Attached is a picture of my "main" fig tree that has gotten a little out of control sucker-wise. This was once a single-trunk tree but died back to the ground a few years ago and started suckering like crazy (I even air-layered four inch-wide trunks in fall 2012). This tree was started from a cutting of my dad's tree that produces some of the best figs I've ever tasted. His former tree (he moved) survived Philadelphia winters unprotected and was a transplant from his hometown in the Abruzzo region.

Unfortunately, this tree hasn't ripened a single fig for me in 4 years. I just learned about pinching last year and that did produce more lateral growth but still no figs. I think it needs a heavy pruning but I'm just not sure what to prune away. Ideally, I would take it down to only 1 or 2 main trunks but I realize that pruning that heavily at once may be detrimental. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated! Now that my dad has sold his house, my fig supply is gone and I'd love to repay his fig generosity over the years with some figs of my own!

P.S. - The tree is still covered but I plan on checking on it this week. After this brutal winter, I'm expecting a lot of die back but hopefully the mains are intact. My father-in-law left his 2 big trees unprotected this past winter and I'm fearful that his trees didn't survive.

Thanks!

First I would turn the tree 90 deg clockwise [pic :-) ].

Growing a fig tree as a bush has it own benefits up in cold north.
Just top trim to size and thin out some suckers.

If you want a tree-shape fig, I see a thick twig as a good candidate.
However, sooner or later, expect a cold winter kill that may revert it again to a bush form.

As to why it has not produced fruit yet, I have no clue;
maybe you should just let it be itself as-is for a while...

Is this tree in shade or sun?  Figs like sun.  They are plants.  They WANT to bear fruit.  This is an unknown tree, right?  I hope it's not one that needs the wasp.

My grandpa had a lemon tree that bore no fruit for many years.  Grandpa never got mad, but this ordeal was hard on him.  He read that if the tree thinks it's dying, it will bear.  So, he scored a band of 3/4 of the bark off the tree.  Waited.  That lemon is still bearing fruit.

Tricks do work sometimes.

Suzi

hi John, I see some figs on the tree (which means it's a fruiting one, just needs to mature further), but I also see welted leaves( ? ) was this in fall or it's a resent pic of the bush? if it was my tree/bush, I would choose several branches to keep for survival purposes. and just let them grow...at least 4 or 5 trunks for future to get tall and tree like.
Make sure you chose the ones with fruit on them and don't trim them. ...clean up the rest.
Good luck, keep us posted  ;)

Seven,
IMO, remove at least half the verticals to form an open circle and cut the exsiting verticals down to about 2 feet... this will be the base for a new fig bush. Add some Dolemite limestone and balanced fertilizer at bud break.
Attached is a pruning diagram for Blueberry bush, but its completely applicable for a fig bush. Good luck.

Is it that the figs fall off or do they ripen too late to ripen?

I would:
Air layer the heavy vertical stem, just above the roots, and train it into a single-stem, standard tree.  Then, pick a few verticals and train into 3-5 stem bush.  Limit nitrogen, add limestone around root area, stop ferts. after June and pinch back to 6-8 leaves on each stem, remove all terminal buds on branches that are not pinched back after June 21st the Equinox, when days start getting shorter.  Try trimming surrounding trees so your fig tree gets more sun.  If all else fails, relocate the tree to a sunnier spot.  I think your options will involve pruning, pinching, and more sun.

If you take an air-layer off that fig tree, as an experiment, containerize it, and grow it in full, blazing sun for a season or two, with the correct culture.  If the containerized tree bears figs, then your original fig bush needs more sun, heat, and culture that matches the containerized fig tree.

Just some suggestions to try, especially since the tree made figs in the past.


Frank

Wow, great advice from everyone and a lot to take in. My dad was (and still is) a natural at this, old world knowledge I suppose, but it seems to have skipped me. I'm on my phone right now but I'll try to answer some questions and give a little more info until I can get on an actual computer.

Aaron, the picture was taken last fall to give everyone an idea of the trunk structure. The figs on the tree never reached maturity unfortunately. O also had a couple breba fruit that I think were stolen by animals.

Pete, thanks for the diagram. I will print it out at work tomorrow and study it. Would calcitic lime work as well? My soil has adequate magnesium levels (I'm a bit of a grass nerd and get my soil tested at Logan Labs every year or so). Calcitic lime also raises ph quicker and my soil is calcium deficient. I have some miracle grow with Micros that I will use at bud break.

ADelmonto, the main crop ripened too late last year but there were only 2 or 3. In contrast, the potted tree from the same mother tree produced around 20 figs. The potted fig had similar sun.

BronxFigs, I see a lot of air layering in my future! I'm on a big lot and have lots of room for fig trees, including a few spots with southern exposure that should be perfect. I have several pots that I plan on putting on ground this year, including a dark fig that my dad says is the best he's had in his 80+ years eating figs! I'm excited about that one.

One question...what is a good ph for growing figs? My native soil is really acidic and lacking just about every macro and micro.

Thanks everyone!

The tree has a nice shape. Why prune down to one or two stems in a northern climate? The shape is not the problem causing lack of fruit. It probably is not getting enough sun. If you have been fertilizing it stop, because that could also be the problem. A good pruning might stimulate fruit production. Now would be a good time to prune. I would keep it as a multi-stemmed bush if it were me.

Seven-

Acidic soils and figs don't mix.  Do whatever needs doing to change the soil in/around the root zone to heavily basic.  The shape of your tree ain't your problem, like Frozen Joe mentions.

You say...the figs on the tree never reached maturity, and you mentioned breba.  Definitely try pinching, and don't allow any breba to form.  Brebas in cooler climates with short-seasons, will delay onset of main crop figs.  Pinching will allow main crop figs to ripen earlier.  Your figs may also need more heat to ripen.

Try everything.  You'll get figs sooner or later.  More sun, more pinching, no breba, limit ferts,  acidic soils....no good.  You have many options.

Good luck.

Frank

heck I am getting dizzy reading all this.
If I had your property, i'd leave the darn thing alone and plant as many cold hardy varieties as I could  to enjoy as many figs as I could ;)

Consider:Bourjassote Grise’, Brown Turkey, Ronde Du Bordeauex...

A quick update...I removed the bucket from the top of the tree and will unwrap the rest of it later in the week. I only had a few minutes to examine but there appears to be pretty heavy dieback of the extremities from this brutal winter, so a heavy pruning may be necessary. We had sustained temps in the teens and lower this winter so this isn't unexpected. I'll be able to determine the extent of the damage shortly. Hopefully the potted trees in my unheated garage fared better.

I like Ascpete suggestion, but I would try a combination of tieing some of the outer suckers down if there is enough room, that would force it to form side branches.

Also whatever you prune, remember brebas grow on this year's growth. So, cut it to no less than leaving 2 nodes, for a new growth to produce figs for you on the following year.

Actually it is better to plan a 2 year pruning cycle. Leaving some with just the tips cut, to encourage more branching and cutting others to 2 nodes. On the following year, trim  just the tips the growth that came up on the '2 node' of this year, and cut the longer growth that you are leaving untouched now to 2 nodes, and doing so, you have renewing fruiting branches.
Pretend you have 2 trees in one. Can even do a color code for the branches, so you do that, in doing so, you thin the majority of the branches to allow sun in, but you preserve your 2 nodes for fruiting branches. In the summer you should also trim any tiny little suckers that dont fruit.

fig trees need full day's sun. ok, maybe not full day, but more the better. the quality of the fig will improve. but, you are not getting any fig off the tree even with pinching. 

i would cut most of the suckers off. leave maybe 3 strong ones. let it grow without pinching till it has some new growth. then pinch every 5-6 nodes. some will put on branch again, pinch again after 5-6 leaves. you might get limited fig this way. but you shouldn't need to pinch next yr.

Hi seven,
Your tree is 4 years old - so this year would be the first one I would consider it productive . So no rush - it is normal that the tree did not produce much until now.
You made airlayers, so you kept the tree busy on branches you removed - so the tree did not keep all her strength for fruiting and growing the branches we see.

Now if you want the tree to put strength on fruiting, you have to preserve her strength for that.
I would remove all the thins rootsuckers - and leave intact the big ones - on the photo they seem to be 5 or 6 big-sized - I would keep those.
I wouldn't trim the tree as you are counting on brebas.

In a location 30 km away from me, I have the same figtrees strains - there, the tomato season is one month shorter ( starts 15 days later and ends 15 days sooner ),
believe or not, but most years, the figtrees don't even expose the figlets ! So yes, it could be that your growing season is too short. This year is possibly the last year for the figtrees at that location - we had a talk last Sunday about that :( .
How is your tomato growing season ? When does it start/end ?
Do you water the tree a watering can every week or twice a week ?

Thank again, everyone. Lots of options for me to consider, including my dad's opinion of paring down the trunks to only 2-4. I am willing to sacrifice the breba crop for a more productive main crop, so would I accomplish this by cutting away the majority of last year's growth? And it sounds like I'd be better off pruning the suckers rather than air layering them, correct? I could always root the cuttings afterwards.

jdsfrance - I honestly don't know how long our tomato growing season is. Regarding watering, I've not had to water this tree for several years, even during droughts severe enough to put my lawn into dormancy. The tree itself appears very healthy and put on a lot of limb growth last season. The leaves are huge, probably 8-10 inches from top to bottom. I'll try to attach pictures of the leaves and the fruit from the mother tree.

Hi Seven,
You never water that tree ?!?
Ok quick fix: water the tree once a week at least .
At least that is what I would do.

I've never had to and it's never shown signs of wilting, at least not since its 1st year. My area typically gets 3-4 inches of rain per month but we have gone almost a month with no rain in the recent past. The tree looked perfectly fine. Should I be watering even if the tree isn't showing any stress?

Seven,
Is your tree located in your lawn?
Could it be influenced by applications made to your lawn?
Lowering the pH and adding Calicium is very important for fig trees, especially the Calcium, since figs need a large available supply for producing figs.

Yes, Pete, it is. My lot was a former wooded area and had pretty crappy soil when I first built the house, with a ph of 5.0, primarily influenced by a lack of calcium. I've made several calcitic lime applications and I'm going to guess that my ph is now in the upper 5s or low 6s (this year's test is pending). I've also boosted magnesium (via epsom salts), phosphorus and potassium, as well as nudged the boron. I typically only use synthetic fertilizers on the lawn (and therefore the tree) in the fall, although I have used organic ferts in the spring and summer previously. This year's regimen is almost guaranteed to include more calcitic lime.

What ph is ideal for figs? I could, perhaps, amend the soil in the immediate vicinity of the fig tree differently than the rest of the lawn.

Thanks!

Seven,
Epsom salt is water soluble and will wash away quickly.
Dolemite limestone has the added benefit of Magnesium that will be released slowly with the Calcium by interaction with soil microbes and moisture.

Thanks, Pete. I have some dolomitic lime in my shed that I'll sprinkle around the root zone. My Ca:Mg ratio is pretty good and I don't want to skew it over the whole lawn since too much magnesium leads to a tight soil and dolomitic lime heavily favors magnesium over calcium (and is much, much slower acting than calcitic lime which isn't a good thing when dealing with a highly acidic soil).

Untied the tree yesterday and got rid of several suckers. Attached are a couple pictures from different angles of how the tree looks now. What do you think? I will need to prune the tops to get rid of dead wood but should I prune more heavily to encourage branching? I'm willing to give up the breba crop for a better main crop. Given that there are 5 mains, could I heavily prune a couple and leave the rest as is? The tree is still fully dormant. Thanks!

P.S. why are the pictures coming up sideways???