Lattarula before pruning. This was a challenge. Growth this year was rampant, making thick tall canes, as tall as the house. Lattarula has a great breba crop, one of the best for me. I love this fig. I wanted to keep enough 2012 growth for a good 2013 breba crop. But also, prune back so it doesn't become too big. I don't want to climb a ladder to harvest figs. This photo is after taking lots of cuttings, so the tree was even more congested a week ago.
After. I pruned about half of the growth. There are about 10 branches pruned to stubs, which I want to make new canes at lower level, for fall crop and brebas for 2014. The rest are left for brebas, which I can prune away after they bear in mid Summer. That will make for a more compact tree. I also kept some prunings to start a tree at the Battleground place.
Do you have any advice for a newbie to fig tree growing? I have a 3-foot stalk with promise of leaves on the end. It's a starter Lattarula which is still in a pot. I think we can find a spot with good afternoon sun (whenever it comes back) to plant. The tag says that Stanley (that's what I've named him) will grow to 15 feet, but I'd like him to stay about the height of the tree you have pictured in this post. Do I need to make any moves this early to keep him small?
ReplyDeleteCheryl, I recommend you check the fig forum on gardenweb.com or figs4fun.com forum. There is an incredible wealth of experience on both.
ReplyDeleteTo keep the tree small, I would top it at about 2 or 3 feet. It will branch below that. Whenever the branches have 4 to 6 leaves, I would nip the top bud of each branch. That will encourage low branching and also encourage fig production. It's what I do.