I was unsure about this as a first time grower but I decided to pinch a couple of my trees! they were supposedly 2nd or more year trees but slow to grow and set the fig buds compared to the other 3 I got (Adriatic JH and 2 Mt Etna types). They were a Longue d'Aout, RdB, and a Bronx special. The 1st two are supposed to be earlier varieties so something was up. I pinched back in June and the Bronx special set some buds, fruit have been catching up. Pinched the other two again in late June and the L d'A has fig buds now. No dice on the RdB but it has grown new leaves lower down, I guess we'll see. Anyway thanks this seemed like it helped!
You are absolutely correct about hormonal balance in plants in general. When the main meristem loses it's position in the branch hierarchy it induces a distribution of the growth regulators to all of the branches, putting them into a state of vigorous growth. However if you are working with a tree/plant that is flexible in nature, such as a fig tree or a plant where the stem is soft enough to damage/bruise and soften enough to fold and tie, it is best not to cut anything because it puts the plant into a state of temporary shock, where if you can bend the alpha stem below the shoots of the beta stem, it will cause a redistribution of the growth regulator in the alpha stem, rather than the plant having to produce more and distribute, where results become noticeable within 24 hours as opposed to days or weeks depending on the impact topping had. Conditions: I'm growing in an indoor environment under LED lighting that I've designed myself in order to provide high PPFD and high intensity by using lenses. I use soil that is comprised of Scott's turf builder that was mixed with 45% perlite and 1000 red wiggler Lumbricus Terrestris and the worms were fed various forms of plant based biomatter supplemented with gypsum (CaSO4), Epsom Salt(MgSO4-7H2O),Ca(OH)2 and periodical addition of perlite to prevent oxygen deprivation throughout the worm farm. Cuttings were rooted in containers with soil containing worms and placed under a well vented humidity dome. Signs of rooting were visible within 1-3 weeks I have tested this (tie down method) on various plant species: - Tied Down Figs: Fruit bud grew exponentially larger forming Immature fruit, immature fruit rapidly grew larger and lateral branching became prevalent. - Hibiscus: Suspended vertical growth, promoting lateral growth and profuse blooming. - Roses: They MUST be pruned because no matter how the shrub may appear it is in fact a vine pruned to resemble a shrub - Basil, Cannabis, Mint, Lavender: Increased lateral branching, facilitating additional fruiting sites. That is a short list of my experiences experimenting with yield increase. Not to say that it doesn't work, but no decrease in ripening time was observed in any of my tests. This comment is primarily pertaining to figs as the video is geared towards figs and the soil, lighting and other conditions mentioned were for figs. Other plant varieties were mentioned for the purpose of comparison.
I'm about to get my first fig of the year! I love to mix frozen chago hardy figs with vanilla naked brand protein powder and milk. Best smoothies ever!
People don't want to put the time into observing and testing pinching for them selves I imagine. Different applications and results makes it harder for less inquisitive minds to lump techniques into categories. Loving these types of vids.
Would love to see more variety specific videos from you this summer. Some that I don’t think you’ve done….Joualle Rogue, Bass’ Favorite, Paratjal Rimada and CDD Mutante.
When they ripen, I'll cover specific varieties. I'm not growing Joualle R. It's a splitter. PR is brand new to my collection, BFF won't fruit this year. CDDM likely will and am looking forward to covering it.
Hey man! Appreciate the detailed videos and your channel on youtube. Decided to buy a violette de bordeaux tree because of your videos. I have an important question for you. I see conflicting reports on how tall or big this tree may get. What is your experience? Can i plant it up against the house? Thanks in advance!
Hey Ross, do you have any varieties that refuse to fruit regardless of Pinching? I have a few stubborn varieties that have yet to produce regardless of what i do
If the fruit buds aren't present due to higher light requirements or too dense of a canopy, then ya. Pinching does not create the fruit. It only encourages the tree to put more attention towards it.
Are you growing so many young trees in order to have many figs to sell, or will you be selling young trees once they are in dormancy? Do you know of anyone in the Hudson Valley, NY who sells potted fig trees?
Do you truly know what variety each of those trees are by so quickly going past them? I try to note any differences in leaves, but you go past too fast for me to do so. Would love to know more of the small differences so that you know which is which. Such a reasonable pinching procedure. Thanks for the info. Thought I did the wrong thing by pinching some of the branches on the few trees I have.
The fig in the thumbnail is a Brocalet breba.
this is the most useful video on the internet about pinching figs
Agreed. Check this out: www.figboss.com/post/pinching-fig-trees-3-very-important-applications-a-rundown-of-its-history
I was unsure about this as a first time grower but I decided to pinch a couple of my trees! they were supposedly 2nd or more year trees but slow to grow and set the fig buds compared to the other 3 I got (Adriatic JH and 2 Mt Etna types). They were a Longue d'Aout, RdB, and a Bronx special. The 1st two are supposed to be earlier varieties so something was up. I pinched back in June and the Bronx special set some buds, fruit have been catching up. Pinched the other two again in late June and the L d'A has fig buds now. No dice on the RdB but it has grown new leaves lower down, I guess we'll see. Anyway thanks this seemed like it helped!
That was the kick I needed to go out and pinch my trees. Thanks Ross!
You are absolutely correct about hormonal balance in plants in general. When the main meristem loses it's position in the branch hierarchy it induces a distribution of the growth regulators to all of the branches, putting them into a state of vigorous growth. However if you are working with a tree/plant that is flexible in nature, such as a fig tree or a plant where the stem is soft enough to damage/bruise and soften enough to fold and tie, it is best not to cut anything because it puts the plant into a state of temporary shock, where if you can bend the alpha stem below the shoots of the beta stem, it will cause a redistribution of the growth regulator in the alpha stem, rather than the plant having to produce more and distribute, where results become noticeable within 24 hours as opposed to days or weeks depending on the impact topping had.
Conditions:
I'm growing in an indoor environment under LED lighting that I've designed myself in order to provide high PPFD and high intensity by using lenses. I use soil that is comprised of Scott's turf builder that was mixed with 45% perlite and 1000 red wiggler Lumbricus Terrestris and the worms were fed various forms of plant based biomatter supplemented with gypsum (CaSO4), Epsom Salt(MgSO4-7H2O),Ca(OH)2 and periodical addition of perlite to prevent oxygen deprivation throughout the worm farm. Cuttings were rooted in containers with soil containing worms and placed under a well vented humidity dome. Signs of rooting were visible within 1-3 weeks
I have tested this (tie down method) on various plant species:
- Tied Down Figs: Fruit bud grew exponentially larger forming Immature fruit, immature fruit rapidly grew larger and lateral branching became prevalent.
- Hibiscus: Suspended vertical growth, promoting lateral growth and profuse blooming.
- Roses: They MUST be pruned because no matter how the shrub may appear it is in fact a vine pruned to resemble a shrub
- Basil, Cannabis, Mint, Lavender: Increased lateral branching, facilitating additional fruiting sites.
That is a short list of my experiences experimenting with yield increase. Not to say that it doesn't work, but no decrease in ripening time was observed in any of my tests.
This comment is primarily pertaining to figs as the video is geared towards figs and the soil, lighting and other conditions mentioned were for figs. Other plant varieties were mentioned for the purpose of comparison.
I'm about to get my first fig of the year! I love to mix frozen chago hardy figs with vanilla naked brand protein powder and milk. Best smoothies ever!
I follow you from Morocco, the country of figs, and your advice is important to me, and thank you very much.
Very good informative video Ross thanks so much 👍
People don't want to put the time into observing and testing pinching for them selves I imagine. Different applications and results makes it harder for less inquisitive minds to lump techniques into categories. Loving these types of vids.
Came here from your orange watermelon video. New subscriber enjoy the videos. 🍊🍉
Finally, I did something right with my newly acquired fig trees.
Would love to see more variety specific videos from you this summer. Some that I don’t think you’ve done….Joualle Rogue, Bass’ Favorite, Paratjal Rimada and CDD Mutante.
When they ripen, I'll cover specific varieties. I'm not growing Joualle R. It's a splitter. PR is brand new to my collection, BFF won't fruit this year. CDDM likely will and am looking forward to covering it.
Great Info!
Hey Ross u should make a video about fig breeding projects you want to see or in theory would do you’re self
The millennial gardener did a video on that. I am ready to see Ross do it too!
Very informative thank you now have to apply
Ross, how do you Pinch? There,s lots of talk regarding pinching but not how to? I,m new to your site. Tks
Excellent excellent video, thank you sir
Hey man! Appreciate the detailed videos and your channel on youtube. Decided to buy a violette de bordeaux tree because of your videos. I have an important question for you. I see conflicting reports on how tall or big this tree may get. What is your experience? Can i plant it up against the house? Thanks in advance!
You control the size. Check out my recent article on exactly this: www.figboss.com/post/dwarf-fig-trees
I'm doing all mine single leader. Most are 6' tall and have figs all the way up.
Nice. Let me know how that goes in the future.
I like this video ....
Hey Ross, do you have any varieties that refuse to fruit regardless of Pinching? I have a few stubborn varieties that have yet to produce regardless of what i do
If the fruit buds aren't present due to higher light requirements or too dense of a canopy, then ya. Pinching does not create the fruit. It only encourages the tree to put more attention towards it.
Ross what are you doing about Spotted Lantern Fly Nymphs? I saw a few on your trees in this video
Nada. They leave the figs alone. Pretty much everything actually.
@@RossRaddi Weird. They're everywhere on mine. Probably hundreds and I'm noticing some leaf curling and overall unhealthy trees
Are you growing so many young trees in order to have many figs to sell, or will you be selling young trees once they are in dormancy? Do you know of anyone in the Hudson Valley, NY who sells potted fig trees?
A combination of many reasons.
When will you be selling Black Celeste fig cuttings? Thanks.
The end of November.
Do you truly know what variety each of those trees are by so quickly going past them? I try to note any differences in leaves, but you go past too fast for me to do so. Would love to know more of the small differences so that you know which is which. Such a reasonable pinching procedure. Thanks for the info. Thought I did the wrong thing by pinching some of the branches on the few trees I have.
They all have tags, Joan.
Cannot note the tags in video, so I assumed that you had an amazing memory for fig leaves😁
Yeah I’ve got a panche that things on it’s second year no sines of fruit yet…
I'm a middle aged woman. I thought this was to balance me.