Everyone that suggested for me to treat my soil with Lime.  I give you a 'HIGH FIVE,' and many thanks for the help.  Within a week the tree perked up and is budding out, and the leaves are back to good health.  I am going to treat the rest of the area I plan to plant fig tree's and till it well into the soil.  In closing thanks again...

Very cool.

I  am trying to remember your original post.   Did you have your soil ph tested?  And how much did you apply? 

I have a few questions as well. Richard, what type  of lime are you using and how are you applying it? On top of the potted soil, mixed in the soil mix, what quantity?

I have been using couple of handful of dolomite lime on all my fig trees. I was considering using them on cuttings along with weak fertilizer. I have about 6 Calvert cuttings that rooted. I'll be testing them out in week or so.

Pete

I bought it from the local wholesale supplier.  It was 5% calcium carbonate.  I mixed 4oz. to a gallon of water and poured it around the base.  Yes I did check the PH with a tester.  It was slightly acidic.  The bag of CC had a table for the amount to apply.  It gave you the option of applying the power directly to the soil but it was based on using a spreader for a large area.  I treated the soil every other day for 3 days.  I have not retested to soil but that is something I will do tomorrow.  I plan on using a spreader on the lot where I am going to put out some fig cuttings this fall.  I will use my tiller to mix it.  I was having problems with my leaves turning yellow and some falling off.  The tree was not able to absorb something it needed.  After the lime treatment it showed a improvment on the third day.  I think I will send a soil sample off to verify the results.  I do not know if the PH kits are all that accurate.  At anyrate getting the soil on the base-side of the curve is important.  

Thank you for the update.   My soil ph ranges from 5.8 to around 6.5.  Many of my new in ground plantings are just sitting and not showing much growth.   Think I might try this myself.

Oh I forgot one thing a friend of mine uses chauk dust they use for lining football and soccer fields.  You know it is made from limestone ground up.  But I was afraid that of saturating the soil to much with the chauk.  Good luck Dave it does make a difference.

Thanks RH and bullet.  

Picked up a 50 lb bag of hydrated lime today for 12 bucks.   Just applied some to my VDB , which is in the most acid spot (around 6.0),  and which has been looking the worst.   It's a three foot tree with multiple (8 or 10 trunks).  Put it into the ground two and a half months ago and so far...with daytime temps in the 80's and 90's...very little growth.

My little potted unknown, (which I put in a raised be in better soil at the same time), has shown 6-8 inch growth in the same period.

I was tempted to apply on other trees, but I think I'll give this 3 or 4 days and see what happens.

Anyway, thanks again guys.  I'll post up whatever happens.

Yes please keep us posted on your lime treatment.  

For those in VA, Southern States (at least in Manassas) has 50lbs bags of pelletized calcitic lime (ag lime) for under $5.00

If you spend too much time on the gardenweb soil structure forum you come across the recommendation of 2 parts ag lime to 1 part dolomite for the ideal 7 Ca:1 Mg  ratio and so far I have had positive results with this mix for my lime needs.

Hey Centurioun: I heard our soil out here in Arizona has too much lime.  Also lots of lime in our hard water.  I found that out after buying a bunch of lime.  Everyone around here says don't add any lime.  

Thanks, Figfinatic.   My soil tests results were in the 5.5-6.5 ph range.  A little on the acid side.   My information search indicated a need for an appliction of lime to bring the ph up a bit.   

As for the water.  I hadn't considered that. At any rate....my VDB has been languishing since I planted it two months ago.  The brebas dropped off and it's just been looking kind of droopy.  It is planted in one of the lower ph locations.  So  I've added lime at a rate similar to what rhopkins did and am waiting to see what happens.

It can only be one of three things.  It will start putting out new growth (and maybe some main crop figs)...it will remain the same...or it will die. 

Time will tell.

Anyone else with experience doing this...feel free to jump in.  This is all pretty new to me.

Thanks. 

Lime isn't added in our area either. Hi pH water and soil (about 8). Calcium carbonate residue on anything that has water dry on it both inside and outside the house.

I just realized I never posted my original ph value.  Dummy me, it was 6.0~5.5 just about the same as you are getting Dave.  I sent a sample off for a lab check Tuesday to see what they say the ph is right now.  Dave you might want to give your water a test as well.  Our city water has a lot of chlorine and salts added.  I don't use it on my plants I use well water and it is filtered to remove sand only.  Who knows what goes into city water before it gets to your house.  Keep me posted on your progress.

Yes, if I understand it correctly, lime is the last thing I need more of in Tucson. In some parts of my yard there's a caliche layer 2-3 feet below grade--basically a thick, impermeable layer of rocks cemented together in a matrix of calcium carbonate. I'd be happy to trade a few truckloads for some of that acidic soil!

Wish I had well water to use.  We fiilter all our drinking tap water before we drink it but the trees get it right out of the pipe.  Our munincipal water is heavily treated due to contaminants from several old copper mines in the area.   It's not real hard, but I don't think it's of the highest quality either.

We don't get much rain here, but I have a plan in the works to store water from the runoff from our house.  We have gutters all around, and a lot of our rain occurs in the summer from thunder storms.  We get a lot all at once....then nothing for months at a time.

You bet I'll keep you posted.  How are your trees doing?

 

Ken I use to live in Prescott, but did not try to grow any fig tree's there.  I lived on the side of a mountain so steep the tree would have fell off LOL.  Do wonder if it soil is like yours in Tucson.  This dirt here in Arkansas is almost black like JoAnn has at DFW in Texas.

Centurion,

I'm sorry to hear that your VdB is not doing well. I'm not sure what's going wrong, but if you need VdB cuttings, let me know. I should have good number of them in spring. I'll probably give some to scouts and who ever wants it here.

Pete

Ya, I hear you Ken.   Had that problem in Havasu.   Here it's clay.  Sticky, nasty, red clay that dries like concrete.    We've been working in lots of organic matter.  And now some lime.   It's so bad that most of the homeowners lay sheets of landscape cloth and/or plastic down and cover it with gravel.  Our entire yard was treated in this manner.   So every time I dig I'm ripping up plastic.

My cuttings are doing just fine I think I lost maybe 10 out of 61.  My three trees that are planted are all doing just fine.  There young but if I don't screw up I have a good feeling about the prognosis.  The one at risk was a BT but after the lime treatments it is going to pull through if we don't burn up again this summer with 112 degree days...

That's a pretty good survival rate.

Hey, thanks Pete.  My VDB was a gift from thisisme.  Havn't seen him post here in a while, but he gave me seven large trees when I visited him earlier this year.  It was a beautiful, healthy tree with lots of brebas on it when he gave it to me in February. It's by no means dead, but it's not exactly wowing me right now either.  We shall see.

Thank You for your kind offer.   I hope I don't need to take you up on it.

Dave,

No problem. Everyone should have VdB.

Pete

i applied dolomite lime and weak fertilizer to all my 1 gal pots yesterday. will report in a week or so as to what is going on.

pete

It's been just over a week since I tried the lime out on my VDB.  I applied 5 oz of hydrated agricultural lime disolved in 3 gallons of water and watered it in.  I did this twice, two days apart.

I am seeing more new growth in the past week than in the previous three weeks, but still not as much as some of the other trees.   Also, the last four weeks temps have averaged in the 90's, so it's hard to tell if the tree is reacting to the lime or to the recently increased temps. 

I was hoping to see more dramatic results.  I mean...is the tree responding to the lime, to the hot weather, some combination of the two, or maybe in spite of the lime but because of the hot weather?

I still have a little over 49 lbs of this stuff.  So I'll continue to observe, and probably try it out on one of my other trees.   For me, the verdict is still out. 

Also, since this tree was in a pot and transplanted only two and a half months ago, and has multiple...as in...12 trunks, I am wondering if maybe there is more vegetative growth than the roots can properly feed now that it's in the ground.     

Anwyay, he good news is, I didn't kill it.



Richard and Pete...how are your trees doing?