I am impressed with the interest in the Japanese way of pruning figs.    I posted articles on this topic a few years ago and have seen some good postings about the topic, some of them very recent.    I thought that I would update you with my recent project.

I started training a couple of figs this way a few years ago, but lost both of them to voles.   (Most of my figs are grown in containers).    Two years ago I planted a fig in our community fruit tree orchard.    It froze to the ground due to our severe winter but came back very strongly this year.

It grew two long branches that I trained into the opposing lateral branches (see the photos) about a month and a half ago.   It has responded nicely.    After it goes dormant, I'll trim off any of the newly formed vertical branches, trim the end a bit and will cover it up for the winter.   Hopefully I'll get it covered well and that our weather won't be too extreme this winter.     If winter protection is successful, we may get some ripe figs before the end of the season next year.

Ingevald
      

Looks good!

Which variety did you plant?

Byron (Ingevald),
Thanks again for sharing the links of the Japanese pruning techniques.
Thanks for sharing the pictures and info on your espalier. I have the same question as Bob C, What Cultivar is it? : )
Good Luck. Hopefully my planned winter protection for the fig trees will be successful this year, It wasn't last year.

Since finding and reading your topic and links I've been trialing the Japanese fig pruning technique for the past 2 seasons in the Espalier, Tree and Bush form and I have nothing but praise for its use. It will produce more figs in a smaller canopy and planter and will also provide a smaller profile for winterization since most of the unproductive wood is removed at the end of the season.

Byron,
Thanks for the thread.
I am entertaining the idea of turning all my fig trees into espalier style. I always loved the idea of having low trimmed trees. Let them go horizontal then cut every other vertical away to get breba on old wood and main crop on young. 

Nice work, that's a great looking plant.  VdB?

Byron,
It looks good considering the short amount of time since the damage. I'm encouraged by the new found interest in this method. thx 4 info.

Hello,
    Sorry for the delay.   Thanks for your comments and thanks Pete, for your experiments on this and for reporting them.  
     I had to find my records to make sure I remembered the variety correctly.    It is Conadria and was planted in June 2013 - a small plant in a one gallon container at the time.    Another local friend had good luck with one and I had an extra.  So, that is what got planted.   Originally I had planted an Atreano, but it wasn't strongly rooted at the time and did not make it.
    Anyway, I am looking forward to next year's results and hoping that voles don't find their way to this delicious morsel in the community fruit tree orchard.
Ingevald

Very interesting!  Especially since it's so close being in Lawrence!  Please do post the progress as next year unfolds.
Thank you!

Ingevald,

It looks great:)  It is tied down to stakes right?  Do you think that will be enough to hold it up as it gets larger?

Yes, right now it is just tied to some bamboo stakes with nylon cord - that was what was available.    I might move to something more permanent like rebar in the future.    Just a side note - I use rebar in my yard for garden hose guides along pathways.   For safety, I put a tennis ball on top in case someone trips.   I might do that or bend the top if I use it for the fig.    The sharp end just looks unsafe.
   It has been a while since I reviewed documents on the Japanese methods, but seem to remember that they would secure some sort of metal pipe (looks like conduit pipe) at a certain height and then tie the branches to that pipe.    For this small project, anything that secures it and does not strangle the lateral branches should work just fine.   I also think that the trunk will develop some strength over time but will still keep it secured since wind storms are inevitable around here and could tear things up.

Byron (aka Ingevald)

Byron,
Thanks for the reply. I will also be trialing Conadria EL as a stepover espalier next season.

Last year I used 3/4" EMT (metal conduit tubing) wired to two 5' cast fence posts as the uprights. The fence posts can also be used as trellis supports for the verticals, if needed. It forms a 10' horizontal tiedown for the main cordons. My new trellis plan has the EMT conduits at 2" off the ground for easier winterization. Two fired clay bricks will be used as spacers under the EMT conduit.
  .

I welded up a rebar runner for the stepovers to rest on.  The problem though is it was too long to move as one unit as it was 30' by 18' with a 90 degree bend so had to do the final assembly in place and my big welder could not be used as no way to power that far from the shop so had to buy a 110v cheap welder to do the final connections and tiny rods.  I bent the final 2' of the ends down and cemented them in.  If you go that route and need to connect two pieces of rebar the ends from leafsprings are the perfect size.  Took awhile to find something the right size for that job.

The stakes will work for now.  Eventually the weight and windload would I fear snap the horizontal at the trunk if not supported more firmly from side to side movement from the wind.

I hope my plans for T-posts and trellis wire for supports don't fall short.  They're adequate for very heavy grape crops so I believe they should be okay for my trellised figs.

Like Pete, I am considering using 3/4" EMT conduit with the horizontal piece about 6 feet long.  I am wondering how many vertical pieces of conduit anchored into the ground is needed.  Is one at each end enough, given that much of the weight will be supported by the single trunk situated in the middle of the horizontal span?  Or should it put in a couple more vertical supports in internal locations?  I'm also wondering whether anchoring in concrete is necessary in my instance since I will have a 6 feet high fence a couple feet to the west that will help break the wind.  I'm thinking that driving them directly into the soil 2 feet might be enough.

Byron,

Thanks for posting this.  Looks like a good start.  What are you planning for winter protection?  Two ideas I had posted in a separate post were bales of straw or burying.

Any ideas for rodent protection?  I see there's a little bit of fencing around the base, I assume to protect against rodents.

Also possibly floating row covers/hoop houses in the spring to get things going faster. 

I figure I will worry about how to secure it later.  I would think that over time as the caliper of the horizontals increases it might not be necessary, but maybe that's naive.

Rob,
In one of the links that Ingevald provided... http://www.hawaiifruit.net/togofig/index.html , the espaliers are planted under hoop structures that could be covered with plastic.
  .

For rodent protection, proven remedies have been poison, traps or moth balls near the base of the trees. Good Luck.

For warmer zones the larger tree form espalier may be more appropriate... http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=1273826329&postcount=151

The high hoop structure is necessary as it is used to hang the support for the verticals.

In a smaller yard situation, a two foot high or so removeable hoop could be used for the winter protection, maybe just have the horizontals 6" above ground level.
I have space for only a short length of horizontals and , hence, only a modest number of verticals at a one foot spacing.
I plan to just use some of the six ft. tall green stakes from HD to support the verticals and keep them from breaking off in a breeze.
Not the plan for the most productive arrangement with larger space and good sunlight.  However in my situation it should allow me more varieties and good winter protection.

Charley,
Your planned staking is similar to that pictured on page 6 of the Prescriptive Espalier document,  japan-fig1.pdf     
.
The translation was done with Google Translate... Good Luck.

Thanks for the sharing your thoughts and information.    This is inspiring me to think more about this project.     Having a better location (lots of sunshine and good airflow) at the community fruit tree orchard will definitely give me a chance to see how a fig plant can perform at its best when trained this way.    I am missing the micro-climate aspect though.   In this northern location (zone 5, although recently more like zone 6 except for last year), it would truly be most productive if it was planted on the south side of a wall.     Lacking my ideal greenhouse, this will be good enough for now.

   Rob asked a few questions above that I will try to answer.   For winter protection I have a basic plan.   After trimming off the vertical branches, I will likely pile mulch over the plant - will try to get a pile at least 6 inches or more above the laterals (this plan is evolving).   I'll put a tarp over the heap of mulch.   I'll use bricks to provide as good a seal to the ground as possible.

    Burying with soil is an option to consider.   Straw is also an option.   I am trying to be cautious due to the remote chance of attracting voles again.    I had used fiberglass in previous years to insulate my box covering one of the figs and did not have voles but when I filled the space with leaves, they apparently thrived in that medium.   I think that I read that mulch is a good option.   I am not sure about straw although a neighbor protects an older tree and uses straw for insulation. 
 
   You did notice the 1/2 inch hardware cloth correctly.    I made a cylinder of this wire mesh and buried it about 6 inches or so.    My only mistake with that is that I did not make the diameter large enough and will have to deal with it someday when the tree expands.    Live and learn...

   Another rodent protection idea might be for me to create a cavity inside with some baited traps.  I am not too keen on using poison, but that could be another option.    The thinking on this is also evolving.  

   The Japanese method seems to have been designed to accomplish the following:
1)  ease of harvest - keeps the fruit at an easy picking level
2)  pruning for production - in combination with other techniques we have discussed on the forums (pinching, etc), the design evolved in Japan to be very productive.   (see production possibilities below)
3)  efficient use of space - maximizing production within available space
4)  I heard or read somewhere that the low profile was favored because of resistance to typhoons - larger trees would sustain more damage or get ripped out.
5)  For northern growers - a low profile maks it easy to cover in the winter after removing the verticals.
6)  Have I missed anything??

   Production, from what I have learned, is very high using this efficient system in greenhouses or out in the open in warmer areas. (Remember that aside from meticulous pruning practices, they apply mulching, use chemicals to control bugs, carefully monitor temperature and very carefully monitor nutrient applications.)     Their primary fig, Masui Dauphine, is big, about 100 grams.   Production numbers are around 2.5 Kg of figs per square meter.    That is a lot of production!

  There are other ways to prune/shape the tree.   The photo that Pete posted is a good example of another espalier form that could work in a warmer climate.  One has to consider the options and and stick with a plan that is sensible and productive for your area.

   Thanks again for the discussion and will look forward to more postings and postings showing the results of our efforts.  

Byron (aka Ingevald)

I tried it last year with clothes line wire and t posts, it worked very well, but they died due to bad winter protection on my part, I didn't repeat as I left the to grow up more and I planted more varieties as well in ground so it took up more space in the end.  RdB would be a great candidate for this in northern regions, it grows very vigorously.

For all those using this method.

I was in plans on a horizontal espalier while in Texas.  I had a few issues which delayed it.  It doesn't seem like there is too much conversation about the main reason I wanted to try it... trialing new varieties by grafting them onto the vertical branches.  I estimated 8-10 varieties per 15' of horizontal length.  Once a variety is deemed desirable, it can be air-layered from the espalier.  For someone with limited space or not a lot of patience waiting to try a variety, this seems like a great way to go.  Any thoughts?

James,
My only concern with grafting is spreading FMV or creating plants that have a greater FMV cocktail in the rootstock or scion.

I agree with Pete's thoughts about introducing FMV (or some other agent of disease) to the rootstock.    This happened to me once on a few fig plants.  Years ago when I was not as successful rooting cuttings, I thought that I would graft them on another plant.   Two of my rootstocks soon displayed some vile FMV symptoms.   
   I'd say it would be a good experiment if you have enough material to experiment with.

Ingevald

Byron and Pete, thanks for all you have posted on this topic.

Like Rob I'm planning on using a horizontal training method to help make winter protection easy. The attraction to a method like this for me is that in Colorado (along the front range anyway) while we do get very cold, it only lasts for a few hours. Because our winter weather is mostly mild, with a few cold snaps the ground never gets terribly cold. It seems like this would be a good way to use the heat stored in the ground to the benefit of the trees.
The one addition I'm considering is to plant the trees in a trench so that the cordons are below the frost line, not all that deep here. I would probably have the cordons six to twelve inches below the soil surface. This way the could be simply covered with wood chips or the trench covered with plywood and then mulch. The result would in ground trees that are stored in a root cellar for the winter, plus the benefit of a simple pit greenhouse if the spring.
Of course rodents would be a concern, but outside of that what do you think? Is it going to be easier than protecting trees grown at ground level, or too much extra work for little gain? I can see how it could work very well, but also ways it could go wrong. I'm interested to hear what others think.