Hey Dale, you won't regret it! Fig trees are super easy to care for, give lots of food and give you a great visual experience with the changes of the season. You'll love it 🌻
Yay 😀 I am so thrilled you have found value in what knowledge I am able to share. I have a really handy vid coming out on Saturday about how to take cuttings from the fig trees you have pruned or trunk chopped so you can multiply your fig tree collection. Thanks for your ongoing support 🌱
So glad I stumbled across your channel....immediately subscribed. I chopped down three trunks of my mature fig tree last year. Loads of branches developed bearing loads of fruit which all dropped while still small. How do I prevent it from happening again next season ?
Thanks for leaving your question and yes, you are correct, you need to trunk chop fig trees when they are fully dormant to avoid them 'bleeding out' and losing a huge amount of energy. You would want to do this BEFORE the buds start swelling in spring as the sap would have then already started moving again, so middle of winter is a safe gap 🌻
Good question and yes, I did 😁 you can actually go and look at my fig propagation using cuttings video where I used the top and side branches of a topped fig tree 🌻
I was gifted 3 very leggy fig trees last year and have searched the internet for ways to reduce them and have not found any your video makes it so easy should I cut them down when dormant? Thank you so much for the advice will definitely be looking for more of your videos I just subscribed to your channel thanks
Hey Bill, thanks so much for taking the time to leave me your thoughts and I'm so glad to hear you got value out of watching this video! Yes, the best time to trunk chop a fig tree is when it is fully dormant. Fig trees bleed a lot of sap so of you cut during active growth your tree will lose a lot of nutrients and if it's a big cut you risk losing the branch or entire tree. I hope you come right and manage to get the perfectly shaped tree in the years to come 🌻
So glad I stumbled across your channel...immediately subscribed I chopped down three trunks of my mature fig tree last year. Loads of branches developed bearing loads of fruit which all dropped while still small. How do I prevent it from happening again next season
Ah thank you Joan, it's comments like yours that keep me motivated to keep creating videos and sharing my experiences 💚 Figs can be quite finicky with dropping fruit. They will do this under a wide range of conditions, which include under and over watering, heat, cold and pests. It might be worth looking for tiny pin prick holes as those are fruit fly stings and the fruit drops quite soon after being stung. I know it's a mission, but bagging each fig in an organza bag is a sure way to keep them protected 🌻
I have been looking at my potted fig tree (small)today and was wondering whether I could correct its form as it has trunks branching out from very low to the surface. But I am not sure if this is the right time to be cutting the tree.Also its bearing a few small figs. Shouldn't the tree be going into dormancy now. Confused
Good questions you have here, thank you! In terms of pruning i would wait until late winter once you know the sap flow has significantly slowed down. They wake up very late in the spring so late winter for pruning is perfect As for growth, mine has actually also exploded with new growth. I can only attribute this to lots of water from the rain and pretty mild autumn with a few hot days. I would strongly suggest removing those little figs (if it is autumn where you are) as they will drain lots of unnecessary energy from the tree 🌻
Thanks for sharing your informaton! Can you do this trunk chopping with a young lemon tree?! Last year I bought a young lemon tree and haven't done any pruning. At 80 cm it has been cut by the nursery and 5 branches have shooted vertically and go in different directions , but all of them are at the same level of this 80cm (so I guess when these branches will bear fruit chances are they break easily?). So there's no difference in height like the branches on your small fig tree you show in the video. Could I trunk chop the lemon tree and start all over again and then follow your system of 2-2-2-2 etc?
Thanks for your really good question! When you do a trunk chop you need to have a very clear reason why. E.g. to lower height. This will determine what you will do. Citrus is a challenging one to do an aggressive trunk chop on as it will throw a lot of new growth all along the cut point. I did a comprehensive video on a young citrus tree that could help you... What you could consider (to not weaken the tree) is to choose one of the 5 branches as a new modified upright leader and letting it grow out. You can then cut that back by a third which will stimulate new growth down the trunk. Don't cut more than a third as it will then sprout aggressively around the cut point. I wish I was there to help you but pop me a DM on Facebook with some pictures and I can guide you through the whole process 🌻
@@MySustainabilityJourney thank you so very much for your answer!! I will make some pictures coming weekend! And yes I saw your video on the young citrus tree as well, but my citrus was quite out of "model". Sometimes I think nurseries also don't know much about how to prune a young tree ....;-)
Yeah, absolutely, it drives me crazy when I see most nurseries just top all their fruit trees. It severely limits what you can do with the tree or takes years to correct 😔
Thank you so much and that's a great question! The simple answer is yes, it will. Why? Fig trees bear fruit on new growth, meaning all the new growth from an established tree that is pruned hard should give you lots of fruit. If you have a variety that gives you a Breba crop, or 2 crops in a season, then you will only get the main crop as the Breba crop grown on 1 year wood with the main crop on new growth 🌻
I admit I gasped when you cut the trunk. Would you do this topotted fig that is 6 years old? Also, please advise on how to care for fig tree that is in a pot. Thank you.
Haha, yes, trunk chopping takes quite a bit to do your first time 😅 For a 6yr old tree you can most certainly trunk chop it, however, you should have at least a couple branches you can use, unless the tree is too high. For this tree I would prune a little later, once the new buds have just started opening. This is ensure the tree is awake and the sap is flowing. You would also need to glue or putty the top of the cut to avoid disease and make sure the cut is clean and at 45 degrees. I have a few fig videos in my fig videos Playlist that you can look through, but I will be doing more in future so stay tuned for those 🌻🌻🌻
I have a fig tree that i planted about 4 years ago, Rouge de Bordeaux. Ive pruned it to tree from and the trunk is almost 2 inches diameter. This past winter, zone 7b, has left my fig tree with most of the branches splitting from the tree at the collar. It hasnt broken dormancy buy its green under the bark using a scratch test. I want to pollard it back to about 18 inches. This would remove all branching. Is this safe, will it survive?
Thanks for dropping me a comment and great questions you have there! Figs are known to be very late to wake up so you you still have time. It sounds like the buds have not yet started swelling, which is good as you do not want a lot of sap flow when making large cuts like you are wanting too. If, and only if, the buds have not started swelling (this indicates the break of dormancy) then you will be fine making a new cut lower down. If the buds have started swelling then you may run into issues of the wound oozing for a very long time, causing the tree to get quite weak. Luckily figs are incredibly hardy and are near impossible to kill, so I am pretty sure you will be fine and just remember to control the new growth and select the new branches as early as possible 🌻
Do you have trunk chopping anxiety like I originally had? Let me know how it went and if you have any questions.
I want to chop off the one branch but my question is if this is the right time of the year to do this?
I haven’t got my first gig tree yet, but plan on getting a pair when I move. I can hardly wait.
Hey Dale, you won't regret it! Fig trees are super easy to care for, give lots of food and give you a great visual experience with the changes of the season. You'll love it 🌻
So thrilled to have come across this video, love to learn about gardening. Thank you so very much
Yay 😀 I am so thrilled you have found value in what knowledge I am able to share. I have a really handy vid coming out on Saturday about how to take cuttings from the fig trees you have pruned or trunk chopped so you can multiply your fig tree collection. Thanks for your ongoing support 🌱
So glad I stumbled across your channel....immediately subscribed.
I chopped down three trunks of my mature fig tree last year. Loads of branches developed bearing loads of fruit which all dropped while still small. How do I prevent it from happening again next season ?
Does it matter what time of the year we cut it? Ive read that its best to cut it during dormant season to avoid too much sap or damage to happen.
Thanks for leaving your question and yes, you are correct, you need to trunk chop fig trees when they are fully dormant to avoid them 'bleeding out' and losing a huge amount of energy. You would want to do this BEFORE the buds start swelling in spring as the sap would have then already started moving again, so middle of winter is a safe gap 🌻
@My Sustainability Journey thank you for your response 😊
What did you do with part you chopped off? Was that propagated into a new tree?
Good question and yes, I did 😁 you can actually go and look at my fig propagation using cuttings video where I used the top and side branches of a topped fig tree 🌻
I was gifted 3 very leggy fig trees last year and have searched the internet for ways to reduce them and have not found any your video makes it so easy should I cut them down when dormant? Thank you so much for the advice will definitely be looking for more of your videos I just subscribed to your channel thanks
Hey Bill, thanks so much for taking the time to leave me your thoughts and I'm so glad to hear you got value out of watching this video!
Yes, the best time to trunk chop a fig tree is when it is fully dormant. Fig trees bleed a lot of sap so of you cut during active growth your tree will lose a lot of nutrients and if it's a big cut you risk losing the branch or entire tree. I hope you come right and manage to get the perfectly shaped tree in the years to come 🌻
So glad I stumbled across your
channel...immediately subscribed
I chopped down three trunks of my
mature fig tree last year. Loads of
branches developed bearing loads of
fruit which all dropped while still small.
How do I prevent it from happening again next season
Ah thank you Joan, it's comments like yours that keep me motivated to keep creating videos and sharing my experiences 💚
Figs can be quite finicky with dropping fruit. They will do this under a wide range of conditions, which include under and over watering, heat, cold and pests. It might be worth looking for tiny pin prick holes as those are fruit fly stings and the fruit drops quite soon after being stung.
I know it's a mission, but bagging each fig in an organza bag is a sure way to keep them protected 🌻
I have been looking at my potted fig tree (small)today and was wondering whether I could correct its form as it has trunks branching out from very low to the surface. But I am not sure if this is the right time to be cutting the tree.Also its bearing a few small figs. Shouldn't the tree be going into dormancy now. Confused
Good questions you have here, thank you!
In terms of pruning i would wait until late winter once you know the sap flow has significantly slowed down. They wake up very late in the spring so late winter for pruning is perfect
As for growth, mine has actually also exploded with new growth. I can only attribute this to lots of water from the rain and pretty mild autumn with a few hot days. I would strongly suggest removing those little figs (if it is autumn where you are) as they will drain lots of unnecessary energy from the tree 🌻
@@MySustainabilityJourney Great.Thanks. Sorry I missed your reply
Thanks for sharing your informaton! Can you do this trunk chopping with a young lemon tree?! Last year I bought a young lemon tree and haven't done any pruning. At 80 cm it has been cut by the nursery and 5 branches have shooted vertically and go in different directions , but all of them are at the same level of this 80cm (so I guess when these branches will bear fruit chances are they break easily?). So there's no difference in height like the branches on your small fig tree you show in the video. Could I trunk chop the lemon tree and start all over again and then follow your system of 2-2-2-2 etc?
Thanks for your really good question!
When you do a trunk chop you need to have a very clear reason why. E.g. to lower height. This will determine what you will do. Citrus is a challenging one to do an aggressive trunk chop on as it will throw a lot of new growth all along the cut point. I did a comprehensive video on a young citrus tree that could help you...
What you could consider (to not weaken the tree) is to choose one of the 5 branches as a new modified upright leader and letting it grow out. You can then cut that back by a third which will stimulate new growth down the trunk. Don't cut more than a third as it will then sprout aggressively around the cut point.
I wish I was there to help you but pop me a DM on Facebook with some pictures and I can guide you through the whole process 🌻
@@MySustainabilityJourney thank you so very much for your answer!! I will make some pictures coming weekend! And yes I saw your video on the young citrus tree as well, but my citrus was quite out of "model". Sometimes I think nurseries also don't know much about how to prune a young tree ....;-)
Yeah, absolutely, it drives me crazy when I see most nurseries just top all their fruit trees. It severely limits what you can do with the tree or takes years to correct 😔
Can you re plant the top part or is that killed off?
Yes! Absolutely. They make perfect cuttings. Depending on the size you take off you could get multiple cuttings to get a few new trees 🌻
Thank you so much@@MySustainabilityJourney
Very informative video! From your experience, do you think after chopping it heavily, will it fruit the following coming summer? Thank you😊
Thank you so much and that's a great question! The simple answer is yes, it will. Why? Fig trees bear fruit on new growth, meaning all the new growth from an established tree that is pruned hard should give you lots of fruit. If you have a variety that gives you a Breba crop, or 2 crops in a season, then you will only get the main crop as the Breba crop grown on 1 year wood with the main crop on new growth 🌻
@@MySustainabilityJourney Great answer! I appreciate it and will try it this winter. Thank you so much. By the way, I’m zone 7, Germany👍
I admit I gasped when you cut the trunk. Would you do this topotted fig that is 6 years old? Also, please advise on how to care for fig tree that is in a pot. Thank you.
Haha, yes, trunk chopping takes quite a bit to do your first time 😅
For a 6yr old tree you can most certainly trunk chop it, however, you should have at least a couple branches you can use, unless the tree is too high.
For this tree I would prune a little later, once the new buds have just started opening. This is ensure the tree is awake and the sap is flowing. You would also need to glue or putty the top of the cut to avoid disease and make sure the cut is clean and at 45 degrees.
I have a few fig videos in my fig videos Playlist that you can look through, but I will be doing more in future so stay tuned for those 🌻🌻🌻
This is helpful. Thank you!
It is only a pleasure, Nicole 🌱
Great video.
Thank you Jay, glad you found value in this video 🌱
Thanks for sharing
It is only a pleasure 🌱
I have a fig tree that i planted about 4 years ago, Rouge de Bordeaux. Ive pruned it to tree from and the trunk is almost 2 inches diameter. This past winter, zone 7b, has left my fig tree with most of the branches splitting from the tree at the collar. It hasnt broken dormancy buy its green under the bark using a scratch test. I want to pollard it back to about 18 inches. This would remove all branching. Is this safe, will it survive?
Thanks for dropping me a comment and great questions you have there!
Figs are known to be very late to wake up so you you still have time. It sounds like the buds have not yet started swelling, which is good as you do not want a lot of sap flow when making large cuts like you are wanting too.
If, and only if, the buds have not started swelling (this indicates the break of dormancy) then you will be fine making a new cut lower down. If the buds have started swelling then you may run into issues of the wound oozing for a very long time, causing the tree to get quite weak.
Luckily figs are incredibly hardy and are near impossible to kill, so I am pretty sure you will be fine and just remember to control the new growth and select the new branches as early as possible 🌻