Pruning Figs In Georgia

W

Woodlot

Active member
Will any type of fig tree produce a crop the first season after being cut back to just above the ground in North Georgia?

There seems to be a lot of advantages with this agressive type of pruning; less winter damage of branches, lower fruit for easier picking, easier to apply heavy mulch to protect from potentially deadly extreme cold, more branches originating near ground for possible increased fig production...

Also, i see that many fig growers are pruning back figs in fall or winter. If I follow this schedule, I would have to protect any branches used for cuttings during the winter up until they are potted. Since the cuttings I took in May this Spring did so well without concern for storing them before temperatures get warm enough, I'm considering waiting to do my heavy pruning as soon as the buds begin to open in Spring. Is there a problem with waiting until spring.

Thank you for any advice!!
 
How risk averse are you and how much effort are you willing to expend?

The least amount of effort would be do nothing and roll the dice for a mild Winter. Pros are no work required, aesthetically pleasing tree to your liking and normal fruit set. Cons are possible dead tree with no backups. I fall into this category with most of my trees.

The moderate amount of effort would be to prune in Fall to +/- 1’ above ground and mulch heavy. Store or root cuttings over Winter as backup. Your harvest may be delayed a bit. Lots of folks take this route with success. Pros are it’s easy/quick and you have backups if things go awry. Cons would be the potential of a delayed harvest and possible unwanted growth.

The most amount of effort would be to wrap the entire tree then prune for cuttings or shape in Spring. Pros are an aesthetically pleasing tree to your liking and normal fruit set. Cons are work/materials required to complete and you don’t have backups if things go awry. I also wrap a few trees.

There’s always a way to meet your goals. You can always combine methods above not heavy prune, take some cuttings as backups and mulch heavy the first +/- 1’ of tree. In this scenario, if you get the mild Winter, you’re golden - if you get a bad Winter, you still have backups and the lower trunk protected.

Anecdotally, my Etnas that suffered Winter dieback close to the ground will be delayed a few weeks, but I’ll still get a full harvest. My RdB suffered severe frost cracks last Spring and had to be pruned back to ground and failed to produce last year.

I’m sure I missed a lot here, but the Georgia folks will have better recommendations and information on Winter hardiness.
 
I think you’re always going to be better of if you keep some budding wood… but that means more winter protection.

I could offer all sorts of recommendations but I think you’ll get better advice from our distinguished North Georgia District Fig Representative, @ktrain
 
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