Michael,

Sure...I think these two and the current one are it.  Pete has talked about it also and I know a couple other people were trying it.  In the first thread I said the verticals would be at least 4 feet tall.......I was a bit off on that guess.

your project is comendable.  I wonder if varieties like Hollier, Hardy Chicago, Marseilles would work also. 

Great work Wills. I'm just wondering. When you trim the figs are you going to sell cuttings, fishing poles or pulpwood?

Wills, another thought on this, just a guess, but would seem that the bigger the fruit and the more productive the fruiting then the less the upward vegetative growth.
If so, VDB would be near the worst possible cultivar for cordon growing in your Florida climate given its small fruit size.
(Unless possibly you allow those cordons to bush out each year. Then you would be growing VDB like berries on cordoned bushes.)
LSU Gold and I believe Golden Riverside have big fruit size. Don't know about big dark varieties.
If fertilized properly to increase node per inch ratio, then the fruit weight could thicken the verticals and simultaneously reduce vegetative height.
Upward vegetative energy would be redirected to stem (vertical) support (thickening) and to intensified fruiting and to larger fruiting.
You might need to grow figs as big as apples in dense clusters to limit vertical height given your high quality growing conditions.
And you might regardless need to grow more verticals closer together. I can't see this as a problem.
I don't understand why you grow your verticals so sparsely. This seems to be asking for rampant upward growth.

I grafted a Black Madeira on a Brown Turkey and it seems to be growing more vigorous than it normally does.  Maybe using a non-vigorous variety as rootstock would be helpful in your situation.  Grafting onto your VdB might still result in vigorous plants.

Branches pulled down horizontally also grow slower for most things and I wonder what pulling the tops down to the supports might do.  I also saw one cherry grower take the rather drastic step of bending branches down and partially breaking them.  That certainly slowed them down but they continued producing fruit.

Many years ago I read of pear growers training branches horizontally and it was explained the horizontal branches bore fruit earlier in the season. This might not work in the system you (and I) are using but I'm still wondering if this might somehow be used to produce fruit earlier.  Just brain-storming.  I plan on pretty much all of my trees being grown in this manner.  So far I've not had more than 6-7 feet of growth and hope it stays at that.

Yes more than 8 feet of growth per vertical is almost an absurd problem to have but a good problem it seems to me. Since there are not a million verticals, maybe the simplest solution is to simply walk down the cordon 2 or 3 times per summer with long handled clippers and clip off the top of each vertical. Mulch or compost with the clippings. Or maybe a local nursery would want to come by and do the pruning on regular basis for nursery stock. It's possible that summer pruning could produce too much branching but there might be a pruning technique that could limit that.

I can't quite judge the size of your VDB. I was assuming they are about the size of a typical Mount Etna type fruit or smaller? which is the size mine run.
I've always considered that size to be small-to-medium especially when compared to some of the larger light varieties available. 
I don't have a good feel yet for the main crop size of larger dark varieties. And maybe I am misjudging the size of your VDB.

Tony (Hllyhll),
A variable that was not mentioned and which should be considered is WillsC's Zone and length of the growing season. His growing season is at least 2 times longer than mine, which would allow his trees that much more time to grow. For colder zones the espalier pruning techniques results in earlier and consistent fig production on the verticals, they may never grow as tall as WillsC due to the shorter growing season and the vigorous growth should be encouraged.

The Espalier procedures were actually devised for production in a shorter growing season, but extending the length of the cordons (horizontals) will produce slower growth in the verticals. The verticals don't branch due to the Auxins that are produced in the growing Apical tips, when the tips are pruned or pinched excessive branching will occur. Trialing and experimenting with the posted procedures in your zone will answer many of your questions.

WillsC,
IMO, its due to the uninterrupted flow of nutrients from the roots and Auxins back down to the roots.
The same condition occurs when the Japanese Pruning technique (cutting back fruiting branches to 2 nodes at the scaffold or cordons) is applied to the Tree Form. 

Wills, my water table is higher than yours in most areas on my farm and especially where my figs are planted. I've installed drip lines in my new fig orchard but expect I won't be watering them once all the trees in each row have become established.  My fig orchard is at an elevation of about -5 feet and the Sacramento River located about 1,500 feet away averages around +3 feet (0 to +5 is typical except for when we have heavy run-ff).  I still "hope" that the soil will dry up some during growing season as it does for other crops.

I was just looking at my Panache which is partially shaded by a jujube but also sheltered from wind.  It also doesn't look to be suffering from lack of sunlight but has about 9 feet of growth on it (this is in a fairly dry location, water table about about 6-7 feet).  I wonder if more of the rapid growth is due to wind protection.  One of my alfalfa fields has trees on three sides and alfalfa grows faster and taller in that field than my other larger fields.  Corn in a neighbor's field protected by one of those same rows of trees also grows extremely tall every year.  Not much you can do about adding wind.

Some varieties do seem to branch much more than others.  My RdB and Socorro Black come to mind as being more of a bush than a tree.

WillsC,
There is no difference...
The reason why the pruning techniques work is that it uses the inherent growth properties of the fig tree. IMO, The straight verticals are a direct result of the scaffold branches (Cordons) creating an unrestricted path for flow of nutrients and plant hormones (Auxins and Cytokinins) between the Roots and Apical bud.

Its been my observation that when young potted trees are trained as single vertical stem as opposed to multi branched, the tree will develop a larger caliper and total height in that single trunk. Yes, I've gotten over 6 feet of growth in several different potted cultivars in one season. This is applicable to the observed growth of the espaliers. My stepover espaliers developed similar growth, with over six feet of growth in most verticals with normal to long internode spacing and without any branching.

Wills,
It is interesting that there are zero branches.  However, this is not necessarily a bad thing.  If you grow in this style, don't you actually want the verticals to just keep growing upward with a fig at each node?  Isn't that ideal?  Yes, the fact that they are 14' high might mean that you need to use a ladder, so maybe you'd rather have them at 7' high.  Maybe try spacing them closer together? 

Maybe they are getting slightly less light than they want and that's why they keep growing straight up?  That combined with the stepover method?  Some types of trees really don't branch much.  Think about some types of pine trees.  There is one central leader and then a bunch of small branches off that.  Maybe since your central leader is now growing horizontally with each of the verticals essentially a branch.  There is clearly abundant nitrogen and water.  So the limiting factor on the the trees' growth appears to be sunlight, so growing straight up might be an attempt to get more sunlight. 

I don't know if that makes sense or has any basis in horticultural theory, it just seems to match up with the growing conditions to me. 

As an experiment, maybe rip one of them out of the ground after they go dormant and transplant in a location with full sun? 

My sister lives in northern Florida and she grows fig trees down there.  She plants them in locations where live oaks or scrub oaks shade them pretty much the whole day, but they seem to do fine and have a large crop.  There is enough filtered sunlight that with the long growing season they might actually be happier there.  She also has chickens running around doing their thing.

I really think what you're doing is a great system to keep growth in check and have easy access to all the fruits.  Did you ever think of selling cuttings at the end of the year?  With 194 feet of growth at 8 inches per cutting that would be about 300 cuttings.  VdB is certainly a variety that could fetch a lot of interest, but there are other varieties that are in even more demand for cuttings. 

Maybe you could find a commercial nursery that would want a large quantity of cuttings, but who knows.  Maybe a way to make a quick few hundred bucks.  Maybe not. 

If you decide to grow or graft on one of those apparently highly sought but slow growing cultivars like Black Ischia or Black Madeira, I'm sure we'd all love to hear about your progress. 

Keep up the good work!

WillsC,
The reason for non branching is exactly that "Technically the verticals are branches" each one is a shoot producing auxins which are being sent to the roots, regulating the root cytokinins.
.

Quote:

Plant_Physiol.-2006-Dun-812-9.pdf ,
Feedback regulation (Fig. 2j) is commonly involved
in maintaining homeostasis in systems. In terms of
shoot branching, lateral bud outgrowth is balanced
with the growth of other plant parts, particularly other
shoots. The feedback mechanisms identified thus far
for shoot branching involve auxin, cytokinin, and SMS

Dang Wills, that is some good duck poop.  I have read from various sources that VDB is not that vigorous and good for container culture, but you have told me otherwise.  Now I see the proof. 

Would love to see some pics of the inside of your VDBs.

If I try this in a colder climate (Maryland, 7a), I have some questions:

1. how close to the ground should they be
2. how deep should I cover them
3. does it matter whether it's mulch or soil?  presumably the heavier (soil) will have a higher level of thermal mass, therefore being more effective.  But also somewhat more difficult to uncover each spring.
4. If I cover them up in December, will the plants try to grow roots from the horizontals, and will this be a problem in the spring.
5. when should I uncover them?

1. how close to the ground should they be

Closer the better.

2. how deep should I cover them

no clue:)


3. does it matter whether it's mulch or soil?  presumably the heavier (soil) will have a higher level of thermal mass, therefore being more effective.  But also somewhat more difficult to uncover each spring.

Soil would protect better i'm sure.


4. If I cover them up in December, will the plants try to grow roots from the horizontals, and will this be a problem in the spring.

Even if they did root which I doubt they would that time of year it would not matter.  When you uncovered them and exposed the roots to air they would dry up and fall off no harm done. 


5. when should I uncover them?

No clue:) 

That looks really nice. 

I see the Empire State building in that cutting board.