Hello friends.  I live in zone 6b-7a depending on the map I look at.e  I have been doing a lot of experimenting with figs in the past couple of years.  This year I field planted several cuttings without irrigation only rainwater.  Part of the reason for this is I have many other projects so designing irrigation was not possible, also I am trying to promote resilient trees that are somewhat drought resistant.  The whole year they stayed alive but I would not say they thrived, they were green but no real growth only healthy leaves.  How well do field planted cuttings typically do if mulched but otherwise neglected? Should I expect the plants to do well in the coming year if they remained alive all season?  Also, I get enough rain that I normally don't have to water any of my fruit trees or vines.

i tried some similar in the center of CT zone 6A or B . i stock 7 different cuttings in a huge sand box April 15 and 7 more may 15, did absolutely nothing just for experimental purposes. All 14 cuttings made it, they didn't grow mutch but looked very healthy at end of season. went further with my experiment, covered them with sand and some plastic before winter, if they survive i will pot them and fertilize .

Planting them in a sandpile would be a great idea to get them rooted Mario.  I am actually planning to keep mine planted in the place where they are.  Do you have any figs in the ground that have been there through a few freezes already?

Just don't use beach sand. It's too salty.

I would water them when they need it, according to how much rain you get.  Young trees have shallow roots until they get established.   Also, how is the fertility where they are growing?  They may need to be fertilized.  If you neglect them you may end up with poor growing, stunted trees.

chapman, i agree with you, but mine was strictly for experiment with extra cuttings.
next year i will try again with more attention

What is your recommendation for fertilizing young trees?

Hi tennesseefig,
A fig tree needs some sun, water and fertilizer, and that you don't disturb their roots.
As a fertilizer, you could use manure, dirt from the nurseries, or the blue bullets NPK 10/10/10
You need to water them well at Spring time for them to wake and grow srong from the beginning of the season.
If you don't water them, the fruits will be tiny and not edible.
This year we had/have crazy weather: Almost no rain since May or June when normally we get a decent amount of rain.
I couldn't keep up with watering for some reason, and had to leave one fig tree unwatered... Well, hopefully, I will never ever have to do so as that fig tree only produced
small dry corky figs when they should be figs of good quality ... Live and learn ... First tha I have that happening to me as I normally water and fertilize well.

I did this with a couple of cuttings and they are growing just fine after two years. However, I did water them the first year anytime we went more than 10 or so days without rain. This year (the second) I did not water them except when they looked really bad wilted; maybe 2-3 times in the year.

all fig trees in greece are never watered.
they probably need help the first season, and after that the roots are long enough 
to find what they need to make it.

I would grow them in pots for a year or two. Once they are established I think they will be fine. You just have to get them to that point.
However, if you have no other options, give it a try

Wow thanks for the awesome video!  If only I could have had some english subtitles... Those seem like HUGE holes for tiny cuttings, I understand the concept but wondering how necessary it really is.

Last spring, I planted several Fig trees without irrigation at a remote property that I own. After a long summer and despite the summer drought most still show signs of life.
I initially gave each tree a full bag of Texas native tree bark mulch and will probably add some more next spring. One of the advantages of this location is the black soil and the fact that it floods at several spots after the rain. All the trees that I planted were a couple of years old with a nice root system but were root bound, so I had no choice but to put them into the ground.
Some experienced a total die back but put on new growth from the roots. I would not want to try to root cuttings directly into the ground . There are to many forces that might work against me this way. 

tennesseefig,

Figs go mostly for fresh consumption in house and friends, best Smyrna are selected for drying to be eaten through winter.
We do not make wine from figs but in the old days the inferior quality fruit were distilled and the product was a very strong alcoholic drink (bagaço) or given to cattle
Some examples of our dry figs, typically pollinated varieties very sweet and crunchy

 
 
 
Francisco
Portugal

I know we are going way off topic but how what methods do you use for drying? if you don't mind please give a summary of the procedure.  I am looking for the most energy efficient methods of dehydration.

BTW I will keep this updated next year with my progress of just planting cuttings in the ground without irrigation but my belief is that it obviously is a tried and true method as per the video above.

Dehydrators are not needed here as figs dry under full sun only,  through July/August and September months

-Approx one week is needed to complete the drying process
-Follows a plunge in boiling water for 2 minutes, then washed and  rinsed in cold water and back to the sun for 1 day
-Now ready to be stores in wooden cases in layers with some herbs in between layers (funnel, thyme, carob leaves etc)
-Some farmers roast the dry figs before storing (That's the way I like best)

Here a video prepared in the Island of Ibiza in the Balearic Islands showing pick-up drying and storing of dry figs.

Francisco,

What is the shelf life after drying them vs roasting them?

Great question Sas.  Oh and Francisco thanks for your wealth of knowledge my friend. What purpose do the herbs serve in the storage process?