I have some trees that were started last spring and are in 1 gallon trade pots. What criteria should be used to decide what size pot to up-pot them to. Since I'm planning to keep them in pots for the next two years would it be easier to go straight to a larger one, like 4 or 5 gallon or just go up to a 2 gallon size and what would the reasoning be. I haven't a clue so I'm asking those of you that are experienced in pot culture to please help. Thanks.

Gene I'm no expert but I have gone from rooted cutting to 3 gal pot in less than a year most grew 3-4 ft and I plan on potting up to 20 Gal. I know this goes against what most will say but 1 to 5 should be fine so you won't have to pot up again before you go in ground.

I have a goncha de oro I bought from J Morle.  It grew great this year but I got no figs.  When I talked to Joe about this he asked me what size was the pot it was in.  I told him and he immediately said "of course you got no figs, the pot is too big.  It wont start to fruit until it fills out the pot."  In his opinion put it in a small pot and it will fruit.  I dont know if I agree with this but Chris from  Belleclare seemed to think the same thing.

As posted on the other forum in response. OOps my mistake not the ronde or dk port, i was looking thru my album and found these i went from original 4 inch pots Bass sent to me May 16th 09 right to the big ones and they loved it notice the picture dates they tell the story on there progression.
Ronde below
1 month after purchase in bigger pot

1 mothn later after the picture above

2 months later

My Dark Portuguese reacted the same way as Ronde,
it was my pastiliere that was much slower in its growth because of FMV but it slowly did much better and some others i did not move to bigger pots till late in season. It took 4 months from a small plant in a 4 inch pot to reach the final size i wanted with figs although they did not ripen on Ronde nor the Drk Port because my season came to an end it was lousy weather wise. Will these produce ripe figs next season - i can bet all my fig plants on that that is if we dont get snow this coming late SUMMER !  ; ) If you decide to go to a bigger pot with a small plant you must be careful when you water or you run the possibility of drowing the young root system.
I tend to do my own thing with these plants and i dont suggest it to others !
Only i show what i do in my area with some pictures.
Cant wait for the new season to begin already as its snowing now !
Best Health
Martin

The only reason that makes absolutely zero sense to me is ... well, think about a fig tree in the ground - it never grows to "fill its pot".  Why does it put on fruit?

Granted, pot culture nad ground culture are a little different, but is it really that much different?

I have started many cuttings last spring, that ended up in 10 gallon containers by fall. In some cases I did notice that when placing small trees in the ground they don't produce, but the same size placed in a pot will fruit the same year.
If you are providing good soil mix that has good drainage, you can definitely place them in large pot, with some slow release fertilizer.
Martin,
Thanks for showing these photos, most of my trees grow that fast if proper care was provided.

Bass

When it outgrows a 1g, move to a 2g, and then to a 5g.

Thanks for the many replies. My thinking right now is to put them in 5 gal. pots with the lingering thought in my head about what ejp3 said. I know for a fact that some plants don't flower well unless they get more or less root bound. Perhaps the fig "goncha de oro" is one that thrives in rocky crevices like we see in pictures here and that is why it needs a smaller pot. Well, seasons are long here so the should have plenty of time to grow.

Martin, those are some nice photos, thanks for posting them. You have given me courage to go forth.
"gene"

Gene,

Your making a fine choice with the 5gl pot.

Martin,

lovely pictures! Heathly looking plants too.

Rafed

I agree with Jon on this one. I'm no scientist, but I think it makes sense--at least conceptually--from a biological perspective. Like any organism, a fig tree is on a mission to reproduce so that its genes may survive to the next generation. With the goal of reproducing as much as possible, a fig tree makes what are essentially economic choices based on the environmental situation in which it finds itself. 

Given proper light, water, and soil, a young fig tree will develop a surplus of energy. It then has to choose between two options--1) invest in extra foliage, which will allow it to produce more seeds over the long term; or 2) invest in heavier fruit production now, which will reduce its capacity to produce seeds over the long term to some degree, but which will ensure that some genetic material survives to the next generation.

For a tree planted in the ground, conditions are more or less ideal. There is no artificial limit to how big it can grow or how long it can live. It makes sense for the tree to employ a long-term strategy in producing seeds. So it invests its surplus energy in foliage.

For a tree in a pot, the conditions are less ideal. First, the amount of soil that can be converted into tree is limited. Second, the pot limits the size of the tree's root system. If the tree grows too big, the undersized root system will not be able to support the oversized tree. That situation is especially bad since a fig tree needs to put on new growth to produce fruit. The pot limits not just the potential size of the tree but also the number of seasons the tree will be able to produce fruit. A tree can optimize its reproductive chances by staying smaller and producing more fruit in the short term. So, for a tree in a pot, it makes more sense to invest more heavily in fruit production than foliage production.

I've seen this with tomatoes. If you've ever had more tomato seedlings than you could plant or give away, you probably have, too. If you leave a tomato plant in its plastic seedling pack, at some point the plant stops putting on foliage and starts putting on flowers and fruit. The plant recognizes that conditions aren't ideal, so it stays small and speeds up its reproductive cycle to make sure that at least some seeds can be produced.

Good write-up Matt
I have to convince my plants next summer of what you just mentioned that: "for a tree in a pot, it makes more sense to invest more heavily in fruit production than foliage production. "
The only problem left is how to let the plant know that we have a shorter season and so to expedite ripening too because the unripe fruit will not help its gene survival.

Ever think you might need a plant psychologist?

icecube
Whatever will do the job, plant psychologist or plant botanist that will make the plant force for its gene survival and we get the ripe figs.