Is my fig tree dead?

[Extensionrebellion]

I have a very small fig tree, that has been in a pot. A few weeks ago I planted it in the ground as I'm hoping to espalier it against my wall. However it has still no leaves. Is it too early or has the cold weather killed it?

It is probably just not started growing yet. You can check by scratching the bark with your finger nail. If there is a green layer under the bark, it is still alive.

You can feed it with a liquid feed every two weeks from now to give it a good start.

If you’ve moved it it will take a while to settle - it might be in shock!

It looks green when I scratch it, so hopefully with some tlc it will spring into life soon!

It's too early. You may see a few tiny fruit buds. Larger ones should have been picked off (not too late to do so.)

My figs did better in the ground and the fruits are amazing!

Also VERY easy to take cuttings from.

Mine has no leaves, just buds at the end of the branches

It's early yet for a fig. They take a while to get going at the start of the season.
When you put it in the ground, did you confine the roots?

Mine haven’t budded yet.

No, should I have done?

Yes. You'd usually line the hole you plant it into with old slabs or bricks.

"Left to their own devices, figs (Ficus carica) can grow into large bushy trees, with big hand-shaped leaves that are highly ornamental, bringing a lush, tropical look to gardens. But if you want to maximise cropping, fig trees are best trained as a fan against a sunny wall and their roots restricted in a large container or with paving slabs inserted vertically around the rootball. Limiting their root-spread reduces their vigorous leafy growth and helps them focus on fruit production."

Source

Not too late to do it now. Mine are planted in bed that has concrete lower and is restricting.

You can also root prune from time to time but it's a faff.

Mine need taking right back this year too as getting too tall for me to reach the figs!

Mine need taking right back this year too as getting too tall for me to reach the figs! Worth doing anyway. Figs fruit on new wood, the last 6 inches or so, like in the picture. If you prune a branch back, it will likely produce three or four branches from the cut point, so you get three or four clusters of figs, not just one.

Luckily, fig branches are very bendy. I can pick even the highest of mine standing on a wall and bending the branches down.

Thanks for all your amazing help. My poor little fig has now been uprooted again and planted in a large pot, without a bottom, and buried in the ground. Good news is the roots have clearly grown since I planted it a few weeks ago, so it's definitely alive.

Curious whereabouts you are in the country, OP, if you don’t mind sharing (roughly)? We brought a fig tree with us in a pot when we moved north and I despair of it surviving the winters if we ever plant it outside😥

I'm in the NE and mine do very well on a sunny wall. But I do see a lot around me in back gardens (Newcastle.) so I never feel qualifies for the northern challenge of the peaks, lakes or Northumbria! they don't seem to be too happy in pots here.

Having said that, there used to be an amazing walled garden out on Hadrians wall you could visit and they had figs. Perhaps the walled element?

My intention was to try what they do at sissinghurst, all curly and sculpted but I think you need magical powers. I'm happy with my massive crop from random shapes (half of which is still in the freezer!)

Thanks - I've been experimenting/ observing with them for 25 years from one in a pot which never really did well till in the garden. That's basically now a small tree!

Then I've grown several more from cuttings.

I need to be more organised with the pruning though

I started with one in the centre of the terrace by the house, which did very nicely for several years. Then 20 years ago we needed to replace the porch, and decided to make it slightly larger and put the steps outside not inside - so the fig had to move. Took several cuttings in case the fig didn’t survive the move - that one is now the tree that I pick from on top of a wall. And one of the cuttings is a small tree the other side of the terrace.

I also had a fig that I grew from a cutting given to me by a friend in the Algarve, but it would never develop it’s fruit (I wondered if it needed the wasp for pollination), and finally it succumbed last winter.

I noticed in the Algarve they don’t prune every year, but pollard them every few years, so the branches they take off are at least 10cm dia. I’ve not had the nerve to try that.

@SomePig whereabouts have you moved to?

Ah sorry, I’ve only just seen this, 4 months later! But I hope over the summer everyone’s figs have had a chance to flourish!

I’m in central belt Scotland. Poor fig though, I moved it to a bigger pot which is supposed to be its forever home, and tried to expose the roots for a few days before moving as that sent a fig (in our last place) through the roof in terms of growth. However in my enthusiasm to expose the roots of this little one I think I managed to damage (what I later learnt was) the root ball, which I take it should not be touched, and it hasn’t grown even a jot since it was repotted 😥This morning I saw some tiny curled fronds where I hadn’t before, so I am hopeful my stupidity won’t have killed it for good.

Anyone here with experience of repotting/disturbing the root ball?

My little tree now has about 15 leaves having looked like it wasn't doing anything, so there is still hope!

Can I revive this thread in the hope of getting some advice? I'm very much a beginner with these things, and would really appreciate some help!

I have two Brown Turkey figs in pots which I keep in a glasshouse over winter on my allotment and then bring out in spring: have had both a couple of years. Once was damaged by something falling on it the first year, which broke a branch.

One is OK, seems to be getting more 'bushy' with some new growth (still has figs on it from late last year, didn't have the heart to remove them..!).

The other (splatted one) just has two long shoots, about 4-5 feet in length, with buds on the end, one of which does have a side shoot starting to appear. Picture a spindly 'V' for victory (well, I think it means it the other way around tbh).

I have been a pruning wimp. What should I be doing with them? I have looked at the RHS site but it doesn't quite make sense when compared to what I actually have, especially the insolent spindly one. My location is East Coast central Scotland, if that affects things? Thanks in advance!

No advice for you @MrsGhastlyCrumb but I think we’re both trying to grow figs in the same bit of the country😀so will be interested to compare notes once the weather gets warmer, as mine is also a Brown Turkey. I put a double fleece bag around it for winter as the pot it’s in is far too heavy to move into the greenhouse. Crossing my fingers it will survive!

Definitely, @SomePig!
Any gardening gurus out there happy to share their wisdom..?

No wisdom, but answering because no-one else has

Don’t leave it much longer before pruning, ie before end Mar. Since you have two, I would try pruning the two branches on the V shaped one quite hard. You could try using the cut branches as cuttings and end up with four trees. Or three if the pruned one dies. Would be safer to cut one branch this year and the other the next.

Figs produce fruits at the ends of branches, so you want as many branches as possible.

Do refer to online fig pruning guides, my fig pruning is guided entirely on whether I can still reach this branch when standing on the wall. This one is interesting

Brilliant- that actually helps quite a lot. Thank you!

Ideally all the previous buds should be removed asap (in this country) - certainly on a younger fig

I can't reach mine this year though and actually don't mind if I don't have as many figs as I couldn't keep up with them last year!