Fig Trees - Planting Fig Tree Cuttings

"I got some trees. I was planting some trees. I did a crazy thing. I planted some fig trees, and I didn’t know fig trees take two trees. Male and female trees. I didn’t know that. I was planting fig trees and every water hole I’d go plant one tree, and I figured one fig tree at this water hole would be just right for the water hole, but then I come to jail, I looked in the book and find out man you got to have two fig trees to have fruit. So, I got a whole bunch of water holes out there with one fig tree planted. I wanted to get back out and put the uh, plant the other side of that. Put the other trees out. I like working in the dirt. I like farm work. I like growing things. Gardens and things like that. I like Earth things. Earth things I like. I’d probably get back down on the ground and walk around."

Charles Manson

"There is a special joy about being with figs because they are so ancient and so patient. They will be the last plant to leaf or fig in the spring. So do not be surprised if a month or two or five passes and then suddenly they leaf out.

Fig fact! Every leaf from every different variety of fig tree is different, like snowflakes.

Figs are the great teachers of patience. While i am referred to as a fig expert, it is clear the fig is the expert. I get to water and propagate them and be in their 60,000,000-year-old presence."

-Lloyd Kreitzer-

Experience And Knowledge:

• Soil - Fig trees aren't too particular and can grow in just about any type of soil, but grow fast in loose, fertile, slightly sandy soil. They prefer basic soils but manage to adapt very well in acidic soils. 
• Since their root system spreads, the working of the soil, if done at all, should only be on the surface.
• The new year's growth may freeze in temps under 12 degrees Celsius. Under 16-17 degrees Celsius the mix of new and old growth may be destroyed, but the root system is generally not affected, and the tree will put out new shoots the following year. Fig trees love sunny exposures. If winters are very cold and freezes can occur late in the spring, either a unifere or bifere species that has an early autumn production is necessary. The geographic location and the nature of the soil can affect the rapidity of the growth and the amount of its fruit.
• The fig tree mostly requires potassium (for healthy root growth) but does not need much nitrogen fertilizer, which tends to cause over development of the vegetation, and underdevelopment of the fruit.
• In well-balanced soil one should use a fertilizer such as 4-8-12, or 10-20-25 which means (N-Nitrogen/P-Phosphorous/K-Potassium such as 1-2-3 or 1-2-2.5).
• In poor soil, compost with pure potassium added in the form of potassium sulfate or patentkali is preferred. Patentkali is a highly concentrated complex fertilizer with potassium, sulfur and magnesium. 
• Bone meal or compost fertilizers work best, but animal fertilizers need to be aged and devoid of salts from urine and feces to avoid burning the leaves - if you see yellow spots on your leaves, you know you have burning from too much salt. Also, the leaves will turn yellow during the fall when the plant goes dormant and loses its foliage - in Arizona that can be anywhere from November (in early cases where the plant is in a shallow pot or for small cuttings with virtually no established roots) to February when we reach our first frosts here in AZ. Less varieties grow in AZ, only three varieties do well here and are drought and frost tolerant.
• Fertilizer must be added at the end of winter. 
• When designing and planting your garden, you need to know whether the soil is acid or alkaline, as different plants thrive in different soils. The soil pH is a number that describes how alkaline or acidic your soil is. A pH of 7.0 is considered neutral. An acid soil has a pH value below 7.0 and above 7.0 the soil is alkaline.

How to Test Soil pH:

• You can test your soil yourself using a DIY kit widely available at garden centers. These kits are relatively cheap and easy to use and give a good indication of soil pH. 

Water:

• Because of its well-developed root system, the fig can stand very dry conditions. Be careful that fig trees planted on lawns don't get too much water from sprinklers. Too much water results in watered down figs and drier soil produces better tasting figs. 
• Water every day when temperatures are around or above 80-90 degrees.
• If the plant is going dormant and does not need as much water to support the leaves you can water once a week.

Variety, Size & Cuttings:

• The fig tree grows naturally like a bush. This keeps the branches of the tree low, allowing easy gathering of fruit and the renewing of the old master branches, thanks to the sprouts. With appropriate pruning one can give the tree a goblet shape with a single trunk. To do this one must regularly remove the sprouts from the base. 
• Because the wood is tender and hollow and because it's difficult to repair cuts, pruning must be done in the spring when the sap is rising. Any cuts must be covered in wood tar (Norwegian, Bayleton).
• Fig trees can be reproduced either by layers or cuttings. The sprouts from the tree base can be used to reproduce the same variety. Grafting is not done as it is difficult to achieve. Sowing seeds is not done as one seed could just as easily give rise to a domestic fig tree as to a caprifig tree. 
• When cutting, take a hardwood cutting that already has shoots, it needs to be bigger than your pinky, but generally not bigger than your thumb. Cut down the branch three shoots, just below the third, cut straight at bottom and angle cut at the top in order to tell the difference from the top and bottom. The cutting will only grow if you have the rooted, bottom side down. If it is already angled, or just the top part of a branch where you can easily tell which side is up, then you don't need to cut the top at an angle. 
• Use plant-able pots when transferring to a 5- or 10-gallon pot, tear the top of the plant-able pot off and bury it about an inch below the potting soil. Figs need fertilizers to stay healthy and strong. 

Diseases & Sickness:

• Unlike most fruit trees the fig is very robust and doesn't require much treatment, if any. Its main adversaries are moths (in case of a heavy attack treat with decis or bactospeine); canker (cannot be cured, but preventative treatment is to cover cuts on the tree with wood tar, or use copper sulfate); and flies, but only on the southeast coast or in mild winters (treatment: decis, leybacid, 30-40 days before maturity).

Types of Fig Tree:

• There are several types of fig tree: Caprifig type (or male tree) shelter the Blastophaga during the winter, which is the insect specifically responsible for its sexual pollination. It's fruit, parasitized by the Blastophaga, are not edible. 
• Domestic fig trees (or female tree) which, depending on the variety, produce one or two crops of figs. 
• Biferes produce two crops per year.
• The brebas (fig that develops in the spring on the previous year's shoot growth) ripen in July on the past year's growth according to the variety and according to the years producing 10-50% of the crop (average 20-25%).
• The brebas are parthenocarpic (they ripen without pollination). The Autumn figs comprise the biggest production and ripen from August (the 1st for the earliest, the 30th for the slower ones) until the first freeze of the year's growth. Depending on the varieties, the fruit are either parthenocarpic or sexual (require the intervention of Blastophaga). But caprification, like that practiced in North Africa, is not necessary, even if there are no caprifig trees in the orchard. 
• Uniferes (one crop fig trees) do not have repeat flowering and only produce Autumn figs (parthenocarpic or sexual, depending on the variety). Some early varieties produce fruit in August, a period generally poor for figs.

Uses & Taste:

• Planters prefer the variety that gives big fruit, can easily be transported and are black or dark (Dauphine, Pastiliere, Noire de Cazomb, Violetta de Sollies), or eventually gold (Longue d aout, Madeleine des deux saisons, Goutte d'Or). Individuals choose based on the best taste of the fruit. Dessert and jam specialists prefer the very sweet, small fruit, usually with green skin. One must choose between the fig, juicy, pulpy fruit to be eaten fresh or in jams (often more fragile in wet saisons), and the small fruit that are generally more resistant and can be eaten fresh, dried or in jams. 

Questions & Answers:

• Information on fig leaf tea: While the use of fresh, or dried leaf, stem, branch and fruit all have several folk medicine uses around the world, people use fig leaf tea for blood sugar balancing, cholesterol reduction, improving blood circulation, for easy menopause, reduction of menstrual cramping, easing arthritis, weight loss and treatment for cancer.

(DISCLAIMER: THE CONTENT ON THIS SITE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE)

Lots of Fig Information:

1. How water intensive are figs? Does this make sense during a drought? Every fruit tree, in the first year, will take a fair amount of water, but once established, fig trees are not only drought tolerant, but are low water users as well. 
2. How big do fig trees get in Albuquerque? What is best to grow there are bushes, and they tend to grow to about the size of a patio umbrella - they are wider than they are tall.
3. How long does it take to produce fruit? One to three years.
4. When do fig trees produce? One crop trees, usually produce in early August through September. Two crop varieties, early August and again in September. They will often be the last plant to leaf out in the spring. So do not be surprised if a month or two or five passes and they suddenly leaf out. 
5. How do we know when a fig is ripe? When the fig is like a hanged man, when the neck is long and bent, when the skin is wrinkled and there is a tear at the eye. (The eye is the little hole at the bottom of the fig).
6. Where do i plant fig trees on my property? They can be planted within three feet of a wall for heat reflection in the winter and coolness of roots in the summer. West and South facing directions are best, however, North is also good. 
7. How do i plant fig trees? Figs are shallow rooted. Plant them no deeper than the pot they are in, but three times as wide as the same pot. Any soil additives and compost are placed on top to insulate and cool the roots. 
8. Can figs really grow in New Mexico? All we have to do is be mindful of them in the winter and during the last few spring frosts. Insulating them with leaves and plastic when they are young during the winter months is advised. New Mexico's alkaline clay soil and sand is fine as it tends to keep the fig trees small, usually less than eleven feet high. 
9. Who brought figs to this region? Many figs were brought here by the Spanish 400 years ago, and also in the last 150 years by immigrant Italian, Greek, Mexican, Lebanese, and Syrian families. 
10. My fig seems to have died over the winter. What do i do? Figs are big tricksters, because of unusual or late frosts, figs can bear fruit and leaf out up to four months later than expected. Every year is so different than the last. 
11. Where else in the United States can figs be grown? Figs can be grown with care even in such climates as Chicago. When purchasing bare root fig trees, they ship in the winter and early spring. 
12. What is the best tasting fig? Figs come in a rainbow of colors and flavors and the inside from purple to strawberry. 

-- This section is currently under construction --