Hi All,

I woke up one morning and had a bit of a lightbulb moment in my brain.  I don’t know what I was dreaming about, but I wasn’t even really thinking about fig trees, my upcoming automated watering project or root-pruning (at least not on a conscious level).  I began to piece together the advantages of bottom watering containers.  I don’t think it really matters how we accomplishes this, but this is why I think we should.

A few days ago, Eli posted a video about a potted fig farm.  At 2:02 into the video, the host shows a bare rooted fig tree.   Suzi commented about the “cottony stuff” on the roots of the tree.  Those are roots.  A vast majority of fig trees I’ve bare rooted (>300) have had these roots matted in the top .5-2 inches of the container.  The reason for this… water does not flow through our containers as completely as we think it does.  There have been many conversations within the walls of the forum where watering issues have come up as a reason not to use root-pruning containers.  There were several occasions people complained about water running down the sides and coming out of the holes of the Super-Root Air Pots.  The problem is not the container.  The same thing is happening in the solid sided nursery pots.  We just don’t see it because the sides are solid.  I’m will to bet if most of us cut down the side of the trunk to split our root balls in half after watering, we would see the core of the root balls are dry.  The top few inches of growing mix and some of the growing mix around the perimeter will be wet.

Since roots grow where the water is, we end up with roots circling around the perimeter of the containers.  Also, we end up with a dense mat of fine roots at the top of the rootball (the cottony stuff).   Most of the roots that sustain our trees are growing around the perimeter.  It is there the roots are susceptible to loss of vigor due to heat in summer.   Once the root zone temps hit about 85F, their ability to take up nutrients diminishes.  Consequently, the growth of the tree slows down during the summer months.

Watering from the bottom helps alleviate the issue of water flowing around the root ball.  Many have talked about using SIPs where the water is wicked up into the core from a reservoir.  I am planning on flooding my containers from the bottom up.  Either system does not allow the top of the rootball to get wet.  This forces the roots to grow down… away from the heat of the summer sun.  Based on my experiences with containers and root growth, I think this is where the magic is.   

Any thoughts?

Makes sense to me but what if you have a hundred trees to water?

I do this when rooting plumerias in 1 gal pots, I sit them on a saucer that has atleast an inch spacing all around. I'm definitely trying it with my figs in smaller containers. I remember reading a post on here on why it's a bad thing but don't remember why. The only issue I would see is how often to water, my plumerias get watered once a week in the hot days of summer. I might start off with clear 32oz. cups and hopefully can gauge how wet the top will get.

It's my understanding that part of the trick with watering (especially containers) is to always water 2 or 3 times. It can take a while for moisture to percolate through the potting mix, and dry mix is usually semi-hydrophobic. If you water - then let it sit for 10-15 minutes before you water again, you'll see water uptake is improved.

James ,
Good thoughts! I would like to add a different dimension / solution to this.
The problem can almost be sold with a better soil mix, the one that is not dense and heavy.
I went with it last summer and during a recent repotting noticed how the roots were growing differently.
Basically , looser , airy soil - happier plant. It also allows me to water a bit more and often adding a diluted fertilizer .
This is especially beneficially for figs in 1 gal pots, the ones that need to grow fast.

What about using one of these hollow metal tubes that you can stab into the heart of the rootball?

http://www.amazon.com/Yard-Butler-WST-1-Tree-Watering/dp/B000P7M740/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top/186-3271872-0749721

Good in theory but I'd be worried about spreading RKN with those tubes.

James ill post more videos :) as long as we get cool ideas.

Hi James,
I once had to unburry 3 (7 months old ) cuttings  ( because I discovered a rodent highway was running through that spot ).
One of them had one tap root of 2'/50 cm ... Well it was longer but I cut it because I didn't want to follow it deeper .
Here, on my trees, I'm more used to those kind of roots ( thin cables like ) than the cottony stuff . Sometimes those roots come creeping at surface level - that's the time that I check on the young root stems to pot them.

Cottony stuff reminds me of my weeds growing in my walk-way . My walk-way is full coarse sand, and when I take the weeds out they have those cottony roots. The same weed growing in my garden has normal roots ie no
cottony roots. I have some volunteering forget-me-not .

So I believe they are rooting in such a coarse sand thus that cottony stuff .
Rooting in sand is known technique.

Containerized fig trees need a very airy, inert, growing medium. The best mediums just act as a support for the root system and for the tree.   Nutrition, provided by the growers, comes from watering with correct and balanced fertilizers. The classic 5-1-1 potting mix, or Al's Gritty Mix will work far better than the waterlogged, peaty, mixes sold in bags at the garden centers.

The figs in the video look waterlogged and most have split.  A sure sign of too much water at the wrong time during the ripening cycle.  Just saying.

Past-postings on this forum regarding growing mediums for containerized trees can be found.  When the mix and culture is correct, water will pour right through the mix, and the medium will be evenly moistened, and as it drains away, will pull in a fresh charge of oxygen into the root zone.  Roots will fill the containers within a few seasons.  Then time to root prune and repot with fresh growing mix.  Larger containers (18-30 gallons) can be used for years.  Just repot the root-pruned trees back into the same container.

Frank

Good to see you posting, Frank!

: ))  Danny....Thanks.

Still visit the forum from time to time.  Lots of new kids on the block.  That's good.  

So far, this Winter has been just as bad as the Winter of '13-'14.  Not good.

Light and airy mixes = tasty figs. Boggy, heavy, peat-based mixes + too much water = root rot.


Frank

There is no doubt that watering from the bottom is better, but not practical (for me) if you have dozens of trees
or trees in the 20 gal. nursery pots.  Those suckers are heavy!

Your thoughts are further confirmed by this topic I posted from last year about a dormant tree and fig rust.  Third 
paragraph in Post #1.  I removed 1" plugs with a copper pipe and they were all the same.  Roots were in the top 
portion of the pipe and bottom portion was soil that just fell away.  You couldn't even stick your finger through the
top of the soil.  That one is getting root pruned on the next warm(ish) day.

I guess the solution (for me) is the 5-1-1 mix.  Started using it for the cuttings in the fall and then for the potted
1 gal's over the winter and I love it.  The figs are definitely happier.  Downside is the frequency of watering; every
2 days now for the figs that are only a few months old.  Going to try the 5-1-1-1-1 mix to see if that alleviates
a little.

Frank - Seems to me this winter has been the same or worse than last.  There will be lots of losses.

If you need replacements or some new starts let me know.

Thanks for the offers, Danny. 

I have my 5 ft. "Olympian" living in my sunny kitchen.  My other few other trees are comatose, in my shed.  My fingers are crossed.  The outcome is uncertain. 

What's with these last Winters?  Not good at all, for us fig growers. 

Good luck to all.
Frank

James, you are correct!  I'm trying my best to convert all my pots to self watering pots, like Bill's design and setup.  All my trees that are setup that way grow so much better hands down.  I water my trees via drip irrigation.

Hi Bronxfigs,
One question was about the cottony look of the roots. Do you get such roots in the 5-5-1 Mix ?
How is the look of the roots in the 5-1-1 ?

Historically I've used Al's original 1:1:1 (bark mulch/perlite/expanded shale mix) gritty mix.  It is about as airy as it gets.  The problem with these type of mixes is they dry out quickly.  Presumably this is why he added peat to the 5:1:1.  

The fine roots are feeder roots.  Thinner roots are more efficient at taking up moisture/nutrients than the larger anchoring roots.  This is why root pruning is necessary.  I remove many of the anchor roots to make room for feeder roots to grow.  The mat at the top indicates this is where most of the moisture is.  Regardless of the growing mix being used, when we top feed the water is going to take the path of least resistance to the bottom.  Usually this means some of the water is going to run down the sides of the container to the drain holes.  This is more so the case when the growing mix has dried out some.  This is why I seldom water once.  Normally, I make a pass through with some water to bring the moisture level in the containers up, then I make a second pass to saturate the root ball.  I grow mostly in cloth containers now.  The amount of water coming through and running down the side of the fabric (or through the holes of the Air Pots) gives me a pretty good indication if the growing mix is absorbing the water or not.  

Danny,  Theoretically, it is necessary to stray from any growing mix that you like or change the frequency of watering (maybe a little).  I am proposing where the water comes from can have an impact on the overall growth of the trees.  I will not be using SIPs this year.  I will be using 5 gallon fabric / 3.4 gallon Air Pots (about the same volume) and putting them in half 15 gallon plastic drums.  The drums will be filled to about 80% up the containers, then drained.  

Root prune heh heh

Interesting discussion! My fig trees (bushes) are all ground planted, so up until this year I haven't had any in pots. However, over time, almost everything I have read about fig culture emphasizes that figs are shallow rooted when it comes to feeder roots. Hence all the warnings about over fertilizing and damaging the feeders. I heavily mulch all my trees and I know that, with my figs, if I carefully pull aside the top 2"-3" of mulch I get into a mass of fine feeder roots up in the mulch. Based on what I know and have read, irregardless of how figs are watered and fertilized they will always have a mass of feeder roots close to the surface and the anchor roots that are deeper reaching. I would suspect that bottom watering would place the water at a point the furthest away from where the feeder roots are that most need the water and would be counter productive--just a thought. sdpops Yuma, AZ zone 10

When growing containerized fig trees in the quick draining, gritty mixtures you have to be diligent about your watering schedules.  There were many times that I had to water at least twice/day when the temps. became broiling hot.  No vacations, etc. unless you get a good fig sitter to take over the watering chores.  Containerized trees can cook very quickly.  I try to keep the roots as cool as possible.  Sinking pots halfway into the ground and heavily mulching will cut down on watering frequency, and will keep those roots cool.  It's a win, win.

Adding some additional TURFACE MVP and coarse peat, will help with the water retention, but the peat can break down into a soggy mess, and hold too much water.  Be careful with the additional peat moss....which is also acidic.  I always opted to add more TURFACE MVP rather than peat.  It's better to just water more frequently in the hotter months.  It can become a real PITA, though.  I have deliberately downsized my fig collection because of the watering.  Some growers may have no problems with the extra watering.  But hey...what ever spins your wheels.

The gritty mixes and the modified 5-1-1-1 mixes, produce and encourage very fine feeder roots, and root-pruning evey couple of years is a must.  My trees grew root systems that were so thick, that I had to use a bonsai root-hook to loosen up the compacted root balls before any trimming could begin.  I did all my root-pruning in early Spring, as the buds just start swelling and showing some fresh green color....usually around mid/late March, depending on the temps. 

Hope this helps.


Frank

Great info, Frank.  Hope all is well.

FiggyFrank-

All is well...but I'm frozen.  NYC: too cold, too frozen, too much yellow snow...too much of everything! :)

Hi Frank. :)

It's extremely dry in the summer here (SoCal) so I prefer using a heavy mix or I'd be watering all the time. I expect the trees don't do as well, but sometimes you have to compromise.

I started by using my own mix and now use the moisture control potting mix from Home Depot. The result has been the same. I believe that the watering schedule is the key. I found that controlled watering at specific intervals i.e. daily during the summer and watering from below using the SIP's definitely lead to better growth and fruiting.
The problem that I encountered was that the roots grew too fast which lead to the tree suffocating in some cases. Perhaps some varieties are not meant for pots.
I believe that the size of the container you chose is very important in preventing heat damage to roots. Too small a container and growth will be slow if any, too large is bad for the back. I've been using those Walmart SIP's (the large size). After moving about 20 trees to in ground about two weeks ago, I was was able to see the condition of the roots after being in pot for less than two years. Now I know that without root pruning or re potting , I will not be able to get optimum results from my potted trees.