Check out the pruning methods used on this fig tree.....neat, compact, and productive....and new growth easily controlled.

stack exchange.com...."pruning fig tree canopy"

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Sorry I cannot give you a direct link to this specific page.  I am not great using a PC.


Frank

Is this the article?: http://gardening.stackexchange.com/questions/1471/encouraging-fig-or-similar-into-canopy-what-to-do-with-site-of-severed-limbs

cyberfarmer/Paul....

Yes.  Thanks for providing a direct link to the photo illustration. 


(What I'd give for a little of your Zone-10A right about now)!

Frank

I like that pruning photo!  We are pretty concerned here about blocking the neighbor's and our views, so this is a good illustration of what can be done to keep the tree in bounds and productive.  Thanks!

Suzi

Suzi...

Glad to be of some service. 

This tree may not be pruned to everyone's liking, and I'll admit, it's a bit contrived and tailored....but ultimately the pruning serves the purpose.  The tree is in control, and most importantly, productive...all within a small footprint.  Great for training a containerized fig tree, also.

(Thanks again, for the link Paul).


Frank

That guy didn't care about producing fruit, he just wanted a shade tree that he could walk under.  Unless you have similar goals I wouldn't prune that way. 

Hi Bob...

While the ultimate stated goal was to clear away all the older branches and raise the canopy, the net effect of this pruning method has concentrated all the potential fruiting branches into a small area across the top of the tree. 

Judging by the fence in the background, I will bet this tree is between 5-7 ft. high, maybe a little taller....and it can be kept at this height by pinching/pruning techniques.  The basic structure allows for plenty of fruiting branchlets to develop, and not be too shaded.

But of course, everyone has their own favorite growing and pruning methods.

Thanks for the interest.


Frank

Looks good now, but those limbs were too fat to be cut so close to the trunk... that was the mistake I made. Regardless of the pruning, it seems figs do better if you leave 2 or 3 nodes, that allows the tree to do its die back and heal... by cutting too close as this person did, in a few years the tree will not heal and will not produce.

It is better to prune aiming at this shape in its first 3 years... to reduce to this shape in the future is dangerous.. it is all I can say from my own experience rehabitilating my 24 y. o. tree.  Almost every trunk has to be cut to the foot tall to give it a chance of survival.

Frank,

My situation has changed a bit which is causing me to rethink the shape of my trees. I had been planning to train my trees in a similar fashion to the one in your link. My though was, however, to pollard it at about five feet. This would allow the lower portion to thicken up and become more able to withstand the cold, while all new growth would be cut back to the balls at the end of the season.

Thanks for all the interest. 

There are always merits and demerits, besides the personal preferences that are involved with training and selecting trees.  I only started this thread to be informational, and not as a directive.  Follow whatever pruning methods that work for you.

The link was provided as an illustration to show one of the many alternatives when pruning a fig tree, and many different pruning methods work to varying degrees, depending on your climate, culture, season length, breba production, etc.


Frank

Hi,
Did I read "...The shape of the tree is more important to us than abundance of fruit ..."
I hope it is not bifera, because you can't expect brebas after such an haircut !

I hope the guy buys a ladder to get to the fruits ... And he doesn't have birds lurking around, because that is the perfect shape for birds getting to the fruits.

That pruning is good for shading formed trees but not the way to go fruit production in my cold climate - perhaps in Cali it can still produce ...
Still, the upper limbs were left too long for a good final shape - 4 nodes should have been enough.
I wouldn't have either cut such big branches so short to the trunk . But I'm ok, the tree isn't mine ...
Just my two cents of course :)