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Overpruned fig tree?

jpbilkejpbilke Posts: 12
in Plants
Hello, 

Moved into my first home last July and have spent the last 10 months landscaping a very overgrown garden with no real prior experience. Learnt a lot and really enjoyed it but still know next to nothing about plants or trees! 

I have (had) an extremely leggy fig tree that needed cutting back. From reading up I missed the boat on the big prune in early spring but thought I might get away with cutting back the new growth which you are supposed to do late spring (now). I took that to mean cutting off all the fresh green shoots and now my wife is shouting at me because it has no leaves left (I basically cut off everything past the figs themselves as she didn't want to lose any fruit).

Have I ruined out chances of a successful harvest? It was covered with leaves yesterday.. 

Posts

  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    Your wife was right to shout at you. How will the tree feed itself let alone the figs? Shame as that looked like a good crop. But keep watering and hopefully will flush some new leaves, it's early in the season. Just be patient and do a good prune when the time is right, after all it looks to be out of the way. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    tell her she can do all the pruning in future
    Devon.
  • jpbilkejpbilke Posts: 12
    Thanks both. Still a few little leaves so fingers crossed. Can't believe I now have to go and tell her she was right.. That hurts more than the loss of figs.. Oh well, onwards and upwards, will be more careful next time! 
  • jpbilkejpbilke Posts: 12
    Hostafan1 said:
    tell her she can do all the pruning in future
    Yes, good idea I'll stick to digging things up and cutting things down (where allowed) 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    jpbilke said:
    Hostafan1 said:
    tell her she can do all the pruning in future
    Yes, good idea I'll stick to digging things up and cutting things down (where allowed) 
    Not without clear instructions or close supervision ... my OH has only just been allowed to develop any degree of autonomy at all, and he’s been in training for years 😉 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I think maybe you could be compost heap monitor. 
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    😊
    In London. Keen but lazy.
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