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overgrown fig tree

adamadamantadamadamant Posts: 278
in Plants
I inherited a massive fig tree on my allotment - it is in good sun and against a fence/wall so is very productive. However when I first got the allotment, April, and it had no leaves on it, I completely underestimated its size, and I cant get past it now.  It has been suggested I prune it hard and espalier it against the wall, which makes sense to me but this will be quite a drastic prune.  Is this a bad idea? I don't want to lose it.  Also when should I aim to do the work?  Thank you all

Posts

  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    Our fig tree over 25 years old is against a wall and no matter how we prune it , it is always a mass of tangled stems/branches. Someone will be able to give expert advice as we obviously are doing it all wrong all the time....we are though having figs again this year after a 3 year non harvest.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    You can prune it as hard as you like to get it the shape you want. I have pruned mine to a stump before, it still goes crazy every year.
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