I've started practicing the radical idea of "Not Watering".  It seems so counter intuitive, but I'm quite amazed at how much better fig trees grow when NOT watering as often.

Maybe it's like the "Teach a man to fish" adage..    If I water more often, it's like the roots are say.. oh look.. more water.. (sarcastic root voice), as they sit on the couch watching reruns of Seinfeld, wasting away.

But watering less makes the go hunting for water.. "Hey guys.. over here...I found a drop.. damn.. just a mirage.  Okay.. let's regroup at the south wall and search at a lower depth."  Makes them stronger and more resilient.

Okay.. i'm probably quite insane, but I've literally cut back watering by about 90%. I have one little one that I've been nursing since my sister gave it to me last August.  She started it in July and I've been babying it ever since.  The other one died before winter set in.  This is from my grandmothers old tree from when I was a kid.

I had put it in a mini sip a few months back which kept it way to wet.  So I began cutting back on the water.  The few leaves it had were covered in splotchy yellow and brown spots.  One leave had no green left at all, so I pinched it off last week.  But I haven't watered this thing in two weeks. The reservoir dried up about a week ago, but I still resisted.  

Suddenly, it's putting on new leaves like crazy!!  And I'm seeing new white roots at the sides of the cup.

I've only been at this for about a year, so I consider my self about 2 on the newbie scale (from 1 to 10).  I'm still slowing learning that these trees really don't need a lot of water when they are starting out.  

I now feel like the mini SIPs have been a little setback for me.  When I see an empty reservoir, I feel like I need to add water. So now I just use a single 32oz deli cup.  I can still bottom water by setting the cups in a pan and that allows me to better control how much they are really getting.  And they get very little from now on.

Edit: Added picture.  Last Friday, that large leaf on top was about half that size and the 2 next largest on top were just buds.

Tough love!!  It is true that less is more when it comes to watering and rooting figs!  Thanks for sharing your secret!

The best grapes come from withholding water at certain times.  They struggle to live and procreate so their efforts go to the fruit.  When they get that extreme wilt, time to turn the water back on.  Sweet grapes make good wine!  I guess the same applies to Figs.

Suzi 

it's not really "not watering". they need water. it's finding out when is good time to water. problem can be a big one if not watered when it's needed. some type of soil mix is hydrophobic. it takes some time to take up water if it goes completely dry. 

been reading up on fig drops. it seems lack of water might be a big issue with some trees dropping figs. 

James, I don't think you are insane at all. I started this practice last winter. In addition, when I do water, its from the bottom only. I also
make it a practice to use Gnatrol (BT) each time they do get a drink. It has worked out great for me.

IMO, and I am talking about warm climates... watering a bucketful at night is more effective than watering twice a day day time when sun is going to evaporate most of it. also, throwing some Lava Rocks on the surface , under the tree help greatly to slow the evaporation. Lava Rocks are like $3,50 /bag in Home Depot, they are those purple color prudish 1-2 icy types. oh your figs could become Purple too because of them, LOL ;) NOT!

at cup stage, i'm finding more and more that less water is better than more water. usually pre-wet soil just moist to the touch will go on for a month or so without any additional water. then bottom feeding the water from there on. less is better. once in 1 gal, yeah.. i hose the thing until the water comes out the bottom. 

Sounds like a good idea to me. I have a friend who waters his big fig tree every other day all summer. The figs are good, but I've always wondered if they would be MUCH better if he left off the water once they set fruit. I've got a small sucker from his mother tree. Last year I stopped watering it when the fruit set. It was MUCH better tasting -- more jammy, less watery inside.

I've wondered if the watering guidelines published are based on commercial growers who aim for tonnage. If we backyard growers aim for a more intense flavor (and I do) then I would guess we should reduce watering after fruit-set. I don't plan on watering mine this summer unless they are obviously getting dry. On my established in-ground trees, 2-3 inches of mulch should keep them happy with normal rainfall. Or at least that is what I am going to do again this year.

once the figs start to swell, cutting down on the water does help with fig quality. only problem here is, we have summer temp going near or above 100. if i don't water the plant, it will dry out very quickly and drop all the leaves. figs are better, but i don't want to trade well being of the tree for handful of good figs. what i usually do is i keep the trees on drip system, and just water them down in the mid afternoon. usually cut down on the amount of time they get watered by drip system.