Hey Everyone, 

I'd like to take cuttings from my first year potted figs.  They are 6-8 feet tall I'd like to know how far down I can cut without killing the tree.   

Once cut, I plan to put the potted trees in a garage over the winter in NJ and root the cuttings in doors.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. 

 

I wouldn't... Try it when older on a branch

I see no reason why you couldn't cut those back to an arbitrary height. You'll just induce branching below the the cut. I plan on cutting my potted trees back to 4-5 feet after they go dormant. I need to stack my pots to store them. I can't store a bunch of 7-8 foot tall potted trees in my garage, so they'll have to be cut back to a reasonable height.

If it were me, if I had to, the tips that don't lignify well usually are the first thing to die off anyway.  Cutting off a foot or two of a dormant tree certainly won't kill the tree from the pruning.

There will be many cuttings offered more and more as dormant season spreads southward.  I'm sure you could get many as you want and then some.
 

I think they are to tall for a pot anyways, you should cut them back to 2 feet (after it goes dormant) and let it branch out 3 or 4 branches,if it only branches out 1or2 in spring pinch back the new tips after 5or 6 leave, this will promote more branching more fruits and a better loocking tree. Always keep in mind what you want you're tree to loock like. Take out any branches that come out too low immidiatly and I also like my trees to be single trunk but that's only my preference

Pruining is a tool to shape trees not to make cuttings

Thanks all. 

Everyone mentions that I should take the cuttings once it goes dormant - why is it important to wait till dormancy?   These trees were cuttings I took from a family tree last August, well before it was dormant.  

Also, what defines dormant - no leaves?   If I have to wait for dormancy, how long can I keep the pots outside, i.e. what's the lowest night time temp they can withstand?

Hi figlegacy,
You could cut now at 2' of height for the pots to branch next year.
If you start the cuttings now, dormancy is not a concern to you.
The wood is thick enough, so just go ahead !
I would leave the pots outside until they get 0°C/+5°C for 4 days and then put them in the garage.
If you store them too soon, if you have 10°C outside, you may have 20°C and the trees could well send some new buds, and you don't want that now.
The other concern is the dirt in the pots drying out from being in a warm area. So wait for the area to be on the coldish temperatures.
During the winter do not forget to water once a month or once every two months, or twice a month. Adapt to your own storage area, some are more humid, some more dry.

Here's another idea....leave the trees unpruned, just as they are, and when trees once again leaf out next spring....do some multiple air-layers, and root many new trees from all the unwanted branches.  Air-layers are just as easy as rooting dormant wood, and you'll get fruiting-size trees a lot quicker than by starting trees from cuttings.  Air-layered trees can bear figs in one season.  You can even do multiple air-layers on the same branches, and increase the yield.  I can "see" at least 20 new trees coming from all the extra branches.  You can also do both....take one branch and subdivide into a few cuttings....and air-layer the rest, next spring, when tree is actively growing.  There are posted threads showing how this can be done.

Rooting dormant wood cuttings can be fun, but keeping them alive and healthy through the dark, dreary, winter months can be a challenge.  Almost always, the new growth will be weak and etiolated because of lack of sunlight, and weakened growth will sun-scald when brought outside to grow, next spring, if not properly/gradually acclimated to full-sunlight.  You will avoid all of this unpleasantness, if you throw some air-layer on those extra long,  branches.

Just some thoughts.  Good luck.  Keep us posted.


Frank

Ditto on what Mario, JD, and Frank, said.  IMO, your trees are to "whippy" and need pruning.

Sorry for the delayed response, but thanks all for the suggestions.  

Looks like I'll wait till they lose their leaves, then back a few feet and try to make some cuttings.  

Good luck to all trying to do the same.