I have 2, what were called Brown Turkey fig plants I bought 5 years ago and have been in the ground since then. They are about 5 feet apart, so soil conditions are pretty much the same, sandy, former river bottom soil. I've added little bits of aged manure periodically, usually in late winter when I just have to do something in the garden, here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The first year I got about 7 figs off of one plant, and around 5 off the other. The second year the figs came too late and froze. The third year I got about the same number as the first year. They were approximately the same size when I bought them; one has outgrown the other by 3 times. THis year, the smaller of the 2 had no leaves on any of the branches, and then started growing all new growth from the bottom. The other had lots of new growth, but no figs until just this week. Is this typical of this plant?

My inground BT (I think that's what it is, but am not positive) is loaded with figs and consistantly bears quite heavily; it's also a vigorous grower. The only problem. which appears to be insurmountable, is a tiny beetle that gets into the fruit through the large open "eye" and turns it sour--so now I'm focused on trying various closed-eye varieties. I have no idea why you're getting such low yields of fruit, or why the differences in foliage and overall growth between your two plants.

Hi Ken, hope you are well.

And Nicholas, here in Zone 7b, our newly planted in ground figs tend to freeze back to the ground the first few years, until they develop a solid wood base to overwinter.  And then after a few years they start growing much stronger and producing good.  Not much the first few years though, and they freeze completely to the ground.  But they always spring back from the roots.  I would give them as much organic matter as you can around the plants with some heavy mulching, keep them reasonably watered, and then don't worry.  Selecting some good varieties for your area is key though.  If you have a plant that won't do well in your climate you are fighting a losing battle.

Best wishes.

John
North Georgia Piedmont
Zone 7b

So do I keep the old wood that is now bare, or cut it back? The smaller of the 2 bushes that has new growth coming up from the bottom has the older branches bare. (By the way, I went to the University of Georgia a long time ago and loved Athens. We moved from Atlanta 6 years ago)

The wood will darken and shrivel when it is dead.  You can scrape the bark to look for green wood underneath to see if it is still alive.  I would trim down from the top, every 6' or so, until I hit good (not hollow) wood.  That's just me.  If you get to the end of the year with no new budding and growth, I would personally - my opinion - cut the wood down to a couple inches above the lowest shoot.

BTW - I lose the final 6"-12" of wood on the tips of my brown turkey branches every year.  I've never seen mine die back to the ground, even buried in the snow.