I have been contemplating bringing this up for a bit, and after reading the thread on pinching cuttings I can't contain the urge to bring this up.


Fig trees seem rather anxious to take a bush form, some bushes..say currants for example are pruned back to a single bud when planted to encourage stronger growth or a stronger thicker main trunk which will soon form many laterals and still become a bush. This type of pruning is similar to how I prune my tomatoes and grape vines as well.
A bit of other info, my figs are in pots and I am training them to be branched(no coconut tree look-a-likes here).

So here is my question.

As my cuttings are starting to take off, some have multiple shoots, most of those with multiple shoots have one which is dominant. Would it be in my best interest to remove all the lesser shoots and leave one, or maybe two in some cases if both are large?

I am thinking I have to let everything be for awhile in the beginning, I don't want to shock a baby. But say once the biggest shoot reaches around 5 inches I would think that would be a good time to clean things up. It's all a matter of growth potential, I can have four skinny less well developed trunks or one big fat thick studly trunk. My hopes are that one main trunk can reach a height of 2-2.5 feet and then be pinched, setting up the framework for my kinda bushy tree in it's first year. Maybe this is unachievable, I don't know.

Also, at this point, from a cutting I am not interested in setting up branches that will be great candidates for future air-layers. I want to get the trees up to be strong and productive as soon as possible, if the opportunity for air-layers arise in the future..great.

In my experience thinning out the nodes early on is a good thing.  When the plant is committing it's energy to multiple shoots and you want it to grow roots instead or just focus on one shoot that you really want then it seems like the obvious solution is to just lop off the others.  They can take it, don't worry.

A vigorously growing fig tree can be trained into whatever you desire, whether it be a multi-stemmed bush, or, a single-stem, standard, tree-form.  A quick search will bring many photos of both styles to your screen.

The extra shoots that you encourage to grow will force the bush/tree to grow more extensive roots to support all the vegetation.  You can then decide how you want to train your fig, and cut/air-layer all the unwanted wood.  Figs bear fruit on new wood, unless it's a breba only variety, so with proper pruning techniques, you might get some figs despite some early pruning.  Once you basic framework of branches is established, it's easy to keep all new growth under control by pinching.

Sorry, I can only generalize.  Perhaps others might be more help.

Frank

Calvin,
from my experience last year, I observed that the multi branched cuttings usually develop slower than the single main trunk. By the end of the growing season the single main trunk's caliper was twice the size of sibling multi branched. This year I plan on leaving only the dominant branch, to form a single trunk. Later in the season or next year I will prune the main trunk (air layer the top) to form the required shape (bush, tree or espalier).
The available documentation for commercial pruning also seems to recommend the single trunk in the first season of growth. note attached post from earlier topic.


<Edit> The removal of extra branches will only be done after the cuttings have been growing in the 1 gallon pots.

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=1276199121&postcount=11

Thanks for the input guys.

Pete,
How tall did your single trunk trees get last year, and how large of a pot did you get them up to? Regional and grower differences considered of course, meaning I'm sure it will differ for me.

The single trunk cuttings were in 5 gallon buckets. and grew 3-4 feet tall in one season, a few were over 5 feet tall (Improved Celeste). They were in 1 gallon pots for around 2 months (until the container was full of roots, but before it got root bound), then they were up potted to 5 gallon buckets. They were fertilized with Miracle Grow General Purpose fertilizer once a week @ 1 Tablespoon/ 1 gallon water, with 1/2 cup Dolemite Limestone and Espoma Garden-Tone each per month.

Note: My season was from May through September. If my season was longer I could have let a few of the fig embryos (that developed) ripen, instead they were pinched.