  • Cold hardy means above ground wood surviving Winter unprotected
  • Never prune inground trees before Winter
  • Better to have fewer trees than too many
Click to expand...

Great topic. I'm new and have seen so many successful growers that do things exactly opposite from other successful growers.

I'd like to hear more of your thoughts about pruning inground before winter. The guy I got my CH cuttings from prunes before the winter. He leaves trunks less than a foot tall and then covers them with straw. He's done it this way for years and has hundreds of figs.
 
-Growers don't feed or provide a large enough container volume for their potted figs and then complain about production or talk ill on the variety.
I have a few issues with some of the blanket statements above. Each situation is different and each situation merits its own solution.
Such as the pruning of inground before winter, well how about if the grower wants to winter protect and the tree is 15ft tall. Im going to prune it down to do a better job of the winter protection.
 
DCallahan said:
-Growers don't feed or provide a large enough container volume for their potted figs and then complain about production or talk ill on the variety.
I have a few issues with some of the blanket statements above. Each situation is different and each situation merits its own solution.
Such as the pruning of inground before winter, well how about if the grower wants to winter protect and the tree is 15ft tall. Im going to prune it down to do a better job of the winter protection.
Click to expand...
They don’t like breba crops? I truly don’t understand that practice. If a tree is that old, I would imagine it’s already cold tolerant.
 
ohiobruce said:
Great topic. I'm new and have seen so many successful growers that do things exactly opposite from other successful growers.

I'd like to hear more of your thoughts about pruning inground before winter. The guy I got my CH cuttings from prunes before the winter. He leaves trunks less than a foot tall and then covers them with straw. He's done it this way for years and has hundreds of figs.
Click to expand...
@ohiobruce @DCallahan

That statement is dealing with unprotected inground trees. The thought process is pruning will leave an open, uncallused wound on the tree leaving it prone to more damage from cold and desiccation. If covered or sheltered in any way, it’s a moot point.

Maybe just an old wives tale, some level of credence or just wrong, it’s my stubborn belief. I’ll probably be chopping down a bunch of unpruned dead trees next month due to said belief.
 
PAINTING A THICK COAT OF ASPHALT EMULSION ON PRUNED FIG CUTTS /STUMPS PREVENTS A LOT OF DIE BACK AND OTHER TREE WEAKINING PROBLEMS . PLUS CUTTING THEAVES DO NOT SEAL THERE HANDY WORK SO CUT WOOD SHOWS UP LIKE A LIGHT COLORED BEACON !!!! ON ANOTHER NOTE: FERMENTED FIGS O FTEN TASTE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN ALCAHOLE (sp) .
 
Fig Gazer said:
PAINTING A THICK COAT OF ASPHALT EMULSION ON PRUNED FIG CUTTS /STUMPS PREVENTS A LOT OF DIE BACK AND OTHER TREE WEAKINING PROBLEMS . PLUS CUTTING THEAVES DO NOT SEAL THERE HANDY WORK SO CUT WOOD SHOWS UP LIKE A LIGHT COLORED BEACON !!!! ON ANOTHER NOTE: FERMENTED FIGS O FTEN TASTE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN ALCAHOLE (sp) .
Click to expand...
This is a great example. There are strong opinions on both sides of the aisle.

Touché on the fermented figs point.
 
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