Figs produce two sets of fruit in a year even if the embryo fruits produced now get frosted over the winter they produce a second set in spring which will be stronger and bigger. Unless you can protect the autumn embryos completely ie. undercover, it is best to rub them off and let the plant concentrate its energy on the later flush of fruit. In this area (North Bucks) we have a few figs growing in council planting schemes on the side of roads and foot paths and they are always dripping with fruit in midsummer - they get no care apart from the odd brutal prune with a hedge trimmer!
We have a Brown Turkey on a south-west facing fence, in Devon. It's 6 or 7 years old and is now HUGE, At first I used to wrap the shoots in fleece in winter to protect them from the frosts, but as the plant grew this became impossible. The only frost damage (in several recent hard winters) has been to the topmost shoots that protrude above the fence, and I just trimmed them down in the Spring. We've had good numbers of figs for several years - except this year, and that, I'm sure, is to do with the cool summer rather than the cold winter.
Just allow it plenty of space and be prepared to reinforce your fence in a few years, otherwise the weight of the fig tree may bring it down!
Plumstone, I think you inadvertantly gave incorrect advice in your post. The figs that will develop and ripen spend the winter as embryo figs no bigger than a tiny pea in the leaf axils at the top of the branches. If you rub them out as you advise you will not get any figs the next year.
The figs that should be removed from the tree in autumn are those that develop in the spring/early summer, which have not had time to grow to maturity in this country, outdoors, where they are really on the edge of their range. They will have the typical fig shape but they are small.
I have a load of unripe figs on my 2nd year tree in a pot, and need to know if I should remove them all at this time of the year. Had a small crop of about 6 in August and can also see some emerging pea sized which I believe will be next years crop which I should leave. Can someone confirm?
I live in SW Essex and do have a convenient brick wall against which I will transplant the tree next spring into a paving slab lined hole.
Thanks for the suggestion. What about the 2013 2nd crop, which in the country i believe is never going to ripen. Should I remove them entirely? They are nearly the size to pick, but I guess to late to ripen this year.
Mine are just the same, a second crop this year of almost fully-grown figs - I'm going to leave them another week as we have a relative heatwave forecast, but I'm almost resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to remove them - I'll then get the fleece ready to protect the embryo fruits from frost - the tree's still of a size to make this feasible and I can attach fleece to the fence behind it to make a 'lean to tent' so it should get plenty of air around it while still being protected.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Posts
Figs produce two sets of fruit in a year even if the embryo fruits produced now get frosted over the winter they produce a second set in spring which will be stronger and bigger. Unless you can protect the autumn embryos completely ie. undercover, it is best to rub them off and let the plant concentrate its energy on the later flush of fruit. In this area (North Bucks) we have a few figs growing in council planting schemes on the side of roads and foot paths and they are always dripping with fruit in midsummer - they get no care apart from the odd brutal prune with a hedge trimmer!
We have a Brown Turkey on a south-west facing fence, in Devon. It's 6 or 7 years old and is now HUGE, At first I used to wrap the shoots in fleece in winter to protect them from the frosts, but as the plant grew this became impossible. The only frost damage (in several recent hard winters) has been to the topmost shoots that protrude above the fence, and I just trimmed them down in the Spring. We've had good numbers of figs for several years - except this year, and that, I'm sure, is to do with the cool summer rather than the cold winter.
Just allow it plenty of space and be prepared to reinforce your fence in a few years, otherwise the weight of the fig tree may bring it down!
Plumstone, I think you inadvertantly gave incorrect advice in your post. The figs that will develop and ripen spend the winter as embryo figs no bigger than a tiny pea in the leaf axils at the top of the branches. If you rub them out as you advise you will not get any figs the next year.
The figs that should be removed from the tree in autumn are those that develop in the spring/early summer, which have not had time to grow to maturity in this country, outdoors, where they are really on the edge of their range. They will have the typical fig shape but they are small.
I have a load of unripe figs on my 2nd year tree in a pot, and need to know if I should remove them all at this time of the year. Had a small crop of about 6 in August and can also see some emerging pea sized which I believe will be next years crop which I should leave. Can someone confirm?
I live in SW Essex and do have a convenient brick wall against which I will transplant the tree next spring into a paving slab lined hole.
Thanks for the suggestion. What about the 2013 2nd crop, which in the country i believe is never going to ripen. Should I remove them entirely? They are nearly the size to pick, but I guess to late to ripen this year.
Mine are just the same, a second crop this year of almost fully-grown figs - I'm going to leave them another week as we have a relative heatwave forecast, but I'm almost resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to remove them - I'll then get the fleece ready to protect the embryo fruits from frost - the tree's still of a size to make this feasible and I can attach fleece to the fence behind it to make a 'lean to tent' so it should get plenty of air around it while still being protected.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.