Page 1 of 1

Advice on pruning my figs

Posted: April 12th, 2011, 6:07 pm
by tom k
Hi all, I'm new here.
Here are some photo's of my figs (full photos are followed by close-ups of each). All 3 were started from collected seedlings with a bulge at the base but no branching. The first was snapped off a wall with no roots, the others pulled from a crook of a street tree.
Any suggestions/advice on training would be appreciated.
In particular- On the first, should I be cutting any of the top branches to stop a reverse taper developing? On the second, should I be tipping, cutting back a few leaves, or cutting back to bare branches? On the third, should I select one branch from the two areas where they have clustered after pruning? On this one I think I should root prune as it's been growing vigorously and I'm afraid it'll turn into an ugly tangle, so I should take some top growth too?
And should I do these things now or wait till next spring/summer?
Hope these pics are good enough to be able to say...
Thanks heaps
PS Like the Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides) on the base? I think it looks cool and encourages arial rooting.

Re: Advice on pruning my figs

Posted: April 12th, 2011, 6:08 pm
by tom k
Oops, sorry, they're in reverse order :oops:

Re: Advice on pruning my figs

Posted: April 12th, 2011, 6:19 pm
by Handy Mick
Hey Tom, where do you live in Australia? It is quite important when giving advice to have such info.

Mick

Re: Advice on pruning my figs

Posted: April 12th, 2011, 6:35 pm
by tom k
Sorry, thought it came up on the member info thing.
I'm in inner sydney, so no frost but temps occasionally down to 1 degree in mid/late winter.

Re: Advice on pruning my figs

Posted: April 12th, 2011, 8:14 pm
by Gerard
As a general rule I will only work on figs in summer. A greenhouse will allow more flexibility. If you are concerned about reverse taper you could remove one or two offending branches but avoid repotting and agressive pruning if possible.