WillsC,
The first step in the diagram is to prune the tops off the branches after planting, removing apical dominance creating multiple branches below the pruned cut. Those new branches will grow to become the scaffold branches.

In your scenario of pinching in post #40 the initial emphasis is pinching to establishing the main scaffold branches. The diagram emphasizes the same (establishing scaffold branches).

IMO, Pinching is used to create multiple fruiting branches, Pruning is used to create the main scaffold that supports the fruiting branches.

I believe that we are in agreement, but are disagreeing on terminology.

Forgive my ignorance, but when you all are referring to pinching, are you cutting the top of the plant with pruners or actually pinching off the terminal bud at the top of the plant? 

Is the methold for figs the same as it is for blueberries? 

In pinching we mean just the terminal bud, literally pinching it out with finger and thumb.    Basically the same as with BB except with BB you have multiple canes arising from the crown.   

I officially joined the pinching gang!

Wooh whoo Scott! Welcome to the pinchers. Go team go! Pinch and pinch, then grow and grow!

Here is a close-up of my unknown fig that I have been pinching:

 
I think you can see how much branching I've been getting. Some of these are now 3rd generation branches off the originals that I first pinched; i.e. pinched once-branches, pinched those, now more branches. All this in less than two weeks. The nodes are close, but I am pinching at 5 or 6 leaves. In fact you can see at the top of the photo I just pinched this 3rd generation branch because it was at 5 leaf nodes. The branching is getting so dense that I need to stake the little trunks because after a heavy rain today they were staring to lay down.

Hi,
Last year I pinched after 20 leaves I removed 6 .
The reason for that strategy is that I'm afraid of the stem rotting completely and loosing it all.
Another reason is that in my climate I need hardened wood, so I need the stems to grow to harden off the first nodes of the stem.

@Genedaniels: Isn't that branching too dense ? - for each resulting stem to have its own place in the future ?
I haven't started pinching this year - except for the shaping on my "Dalmatie" tree2 .
I'll wait until end of June or end or July as last year - normally .

jd, it might be too dense, at this point I am experimenting. This fall I will have a better idea if this year's pinching was too much or what. I can always thin them in the winter.

Also, I am trying this heavy pinching because I want to keep my bushes compact so I can have more varieties in the same space. I have my fig bushes spaced 15ft apart right now, but if I can keep them compact enough I want to place another one in between, so the spacing would be about 7ft. But I am going to wait a couple years to see how the shaping goes first.

I plan to grow a few trees in pots until I know if I can plant them in between my existing trees. That way these should become nice sized bushes, ready to plant if/when I reduce the spacing along that back row.

I am in a minor boundary dispute with the owner of the lot next to me. If I resolve that in my favor I will have an additional strip of yard, 30x200ft that I can fill-up with figs and other fruits. But until then I have to work with what I have. And one of my problems is over half of my large back yard is very wet after rains. Wthout significant work building large raised beds I cannot grow anything on that side except grass.

My Hardy Chicago is responding wonderfully to pinching! It has little figlets on just about every node on the pinched branches:

 

Gene,

    Thanks for this thread. It prodded me to pinch and it looks like the right thing to have done.

Dale, this is the first year I have pinched my fig bushes and I am very glad I started. My bushes are small because of winter die-back, but I still think I will have twice the figs on them as last year.

Gene,

   Die back does not nearly express what happened to mine from the winter. Some with only tip die back branched out nicely. Some still showing green wood have not yet broken bud. I pinched out the new growth ahs has been suggested elsewhere in the forum on figs (up six, back four) and it seems to be promoting fruiting, as you  indicate.

My goal when pinching was to promote branching from this CdDG so I can have some branches and can finally have something I can share with friends/forum members. It turned out very nicely.

8/11
 

8/20
 

Who's an excellent thread. I've learned a lot from the opinions and feedback shared here. Thanks to all those who contributed. Too bad there is no stickie thread that hosts tutorials such as the ones posted here.

Otmani, there's so much good information that I've found using the search option. If everything great was a sticky, I think the first few pages of this forum would be all stickies! lol. I love this place and its people!

Another option to lower your ph is a product called PH down. Sold in most garden centers, lowes Home depot and hydro stores. You can usually pick up a ph meter there pretty cheap too, under 100 bucks. 

Thanks for all the info on pinching. I hope to be able to try this next year if I ever get any trees to root :). 

Otmani, what I do is save all the threads that I am REALLY interested in a labeled folder. I may have 4-5 folders with related threads in each. Then I just open the labeled fold when needed.

Just asking....is there an equivalent treatment that can be used for figs to raise the pH level when watering?  You guys use very diluted H2SO4 when watering your Blueberries.  Is there an over-the-counter product that I can add to my water bucket that will do the same thing, but in reverse?  Granular limestone takes a while to break down....or, should I just use POWDERED LIMESTONE in lieu of the granular version?

I don't need to have a 40 lb. bag of limestone in my storage shed.  I only have a few trees, and keeping that much limestone around in a PITA.  I'd rather use a few drops of product "X" in my 5-gallon water bucket, and be done with it.

Thanks for the chemistry lesson on "basic" solutions.  Good thread.  Pinching = more figs, and more branches for propagation.  It works!


Frank

Frank,

The ph of the water that you use when watering has a great effect on the pH of the potting mix. Flushing the pot regularly will not only remove salts but will also move the potting mix's pH closer to that of the water. Jeff (figherder)mentioned pH Down, there is also a pH UP which is also available at Hydroponic stores, http://generalhydroponics.com/site/index.php/products/maintenance/ph_buffers/ or at Garden centers that carry Pond supplies. I've never used the products but they are readily available.

Limestone is used with fresh Peat based mix to bring the pH closer to neutral and to supply Calcium and Magnesium, its reapplied more for the mineral content than for its ability to raise pH. CalMag, http://generalhydroponics.com/site/index.php/products/general_organics/camg2/ is a concentrated liquid source of Calcium and Magnesium that is available at Hydroponic stores and is made by several manufacturers. The problem with using a liquid is that its water soluble, can be easily washed out of the mix and has to be reapplied continually. Its also readily available.

<edit>
For hydroponic culture 5.5 - 6.5 pH is considered good since more nutrients are available for use by plant roots at a slightly acidic pH level.

Thanks Pete-

The products shown in your links seem very interesting.  Any ideas as to the correct pH range needed around the roots, for figs?  Raising the pH is great, but what pH number(s) do I shoot for?

Watering my small collection of containerized fig trees with a pH adjusted, water-tonic, would pose no problem.  I'd also like to try that CalMag. 

Thanks.  You always seem to have some interesting products up your sleeve.


Frank