Fig tree

[porshiepoo]

I have been given 2 fig trees that I believe were cuttings from Fig trees in Italy.
Does anyone up here have any experience of looking after these trees up here as I have none.
Both trees are substantial sizes (bout 7ft), in pots and have never fruited except one of them had one lonesome fruit which amounted to nowt.

At the moment I'm keeping them in the polytunnel but in the summer I'll put them outside somewhere sheltered as we're close to the sea.
I know to keep them relatively pot bound but have no idea about pruning etc. Both of them seem to be bare long stems with just buds right up near the tips. Is it ok to prune the branches down to encourage a more bushier shrub?

[puffin croft]

we have one in our poly planted in the earth we have lots of fruit havent had to prune yet ours are shrub like and is called turkish brown thay have one one the south wall in the walled garden at Mey Castle, and that has shoots comming from the bottom
hopethis helps regards puffin croft

[Pony]

We have one in our greenhouse which fruits well every year. Not sure what breed it is...we have never had to prune it - its about 6 - 7 foot high and is kept in a large pot. I think the growth is restricted by the size of the pot you give it. We feed it liquid plant food in summer and thats it. Dont know if it would be happy outside up here but its definately happy inside.

[porshiepoo]

Thanks for that both of you.

These have never really fruited so I'm just hoping it's not because they're some species that doesn't do well here (they were cuttings from Italy).

It's a shame they're just upright bare stems with buds at the top, they're not too nice to look at lol. Think I'll have to get some expert advice on pruning them to shape so that they can stay in the PT full time.

[WeeBurd]

Porshie, Monty Donn did a piece on the pruning og fig trees on last weeks Gardener's World, might be worth checking out BBC iPlayer :-)

[porshiepoo]

Porshie, Monty Donn did a piece on the pruning og fig trees on last weeks Gardener's World, might be worth checking out BBC iPlayer :-)


I saw that too. Thanks.
At the moment I've just pruned them so that they can fit in the PT without going through the top. I've managed to kill of all the Red Spider mite and both Figs are producing fruit, though I've heard that fruit set this time of year won't actually ripen.