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Fig tree

PostPosted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 5:58 pm
by thickstrings
When I moved to this place, about 10 years ago , I inherited a fig tree. It gave fruit for 4-5 years or so. A cold winter froze it to the ground and it now resembles a bush...consequently, it has'nt had fruit....not to mention a pin oak that has gotten bigger and now shades it....Any way...I was thinking of moving/ planting it next to a south facing brick wall..."espalier" style....Any one know about fig trees? Should I transplant it this spring? I think its a Brown Turkey or a Chicago hardy variety.

Re: Fig tree

PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 1:36 am
by matt walker
I'm trying one here, but I sure don't know much about them other than they like it warm. If you can move it successfully, I bet it would love a hot walled garden approach.

Re: Fig tree

PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 3:37 pm
by thickstrings
Further research has revealed that fig trees respond well to "espalier" style of growing....Matt, that might help you out with the warmth they need to fruit...on the other hand, if I put it on the south side of a brick wall here, it may fry, come August.

Re: Fig tree

PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 3:51 pm
by matt walker
I was wondering about that in your climate. Here, I think an English walled garden approach would be ideal for them. There, you may have to split the difference. I've killed one in the last two years, and am waiting to see if the current one comes back. It does have a wall directly North of it, as it's behind the garage for exactly that reason, but it may benefit from some more micro climate tuning to try to get it HOT there. Good to be thinking about this again, thanks TS.

Re: Fig tree

PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 1:27 am
by pa_friendly_guy
Here in western Pa it's a lot colder than it is down your way. There used to be many old time Italians living in our town. When they came over from the old country they wanted to bring a little bit of home with them, so many of them had fig trees in their yards. Because of the cold winters here it took a lot of work to keep them alive and producing fruit. They used to dig up one side of the tree roots, then lay the tree over to the ground and cover it with mulch every fall. Next spring they would uncover the tree , set it upright again, re-cover the roots and let the tree grow until next fall. By always digging up the same side of the tree roots the trees seemed to get used to being hinged on one side. Many of these figs lasted for many years using this method. The old timers are all gone now, and the younger generation [ myself included ] feels that it is too much work for a fresh fig. I have talked with a few older Italian gentlemen that tell me that if I ever tasted a tree ripened fig I would change my mind. Right now I have too many other projects going, maybe someday.

Re: Fig tree

PostPosted: Fri Jun 19, 2015 5:28 pm
by pa_friendly_guy
I went to a class on organic pest control this week in Pittsburgh. The presenter was a Master Gardener and intensely grows on a City lot, every inch of her back yard is garden. It turns out that she is growing Figs on her property. She does not lay them over and cover them with much in the winter, she simple puts up wind protection around them. She has had some large crops of figs and feels that keeping the wind off them in winter is the key. Because she is in the City she may be in a little micro climate area that keeps the trees protected, but she said no, the trees are not protected by buildings etc. For the cost of a tree or two it might be worth the chance to buy them and just put up some winter wind protection like plastic or burlap or what ever. Whats the worst that can happen, you have a Learning Experience and know what does not work?