This is a Violette de Bordeaux (Dave Wilson) bought and potted as a whip in January.

When lower leaves started yellowing I pulled back on water. Now I'm thinking I should have done the opposite. Today ALL the leaves are wilted and yellow, and a couple have dropped.
   

I'm currently soaking it in a bucket. It's cloudy and mild today but last week it got into the 80s.

 

Can it be saved??

Hopefully it will survive.  Now that you have soaked it, flood it with some Miracle grow.  Then leave it alone for a while.  Just keep checking the moisture levels.  I have a "soil sleuth."  It's a notched plastic stick that I insert in the soil, give it a twist and the soil sticks in the notches.  Easy to see when to water.

Suzi

Hi,
is that a root pruning pot ?
This time of the year with the heat, your tree might have a hard time in such a pot.
One would want a pot that holds moisture.
Do you have a plastic pot where that pot would fit inside ?
If so, put that pot in the bigger, fill the gap with pine bark or compost from the nurseries and water the tree.
Here such a tree can take half a gallon/2liters a day - and that is with a plate under the pot so that the potting soil can absorb the water that run off at first watering,
and without fruits.
So that tree with fruits needs more water.
This time of the year it is safe to use a plate under the pots. Just don't let water stand there for several days.
Your tree will bounce back if you take good care of it.

http://www.soilsleuth.com/

Cool tool. I never saw it before

I agree with france

After soaking I moved it to the shade and I'm seeking a cache pot and tray. Thank you for that advice. I'm so used to gardening in clay soil where yellow leaves (on other plants) usually mean water-logging, it never occurred to me that my fig was frying until today!

All the leaves fell except for one. Is there hope of recovery in that case?

It seems like the soil down below isn't absorbing moisture, but rather repelling water. Repot now or later?

Thanks for your help, guys.

It should wick fine now that you gave it a good soaking.  That little soil sleuth helps to aerate the soil so the water penetrates better.  It looks like you have mulch on top which should also help with wicking. 

I wouldn't repot until it's all happy and recovered.  You don't want to shock it further.  I love root pruning pots.  Have had success with them, but I kept them in partial shade.  They do make for a lot of healthy roots.  AND you can fry roots in black plastic also.  I did that with a Panache.  It had 2 leaves for 2 years until Jon told me to soak it thoroughly, then flood it with Miracle Grow and put it in the shade.  That little tree recovered just fine.

Good luck!
Suzi

What kind of potting mix are you using?  Is it the same as what's on top, those huge chunks of pine bark?  Or something that will hold more moisture?

Fig trees can take a beating and come back.  Even though it lost all its leaves if you correct the problem it will probably be able to recover by the end of the season.  You definitely won't have any fruit this year though. 

I couldn't find a larger pot to nestle it into, but it's in the shade now. I don't use Miracle Grow, but I did add some organic fertilizer. The branch tips are still alive and the tiny figlets are still green. Should I remove them so the tree can put its energy toward leaves and roots instead of fruits?

@Rob, the mulch is just on top. Not sure what the potting mix brand was, but the top part that didn't get fully submerged seems kinda hydrophobic. The lower half is damp. I bet ALL the soil was acting hydrophobic and that's why the tree dried out. I need to find a bigger vessel and soak the whole thing. Maybe the bathtub. :)

Container culture in the heat sure changes everything I thought I knew about figs. I should really commit to a location and put this guy in the ground when it recovers.

On another thread I read that this variety (VBD) can be kinda wimpy about heat and dry air.

Thanks for your help, guys!

I call this the sudden death syndrome and it is very hard for a tree to recover from this unless you get some new growth close to the soil especially if the top is too dry to recover.
I would put it in  deeper pot (Raise the soil level) and cover with moisture control soil and water as needed without flooding it. 
Good Luck.
The fact that the leaves are yellow is not necessarily from lack of water. It could be root overheating among other things. Re-potting to a larger container without disturbing the roots (especially during the growing season) might help.
When it's hot I water my figs in pots daily but make sure that I use a good draining soil.

It's not dead! It sprouted new leaves!!

I have a Conadria in an Air Pot.  It didn't do any good at all until I surrounded, rather buried the whole pot into a wood chip pile.  Now its growing like crazy.