i have been reading post regarding leaves curling up. mine does that if they are out in full sun. however, if i put it in the porch where it doesn't get the sun, the leaves return to normal.

how much full sun do i need to give to the trees? i'm concerned if the trees do not get full sun, it might not fruit.

pete

I have found that most can handle the direct heat.

These are few that couldn't but they are still only between 1 and 3 yrs old.

Rojeta (worst but very young-limp)
Battaglia
JH Adriatic
Sal's (Gene)-little
Lampeira

These are located just in front of the house about 5 to 10ft away. The micro-climate and reflection off vinyl siding plus asphalt driveway may contribute.

Once in shade or filtered sun, they were fine. They started leafing out in full sun but once the sun became intense, I had drooping. Soil was moist and pots warm.

I would say 6-8 hrs but I would believe temps are just as important.

It all depends on the climate the fig is growing,and the age of the plant.
Yes small young plants can't take full day sun,but the same plants will take full sun later when older,3to 4 years older.
In hot climates like Arizona,or deep south fig trees will do better in semi shade than in full sun.
In Temperate climates zone 6 and 7 they need to be planted in full sun in order to ripe fruits.
And if they can't take full day sun,then that is when the grower intervene,by making shade for them using whatever they can:a chair,a patio Umbrella etc.,until the plant get used with full day sun.

i'm in zone 7. does that mean i keep the plants in shade until they are 3-4 yrs old? and it won't fruit until it's 3-4 yrs old? or do i move them around where they get sun in the morning or evening when they are not so intense, and move them back into shade later?

pete

First I never said you should move the container around,I said make some shade in the hottest days.
The tree stay in the full sun spot,also buried 5 inches inground.
You will find out that in about one month time,of babying it,(only in hot days,making shade),your tree gets adapted to sun and heat,in zone 7.
But that is only if pot is buried like I said above.
If not buried,it will suffer of overheating ,drooping leaves,droping fruits etc,throughout Summer.
You can keep moving and doing all the hard work,yet the containerized fig tree will not fruit or ripe properly unless is buried in about 5 inches inground.
This way yes, will fruit and ripe properly this very year.

No you want sun, just find an area where the sun is not as intense or create filtered shade.

Here are some examples:

Find an area where it will get mostly morning sun-afternoon is the most intense

Put under a tree canopy that filters overhead sunlight, thus eliminating intense heat

Create an artificial canopy with lattice propped up on wood to filter the intensity.

You will get moderate growth with warmth but fruit will have a hard time ripening w/o light. Trees can fruit very young. Different factors: variety, temps, amount of fruit trying to ripen etc affect ability when and if will ripen.

Its not until 3 or 4 yrs old that you get reliable production and heat tolerance

thanks herman2, thanks nypd5229. i'll try to find a place where it will get some sun.

pete

It is also caused by heat on the roots, I didn't see this mentioned above, maybe I missed it. If you use black pots, the sun will heat that up and start causin problems if your root ball exceeds 85-90 degrees F.

As posted in other threads recently, you can overcome this by partially planting your pots in the ground and/or using something to block direct sunlight from getting to the pot. Some say this is a problem with all pots, not just the black nursery pots, but I've found the terra cotta (red clay) pots don't seem to be affected as badly (unfortunately, they also leech water out of the soil, so it's a catch-22).

Jason--that leaching of water is part of the reason terra cotta stays cooler. The evaporation drops the pot temperature quite a lot, and if you set it in a shallow tray of water, that will keep the soil moist enough to keep the roots happy.

Interesting - I never thought about it like such.

I have considered removing plants from the terra cotta. I will reconsider.

My plants in terra cotta are growing twice as fast as those in black plastic. I wonder if this is a coincidence or if I'm onto something? I only used the terra cotta pots out of desperation (ran out of nursery pots)

That cooling effect only works well with dry air. It is the same principle as a swamp cooler or primitive fridges made from large pots. Of course the best time to have a cool pot is when it is hot and dry so it turns itself on automatically and off when humidity raises(cooling stops).

Good point, Brent--we use a swamp cooler to cool the house, and when the humidity rises at the onset of our monsoon season, the cooling stops!

i moved my plants to back porch where it's getting sun from about 7am till 2pm then shade. the leaves are looking better. i have some tropical plants there also in clay pots. they don't have any issue in full sun. i think i'll give clay pot a chance on the figs.

if that doesn't work, i'll have to think of something else. putting them into ground is not an option at this time, even if it's just pot into the 5" of ground. wife don't care too much for fruit trees. she grew up in farm and she remembers too many fruits on the ground rotting away smelling rather nasty.

pete