When is the proper time to prune in N Texas?  My tree is starting to yellow and there are a few figs left to ripen.  I read an old post saying in Texas they never really go dormant.  So... when is the appropriate time to prune AND how much should I take off?  The pictures are from when I first planted it and from last week

Hi JoAnn,
     I see you have a nice air layer going on that tree. How did that work out for you?  I had two failed air layers this season(can't seem to get the hang of that technique). By the way, your tree looks great. I saw your month by month picture presentation on another post a while back.  Great job.
                                                             Regards,
                   

I pruned my trees in late February, that was the first time I had pruned them since bringing them from Florida.  They grew 4-6 ft this season.  I will prune again in February again unless we have this weather continue, then I will prune in late January.  Right now my older trees are showing sign of dormancy, younger are showing no sign at all.  Crazy weather.

Hi JoAnn,

We're in a somewhat similar climate.      My trees went through three nights of freezing temps a couple weeks ago, so I am waiting just a bit longer to determine what was killed from what seems to be hardening off.  If it doesn't freeze, and if your tree doesn't appear to go dormant, then I would think January or February.

As for how much to prune?  That's the neat thing about fig trees. There are so many ways you can do it.  You can prune it to one inch above ground and it will come back as a healthy young tree and most likely produce main crop figs next year.  You can prune it to a pleasing shape, or prune it way back  like in the pics of commercial growers in Japan or South America that some have posted, or you can just top it, and/or thin it out a little...or you can just leave it alone.

In other words...you can't really mess it up.  And if you aren't happy with how it turns out...you get a "do over" next year.

 

i just prune them when i feel like it. to send off the cuttings, i make sure the cuttings are more or less dormant hardwood. as long as the cuttings are greed hard or dormant hard, they work. not sure what sort of impact pruning has on my trees. but it let them know who's boss :) "take that. no figs? i'll cut you more".

I agree with Pete whenever you want thats what I do when I need cuttings etc

You do want to cut branches that cross and open the tree up to light.  So you'll want to thin the interior some, too.  If 2 branches cross, take out the one that's headed toward the middle of the tree.  Other than that, it's your preference.

If that were my tree (and I wish it was 'cause it's better than any of my trees  :- ) I'd reduce the height after dormancy, but take 1 cutting off of the tips of the longer left sided branches now to encourage them to develop multiple shoots.  Maybe 2 or 3 for the extra long ones.  I'd look at the right side to see if it's too crowded and if it is, I'd thin after dormancy.  Perhaps mark the cuts with a silver sharpie now.

I'd like to hear what other people would do if it was their tree.

Bob, I don't understand tipping off the left side now to encourage multiple shoots.  Doesn't pruning while dormant do that anyway?

here is how i pruned my trees. i know they are ugly and looks like missing bit of hair here and there.. but the basic idea was to open up the center so there will be air circulation and sun penetration. new trees will have slightly different approach so they don't look so much like mexican hairless dogs. 

The growing tip releases a hormone that inhibits the other shoots.  If you cut the growing tip off while it's growing, all the other shoots get released at the same time.  It works best if you fertilize it at the same time.  Don't do that if it's going to go dormant within 4 weeks.  If you cut it off while dormant you will get some shoots, but not necessarily as many.

OK, I definitely will not do that now, leaves are turning yellow.

Vince, the air layer didn't take.  I'll try again next year ;) 

Bob,
   I prune all my trees really hard. From the 6yr old IG to the two yr. old Verte and down to the one year old newbies. If you go to my YouTube channel(my screen name on YouTube is also Forever Figs), click on the video entitled: "Getting Ready For Winter" to get an idea of how drastically I prune.  The reason I prune so hard is that I prefer a bush type fig tree rather than a standard tree. It also allows me ease of access to the tree so no ladder is necessary for maintenence or for harvesting. I have also found that the following year the trees produce more vigerously, both in growth of new branches and also in the production of figs. Not all people argee with this method, but it works for me.
                                                                      Regards To All,