Several of of my trees died back to the ground last winter, and all are newly planted inground within the past 18 months.

A few (those that died back) have sprouted multiple (as in...10, 20, or more) suckers that I have allowed to grow out a foot or two before pinching.   This is the case for my VDB and also three of my unknowns.

My plan is to leave this lower growth intact this season to provide shade and protection for the main trunks, which are also new growth, and in some cases, well over five feet tall already.  This winter I will cut them back to three or four main trunks and prune them in that fashion in the future.

Does this make sense?  Is allowing abundant growth which I intend to cut off this coming winter, wasting energy that could be better used on a crop and the trunks I intend to keep and maintain?  Keep in mind they are growing in a harsh desert environment.  We get high winds and weeks on end of temps over 100 f.

Trees all appear very healthy and robust at this point.

Your thoughts?  Especially those of you living in the desert?

Thanks.

dave, how high are your winds? do you get sandstorms?

if you do, do the trees live thru them?

i didn't put my tree out till july 12 due to them, but if a potted fig can live thru a sandstorm

i could put mine out at a more normal time.

susie

You can do this a few different ways. If there was not living portion of the tree above the ground, and all new growth is from the base of the trunk, and you want a bush shape, I would think out all but 3-4-5 of the shoots and let them develop for the rest of the season.

If you want a tree shape, I would remove all but the one that you want to form your new trunk, and let the energy be directed to the one shoot that will be your new trunk.

If heat and sun are excessive (say in Phoenix, AZ), you can paint the trunk/shoots white with a mixture of 50% water and 50% LATEX (water-based) paint. Do NOT use oil-based paint. You can also wrap, loosely, with white paper to shade the bark. Both are commonly dne with planting of new fruit trees (citrus, stone fruits, etc).

If you have new shoots at the bottom, and new growth further up the old trunk, I would do essentially the same thing. If you want a bush, remove what doesn't contribute to the shape you want. If you want a tree, prune off what is not in keeping with the desired shape.

I would have done this earlier in the season, but it can be done now, with proper care against sunburn, or you could wait till dormancy, and do it then. You still have the problem of protecting this year's growth from damage next winter, however you decide to proceed. If it is allowed to die back again this coming winter, you will just need to repeat the process all over again,

Thank you Jon.   I appreciate your knowledge and most especially your detailed feedback.  I'll probably prune back a little now but save the bulk of it for dormancy.  And I will definitely wrap and otherwise protect my trees better this next winter.  I learned that lesson the hard way.

susieqz, no sand storms here.  Hi temps and,  20-30 mph winds during certain parts of the year, sometimes gusting much higher.  Trees are all in ground, so bringing them out after the winds die down is not an option.

thanks anyway dave. we never got major sandstorms before, but 3 years of drought has killed the non native species leaving nothing to hold the sand in place.

sue