Hi! New to the forum & need a fig tutor in Tucson. Have 3 trees planted a couple years ago in ground on east side of house, violette de bordeux, genoa, & kadota. What should I be doing to the clay soil? Also, they weren't pruned last year...the VB especially is out of control, is it too late to prune? They still look dormant. Is it better to grow in pots here? Is anyone in Tucson growing figs in pots? I'd like to root cuttings & try that but The Inferno here is intimidating!
Thanks for any help!

Hi figfanjan,
I'm in the Valley not in Tucson but similar weather. I think your inferno ranges 10 degrees cooler than ours. I'm loving the cold weather were having before things start burning. I don't think it's too late to prune, but you don't have to prune except to shape them. I don't know about the state of your trees but the ones I have that went dormant are still there. I thought they would spring into leaf with the warm days we've had but the cold nights seem to keep them sleeping. You don't really need to do anything to the soil since they grow like weeds. You can throw mulch and compost/manure on top. Pots and in ground both work fine. You can get a pretty big tree in 1-2 yrs in ground. Figs are easiest fruit tree for your climate.

Welcome FigFanJan,

I live in NW Tucson and joined last year.  Sounds like you're on your way to the way of this forum.
There is another great fig lover in town besides being a great artist and naturalist, Ken S
I happen to know a few fig trees in town and I may be able to assist . I have several varieties mostly in pots. 

Cheers

Manel

Remember you get your brebas on the ONE year old branches, so if you prune them you will not have that early crop... best to just take a little at the tips to help it branch out, or do nothing, only remove the thinner branches that act like suckers, and leave the energy for the stronger ones that will make the best fruits. when you cut the thin ones, remember to leave at least 2 nodes...it is the growth of these 2 nodes that will fruit next year, plan on the 'year growth of this year' will fruit next year...so, when pruning, think what you want this year and next also.

In Grapes, they call this '2 node' pruning 'renewal', it is the same concept.

Thanks for the replies! We also have a newer mission & brown turkey in a different location, but I'm not as concerned about them. The kadota & genoa haven't really produced, & have had very limited growth. The Bordeaux is double to triple the height of the other two, & has fruited every year we've had it...though last year much of the fruit was only reachable by the birds, & the fruit lower down dried out. I just was worried we were doing something wrong, & after 3-4 years in the ground the one tree hasn't done much of anything.

I'm not in Tuscon, but recently moved from the Palm Springs area, so I understand heat for sure!  My VDB was a monster too, and she was in a large pot, but somehow she worked her roots into the ground, and is in-ground.  We are digging her up this week and moving her to this property.  About growing in pots.  Be careful they don't fry the plant's roots.  Drip systems are important, and partial shade doesn't hurt.

I had one slow grower in a pot, like 2 leaves each year.  Jon helped me by suggesting I was frying the poor things roots, so he told me to move the pot to partial shade after giving it gallons of water, and then hitting it with a lot of miracle grow.  Magic.  Maybe try Miracle grow on your slow grower.  That could do the trick!

Suzi

during the early spring till the figs are on the branches, i used to put handful of slow release fertilizer, then water with MG every weekend. they seems to promote vegetative growth better than anything else i tried last two yrs. i'm going back to that this yr. 

vegetative growth in spring is needed to put main crop on this yr's branches. no new growth, no main crop. 

Since you don't have bad freezes timing isn't critical.  Dormant cuttings root well so most people prune when dormant and root, sell, trade or give away the cuttings.

Hi,
Violette de bordeaux should be unifera, so you can prune it . I would do it when no frost is forecasted.
If you are no longer able to take the figs, to me this means, that it is time to prune.
You will perhaps harvest less this year, but you will have more the years after .
When the tree breaks dormancy, give it fertilizer and/or manure, and water regularly .

It's important to water slowly, deeply and infrequently. Get a rebar and use it as a probe. If you can probe 2-3 feet down you've watered enough. Even in the heat don't water your inground trees more than once a week so they can develop deep roots. Helps them better deal with stress. Don't fertilize your trees with chemical fertilizer either. Use something organic like compost or mulch to improve the soil which will feed your tree well.

We can't remember if it was 3 or 4 year ago when we put them in. We put slow release fertilizer in the second year they were in the ground, but have done nothing the last 1-2 years. They get a slow deep watering once every 3-4 weeks in winter, when we remember, and then more frequently every 7-14 days in summer. They also weren't trimmed last year & the VB tree is maybe 8' tall. I can't figure out a way to add a pic from my phone to show the scraggliness of the taller branches & ask about pruning location. The other two trees are a bigger concern. I don't know if it's the genoa or kadota, but one of those hasn't lost all its leaves yet this winter. There are still a few leaves on it, mostly low, & they don't look right. We thought we noticed this towards the end of last year, but then all leaves fell off & the new growth looked green & normal so we forgot about it. I took a shot of it, is there a way to upload photos from an iPhone or do I need to use a PC?