How to prune figs in a cool climate for first (breba) crop fig production
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- This video describes a pruning system that maximizes production of breba crop figs in a climate too cool to ripen main crop figs. This training system allows the grower to easily keep the tree small and manageable. Made by Bob Duncan of Fruit Trees and More demonstration orchard and nursery near Victoria BC, Canada.
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I wish all the videos I researched on UA-cam had this kind of instructions. Well done.
I wish all the vidiots on YouthTube didn't vote.
I didn't help over populate the planet with them so who cares?
Bob gets to choose which branches to keep, and the rest of Canada has to pray our figs don't die over winter lol
Thanks for this great video!
I followed your instructions last year and got my best crop ever. There's a lot of 'fig pruning' videos listed above yours when I searched, but this one truly gives the best advice.
I agree 100%. He truly is an expert based on his own decades of experience vs merely copying other's. I watch this video the same time every year to remind myself what to do before pruning my own trees. Every year.
This is a fantastic video. I've never seen it explained so clearly. Great work!
Thank you very much! very clear and to the point video. I purchased a house with some land in Italy with fig trees all over the place, neglected for 50 years. One tree has a 60cm diameter and is all over the place but your method should still work. I will get to it tomorrow. Thanks again.
Real life hands-on experience speaking. I watch this video early winter every year before starting pruning. Thank you for all that I've learned and will continue to learn from you.
Probably the most helpful video out there for fig pruning. Thank you.
Zarah 777 agreed! This is an excellent video. Coming back to it again and can attest that the advice here has changed the performance of my fig trees. Thanks or sharing.
Ditto!
Eindelijk iemand die het snoeien van vijgen eenvoudig en praktisch kan voorstellen!
Hands down the best explanation for pruning Desert King. I'll adapt that to wintering mine indoors.
I´ve seen dozens of fig prunning videos but this is the best one. My grandpa had some figs and now i have 2 on my garden. He´s gonna eat some great figs from heaven. Thank you for all this great info! Much love from Brasil.
Excellent video, you explane it all so well, It brings back for me some wonderful memories of when I was a young boy in Tenerife we had a very large( Breba fig tree) near the house and even had a small treehouse half way up it. It was enormous and totally left to its own devices never prune it and never really looked after it, there was no need, the climate there is so good it use to give us 2 crops a year, one early with very large figs and fewer in number and a heavy crop later it never failed to ripen them all with flavour to die for .
I have been in the UK for the last 45 years and here it is very difficult to get them to ripen so I am going to follow your pruning system and hope I will do better. Thank you for your excellent pruning guide and stay safe.
Thank you Bob - really well explained. We have 3 newish fig trees in our garden in Norfolk UK and this has helped me realise that we need to create a structure not far off the ground. We have been distracted by all the fruit we are seeing.
This video is great - thank you. Please never delete it
Very, very well explained and made me learn how to prune my fig trees - I wish I watched this video years ago.
Thank you very much!
Thank you! This video is exactly what I was looking for. We recently purchased a house in Central Saanich and were ooking for tips how to keep it looking great and producing. Now my Sunday afternoon is set up!
Finally, a post that addresses fig growing in coastal PNW and gives a clear, comprehensive overview. I'm not able to physically prune my 16 year old overgrown fig. I think it's a Desert King. It does have a breba crop. It was damaged to the ground by cold several years back and came back strong. Last year it was pruned back to the main boughs, but now it's over 12 feet tall again. I've struggled to understand what to prune and how to recognize the age of branches.
Hi Bob, thank you for the nice and clean information on fig tree. 😊
Never thought of pruning back that way! So very helpful and thank you so much! I live on Vancouver Island so this is 100%
relevant.
Bob you are a national treasure!
Connie Kuramoto in the book tell about fig
old tessilment in king 2 book tell about fig
His an international one in my books.
There are a lot of fig pruning videos out there, but almost none about "building" a fig tree. I saw off my five year old fig tree last winter and now I Have about 10 branches. The coming winter I will select 3-4 branches out of that then. Maybe I will grow different varieties on the same tree. Thanks for the great video!
I am currently in year 3 of building the structure. I just watched this video for the third time and I'm off to prune right away!
Thank you for showing, this is a much needed video. I am in Vancouver and will start pruning the same way.
This is an excellent guide and demonstration of pruning for a breba crop. Our climate in the UK is pretty similar and so it's quite difficult to get main crop figs to develop here, so this is how I will be training my trees. Thank you for this very detailed guide.
We need to see that fig in full production ❤
I'm so glad to have found someone that could help my poor expertise when it comes to fig trees.. My fig tree had reached 25 feet in height. Although it produced wonderfully, there was no way for me to get to the figs because the birds always manage to get them first. Last year I decided to prune it and I mean, really......... prune it.. Well, this year I had no fruit and now I know why.. I need to prune it again this year, I love figs and I'll make sure to do it the right way... Thank you for your informative well done video...
One of the very best videos of how to prune figs! Thank you!
By far the best explained pruning technique on UA-cam. Thank you very much indeed.
Excellent video. Thank you. You covered all of the important points on how to prune to develop and maintain a fig tree for fig production in a northern climate. You even recommended the best fig variety, Desert King, for northern climates. 400 figs from that one tree?! Maybe you should do a video on what you do with all of your desert king figs!
Thanks for the clear explanation!!! After looking at a lot of video' I' m glad to find this Canadian lesson.
I live in a London suburb and this works for me. Excellent advice, thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much ...... We have our first house with an existing fig tree so your video helped us enormously! Very clear for those of us who are first time fig tree Owners.
Your video is the best out there. Very useful. appreciated deeply for your information. Thank you Bob.
Brilliant tutorial on fig pruning. Excellent guide for the UK as well as BC. Will recommend this to all my clients so they can understand what we are trying to achieve.
Best video for pruning fig tree!!!!! Thanks!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Now, I know about the importance of the permanent structure.
I get it, it is similar to spur pruning for grape vines. Great explanation and demonstration.
This is very informative. One of the 'rules' of pruning generally is to never leave stubs! So fig trees are completely different- we want that stub growth. Good to know. Thank you.
Just got my first fig yesterday. in Cheshire UK not the warmest county in UK.i have looked at loads of vids but this one by far the best,I will be endeavouring to replicate a tree exactly like this,thankyou.now for my patience.
Wonderful video... I now feel like an expert! Thanks very much Sir :-) I will now go out and redesign my wild and hitherto unpruned fig tree with more confidence!
Very helpful, I am in Western Australia on the coast in a temperate climate zone and have a fig tree that is about 20 years old and out of control. Season just gone we had an abundant crop, but I need a ladder to reach them. The tree structure is similar to yours but too high and I want to cut it back to a more manageable height . As most of the new wood will go I expect it next season that we will not get many figs.
Very well explained. I especially like the chosen height for fruit bearing. It's not too high or too low. On a separate note, I'm really interested in knowing more information about that espalier citrus behind Bob against the wall. I imagine the dark wall serves as a heat sink for it and enables the tree to produce fruit. I'd love to see Bob tell us more about it.
This is the best video I have seen on fig pruning. Thanks and God bless
Fascinating. Thank you. I am trying to build a couple of fig tree structures in my little orchard.
This video was fun to watch and easy to follow - start to finish.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Excellent video, thank you! I live in Nanaimo so this was incredibly helpful, I was wondering why I only got one harvest when there were so many immature figs still on the tree! I moved into a new home with a HUGE fig tree (as tall as my house) and it needs some serious TLC. Would love to see you make more videos that apply to our local climate.
Incredible video! Well done! One of the best pruning videos I have seen. Thank you very much!!
Well explained and very useful tips :) thanks Bob....
Excellent and straightforward,thank you sir 👍
Thank you so much Bob! You are the first person who made me clearly understand the breba fig crop vs the main fig crop, and more importantly created a great training system that can produce consistent breba crop. All I have to do now is try to figure out a way (other than fig trees in pots) to go through the much tougher winter in Montreal area in order be able to keep the one year old branches alive... Thank you once again!
Thanks for the instruction. Really helpful!
Great video, explains what to do very clearly. Very helpful!
I have a desert king in Phoenix, and this is applicable to that as well, although I got a great main crop this year into the winter before leaf drop.
Only a BC fig need would understand, but this is just about the best video on YT ever.
I am in the SF Bay Area, I have greatly improved my fig trees following his instructions over the years. He is the best indeed.
Thank you for making sense! Am "starting over" with a new pair of trees and the timing is perfect as they are about a foot tall and ready for a bigger pot. They will be indoors for the winter, so will have an early start in the spring in my zone 4B.
Thanks for posting! We may start training my mom's figs this way. They're established, but we can still restrict them with this system.
Best video out there on this topic.. i will adopt this approach from now on..
Thank you, an excellent presentation. I’m going out to prune right now. Tsawwassen.
Thank you very much. Where I live we have true freezing temperatures that will often kill back the fig tree to the ground. Then in spring it has to re-start the whole process again.
I'm going to go about it a little differently, but you gave me a great idea about maintaining the tree short. Last winter was mild here and the tree didn't die back. This fall/winter I'm cutting the bush (I let my figs bush out) back and cover it with leaves. I think this can keep it from freezing out.
Spring I'll take the time and start training the tree. Then in fall I'll take precautions to keep it from freezing over winter.
Good video. A couple of suggestions: 1.) When using a pollarding technique for managing tree height and maximizing fruiting through hormone response (pruning stress), it is a best practice to prune 2 year growth, weak 1 year and drooping branches to the collar on the pollard head rather than a pre-determined distance (2cm). 2.) Also, it should be specified this method is best for orchard production and may not be suitable for casual figs growers in residential settings.
Why not residential settings? Is it because your figs could be poached too easily?
The most helpful video on pruning fig trees. Thank you.
The best video seen and the best tips and advise, live in Surrey, BC, don’t want tall tree either, thank you
This was the most interesting info on how to prune a fig tree.
I learned a lot ,and feel confident on pruning my tree in the future.
I think your tree looks healthy and well kept,awesome job!.
Thank you for sharing 🌳👍😊
Thanks for this - you made it easy to understand - greatly appreciated.
Just chopped my 4 new-planted fig trees down to 20cm. thanks!
Great video. I was wondering how to maintain the size and shape of a 2 fig trees I have espaliered against my fence for the last 3 seasons. This video made a lot of sense. Now I just need to know how to keep the birds away from them.
Very informative video! If you could tell me when is the best time to prune a fig tree in the northwest I would very much appreciated. Thank you!
Very helpful and clear information , thank you .
Thank-you SO much for taking the time to share this with me. By far the most informative lesson I ever had. I realize I've been pruning incorrectly. Any suggestions for what to do with a 10 year old tree that was never "cut down" in the first three years to develop a spreading habit? Would you recommend topping it off?
This is a really excellent film and it solves the problem of pruning for maximum breba over here in the UK which has a not dissimilar climate to the NW Coast. One question - here we are always advised to plant in a 'fig pit' which restricts root growth and is said to also encourage fruiting. Is that what you did with your tree? It looks extremely happy. I'd be interested to hear other viewers experience too. With thanks for any further help and advice,
This is probably the most comprehensive and easy to follow guide to pruning a fig tree I've seen. Thanks so much :)
One question, is the a similar way to control height, whilst maintaining a more natural/ornamental shape, without the branches of the permanent structure ending in stubs?
This is fairly common when pruning for production, it keeps the overall height reasonable and promotes fruit production. (Was writing this as he mentioned the height point.) Commercial peach trees often have a similar appearance for the same reasons, encourage fruiting and keep height reasonable for harvest. Appearance is pretty much the trade-off for production and harvest ease in fruit trees.
Came to via Charles Dowding. He refenced you in his latest video. We live in Victoria. Small world and we have a fig tree.
Useful information, subscribed
Cheers
Great video. Thank you. My fig tree in my garden on Bowen Island is just getting over head height so it’s time for me to manage it as you suggest.
This is such a helpful video, thank you so much from Woodend Victoria(Australia)
any chance you would post an update for this wonderful tree? seeing it with loads of figs would be very encouraging!
Thanks for making this helpful video Bob!
I have never hacked my beautiful fig and she always produces plenty of figs....and look gorgeous in her natural state
Thanks for the explanation, very clear, we have a lot of work to do.
Great Video. Very informative and useful. Applied these techniques for Desert King and works well. Will it work for Brown Turkey and Black Mission?
Thank you--the demo and explanations are so helpful!
THANKS Bob. Great video!!! Very clear and easy to follow. Pruning can be daunting but you make it seem much less scary. Just wondering if I should apply this same method if I am trying to keep my 2 Desert King figs more bush-like than tree-like?
sooo helpful mate, cheers. was confusing the hell out of me, reading about it. much better to be shown
indeed an excellent video, also for our climate in the Netherlands
you have answered all of my questions . Great video , thanks
I live in Mesa Arizona and I have one of the most beautiful Fig Tree you will ever see.
Our girl produces at least 1000 figs per season. There are two seasons therefore she produces 2000+..
Because there are so many figs I allow people to come pick otherwise it’s wasted fruit and food.
As of today September 14, 2022 I have 15 families in my contacts that I will contact to come and pick fruit.
Many people from Greece and California are so happy to have fresh figs. The majority of the families who pick the fruit make jam.
My tree is so bountiful I’ve never seen anything like it.
We do not pick from the top for several reasons. 1. Birds, birds love my Fig Tree. 2. It’s dangerous 😬 3. I do not allow anyone to climb a ladder while they are in my yard due to liability. I have a if you can reach it? You can pick.
I lose quite a bit to the birds and dropping off the tree. I have to rake every day and I do not pick up any of the fruit from the ground. Although the fruit may look perfectly fine on the ground we do not keep. You must remember the fruit brings ants and who knows what else so as we fertilize the grass we do have a bug killer in our fertilizer so we do not pick anything off the ground.
With that being said that is probably another 4 to 500 Figs we lose.
Figs are delicious 😋 High in fiber 💩 easily preserved. You can make fig chips, freeze your figs and etc
❤️ my Fig Tree
TYSM for the tips
Thanks for such a good explanation.
Love this vid Bob!
Thanks for this. I'm just starting; figs planted in pots this year (lower mainland).
I have followed your video pruning my mature fig in North Vancouver for the last three seasons. The tree was looking so much more manageable and healthy, and produced hundreds of breba crop figs but this year, it is May now and it isn’t showing any sign of new growth. Did the harsh winter kill it? Are you hearing reports of other fig trees that didn’t make it?
Thanks Bob, this gives me a good idea what to do with my Fig tree.
What about if the tree already grew too tall? I didn't know anything about pruning a fig tree, but now you have taught me much. I was watching a video about a drastic prune to shorten the tree a great deal in August. Will that kill a fig tree in your area? Did I understand correctly that the tree only fruits on the branch it grew the year before (as with raspberries)? So a drastic prune, if in August might create some growth for next year's fruit, but a spring prune-down would preclude fruit next year, is that correct? Why does a tree produce a measly 4 medium size figs, then about 40 secondary figs? Can I bring them in to ripen indoors in the fall? I'm speaking about in your area. Thank you.
Finally, just what i needed to know. Thanks!
Thanks so much from Crescent City, CA!
Thank you very much for the great instructional video!
I'm about to take the plunge into the fig tree world and your video has provided me with confidence to dive in.
However, all the trees for sale at my local nurseries, were planted in Aug 2020 and the main trunk is already
about 3 feet tall before any branches starts to form. How is it that your mature tree is so low to the ground?
Also, I'm assuming as you maintained this 3 branch rule over the years, you were still getting fruit?
Should I be looking to buy a tree less than two years old so the main trunk won't be so tall?
thank you for the ideas on pruning the fig.
I would love to see a video on how to winter a large fig tree such as you have.
Maritime NW climate is zone 8 typically and doesn't require the "winterizing". If you're in a Zone 6-4 or lower you will need to do the "stubbing" at the ground level and insulate the 1 year old shoots (sometimes up to 6 feet high) with leaves, straw etc. and landscape cloth or plastic. If stone-cold deep freezing like zone 3, large pots are easiest-then you can lay them down and insulate or pull them into a
Well done...beautiful tree, and very informative., thank you. I'm a relatively new gardener in Victoria, BC, and yesterday I noticed a narly old Fig tree at the corners of Cook & Meares streets. ( Don't know the name of this Fig tree) Someone had pruned it so I took a few scions for transplanting. I dipped them in rooting gel, and stuck them in a 50-50 mixture of per-light and peat. My question is will they. or what are the chances of them rooting at this time of year.
really huge amount of knowledge...👦👦
I'm a bit south of you and I just realized I may have to both summer and winter prune to stop them from shooting up so vigorously.
Thank you! Just what I was looking for