Why doesn't my fig - give a fig?

**burnie** · 02-06-2019, 09:28 PM

I believe they like to be root bound, so the pot is probably the best place, sure someone with more knowledge will be along soon my late Aunt used to grow them and I know it was quite a wait for the fruit to be ready.

**devonuk** · 02-06-2019, 10:05 PM

I grow them in that size of pot in a cold greenhouse, and they fruit ok. I don't remember how many years they took to come into bearing but i am fairly sure it was before they were 4 ft tall. But if you are confident it is true to name, I think the best advice is just to hang in there and wait for it to come good.

**veggiechicken** · 02-06-2019, 10:06 PM

Mine's in a 12" gap between 2 boundary walls in the front garden. It took a few years to get going then it went crazy. The figs grew, ripened and within a day were infested with wasps - just alongside where I park my car.

Wherever a branch touched the soil, it rooted and spread along the walls - its now about 10' long . I've given up on the figs - I keep it cut back as a "hedge".

**Jay-ell** · 02-06-2019, 10:15 PM

Lardman do you have any photos?

How and when do you prune it?

Do you pinch out the tips?

When you look into the leaf nodes do you see any little bumps and if so, how many?

**fluffybunnyuk** · 03-06-2019, 05:35 AM

age could be a factor. some take 5 years before fruiting. too much nitrogen , or watering is most likely problem. Remember the plant doesnt need a sofa and widescreen TV, it needs a coffin next to it to remind it, its about to die. At that point you'll get the biggest harvest you've had. The motto is treat them mean , keep them keen.

My turkeys in the living room window... cos i like fig juice all over my floor.

**gardening_gal** · 03-06-2019, 11:32 AM

Originally posted by fluffybunnyuk View Post

a Remember the plant doesnt need a sofa and widescreen TV, it needs a coffin next to it to remind it, its about to die.

Had you considered maybe your name is a misnomer?

**veggiechicken** · 03-06-2019, 11:41 AM

Originally posted by fluffybunnyuk View Post

My turkeys in the living room window... cos i like fig juice all over my floor.

That's not what my chooks leave when they're in the kitchen.

**fluffybunnyuk** · 03-06-2019, 12:35 PM

My monstera deliciosa knows when its watering time , all the aerial roots start pointing at the bedroom door.... Once you let these things get in,settled down and comfy , they can be damn difficult to get rid of. Who wants a 10ft plant that crawls across the ceiling...? When it gets in the bath the water level visibly drops. I did try sticking it in the fish tank to help clean the tank but it kept drinking the damn thing dry.
Its why i turned to fruit trees instead. The output goes into fruiting with fruit trees not doubling in size everytime it looks at the packet of incredicrop fertilizer...
Its a good thing it hasnt discovered fashion or it'd be asking if it looked big next to my wardrobe.

Theres no such thing as a rabbit safe fruit tree.

**bikermike** · 03-06-2019, 12:41 PM

Originally posted by fluffybunnyuk View Post

age could be a factor. some take 5 years before fruiting. too much nitrogen , or watering is most likely problem. Remember the plant doesnt need a sofa and widescreen TV, it needs a coffin next to it to remind it, its about to die. At that point you'll get the biggest harvest you've had. The motto is treat them mean , keep them keen.

My turkeys in the living room window... cos i like fig juice all over my floor.

You are Crowley from Good Omens AICM �5...
"477 likes
Like
�He had heard about talking to plants in the early seventies, on Radio Four, and thought it was an excellent idea. Although talking is perhaps the wrong word for what Crowley did.
What he did was put the fear of God into them.
More precisely, the fear of Crowley.
In addition to which, every couple of months Crowley would pick out a plant that was growing too slowly, or succumbing to leaf-wilt or browning, or just didn't look quite as good as the others, and he would carry it around to all the other plants. "Say goodbye to your friend," he'd say to them. "He just couldn't cut it. . . "
Then he would leave the flat with the offending plant, and return an hour or so later with a large, empty flower pot, which he would leave somewhere conspicuously around the flat.
The plants were the most luxurious, verdant, and beautiful in London. Also the most terrified.� "

https://www.goodreads.com/work/quote...s-nutter-witch

**Jay-ell** · 03-06-2019, 01:02 PM

My Brown Turkey Fig died a couple of years ago. Since it's death it's bucked it's ideas up and produced a couple of figs last year.

**Snoop Puss** · 03-06-2019, 02:01 PM

Turn it into a tree, not a bush. In other words, try and identify a main trunk and lop everything else off (not at this time of year). A good shock is said to help figs (chop off branches and the odd root is what people do here).

Also, and controversially, I don't understand this thing about them liking being pot-bound. Is that to keep them small? There are dozens of fig trees round me and not a one is in a pot. The best figs come from single-trunk trees.

**bikermike** · 03-06-2019, 02:08 PM

I think it's a latitude thing - in british summers the tree thinks "this is OK, I can do some growing and then fruit when the weather warms up". Keep it in a pot and it thinks "this is as good as it gets, best get fruiting".

In warmer forrin climes, you probably don't need to do this.

**Snoop Puss** · 03-06-2019, 06:32 PM

^It's an interesting question. This year, toms and the like couldn't go out here till just a few days ago. Very often a cold snap at the end of September finishes them off. Certainly by mid-October we're well into frost season and temps of minus 6 �C at night and dropping. So while it's true that the summers are hot, the summer season isn't that long and the winters will be harder than Worcestershire (minus 12 �C is usual but we have got as low as minus 17 �C plus wind chill).

Anyway, I still reckon give it a really hard prune.

**Jay-ell** · 03-06-2019, 06:36 PM

Do you pinch the tips to induce fruiting?

Announcement

Why doesn't my fig - give a fig?

Why doesn't my fig - give a fig?

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Latest Topics

Recent Blog Posts