I'm having problems with my figs this year.
Many, H.C., Colosanti dark, several unknowns, vdb, petite negri, have many figs that are turning colour towards ripe colour, getting rubbery, and falling off. The figs while they are turning colour are not increasing in size at all. A few are just in pots, but others are in partially buried pots with root access to the ground. Any ideas on what is happening or why?

You're not alone. I have some figs doing the same thing, turning color, not swelling then falling off. I'm blaming it on this weird weather. It's too cool and rainy which is not typical for us. We should be in the dog days of summer with hot and humid weather and the sun baking everything. It was in the upper 40s last night and was suppose to hit 70 today but I don't think we got there yet.

Are they Turing brownish? Or are there little brown areas?
If so it's a lack of calcium add some bath salts and egg shells to the soil.

My H.C. is doing the same thing right now -- but I see at least one fig that seems to heading toward truly ripening, and I hope it'll be a good example for the other remaining ones that haven't fallen off. Hope it resolves itself or someone suggests a solution!

Some reasons comes to mind,

Perhaps rootbound in containers ?
Lack of fertilzer early in season.
Too many figs on plant for plant size ie no pinching of plants in containers so continue bloom of figs which plant size cannot handle .
One can have plant go thru pot into ground and also have root system rootbound in pot as roots keep growing off each other.

Just like those fancy pots that suppose to prune the roots for you  - yeah right  -the ones that grow to side of pot but it simply cannot not prune the interior of the rootball which has many fine roots growing off of the roots themselves getting thicker mass at a constant rate and eventually inside will be all roots.

 one thing i did in past -
Root pruned hard in offeseason and forget to trim canopy to match come growing season figs came on then many fell off simply because root system to small to nourish them plant was Hardy Chicago and never dropped any figs prior.

Here we have had crappy weather just like other members .
All i use is miracle grow fertilzer which now is stopped for season and keep plants well watered.
Figs should not drop on those you list.

Figs will drop because of stress of some reasons listed above or in some Celeste cultivars and Pastiliere case - genetics.

I lost some too. Changed colour somewhat but didn't swell and then dropped. It happened after a long spell of cold weather.

Thanks for all the input.
I'll try the bath salts to see if that helps. Some are turning brownish spottily, others whole fig turning towards its darker purplier ripe colour.
Guess I'll have to wait on checking to see if they are root bound, for some that might be the case, for others I don't think so as this would be only second season in their pot.
Most of the plants have put on good growth, so I don't think it is/was lack of fertilizer earlier in the season.
I started pinching off any new figs that appeared after mid june.

That sounds like the behavior of smyrna type figs, but we know those are common figs, not smyrna types.

With good growth and same pot in second season they can get rootbound if pot is not a big one .
Easy way is to grab main and lift straight up and take quick look if rootball starts falling apart in process of lifting it upwards put it back and wait till dormancy but if it comes out clean chances are its rootbound or close.

Dan, if there are little brown spots on hard figs would be a lack of calcium?

My Vern's Brown Turkey did the same thing just a few days ago. The figs got soft and rubbery, stayed small and then fell off after the rain. The tree is in a large pot with 1.5" holes drilled all around the bottom and partially buried. The tree was hit with a late frost in may and never seemed to fully recover.

I am thinking what has happened is that the figs got oiled.
we had terrible cool wet spring, and lots of rust.
I did not want to pick all the leaves off all the plants.
I sprayed them numerous times with neem oil mixture.
I am thinking some may have got on the forming figs, into the even closed eyes.

just an idea.

yeah grant...i have the same issue.
lost many natalina that just dropped and many on the sals that either dropped or turned red and rubbery.....few other varieties as well
must be the weather

I had one hardy chicago fig left that dropped today. It was turning dark but not expanding in size, it was also rubbery too.
Same weather here this summer. Cool and wet and lots of rust.

Not one fig has ripened for me.
All are just changing colour, not swelling, getting rubbery and falling off.  All.
:-(

grant
i have been eating figs for over one week now.....i lost 20% or so the past month just as you described but the remaining figs are now ripening normally
so dont lose hope yet
good luck

Same problem here Grant , it must be weather related . Cold wet spring and summer . Better weather now but too little too late .

John

I have the same problem with some specific varieties. It is happening to the main crop even on those plants that had good breba crop that ripened properly.
I had the same feeling about the reasons as given by Martin. Another reason I read somewhere last week is the possibility of some fruit tissues got damaged due to cold snap but I don't recall such cold situation after the embryo formation in June/July. However I do remember some ten days of 95F hot dry weather which is less frequent here in our area and I could not keep the soil properly moist in those days possibly causing some stress (& some root bound situation on top of that).