Hi,
I just recently got into fig trees (and gardening in general). I found a Violette de Bordeaux tree at my local nursery and bought it even though it looked a little wilted. I thought if I repotted it and watered it well, it would be fine. I repotted it 3 days ago and it is still sad and limpy. Checked the roots and they are not rotten- and I have watered it twice- the day I brought it home and repotted, and today- 3 days later. It is a 1 year old tree- the same as 3 of my other potted fig trees but it has double- maybe even triple the amount of leaves compared to the others- but the stems and leaves seem so weak and lifeless and slightly curling up.
There is no powder, bugs, aphids, or spots on my leaves. Any suggestions?  (Is there such a thing as too many leaves? Should I trim/prune some of them?)
Thanks!!
-Tina
So. CA - 10B

Hello Tina,

Welcome to the forum.  :)

Poor little tree. 

After you repotted the little tree, did you put it out in the sun right away?  When you repotted it, what kind of soil did you use in the pot?  Also, How much larger a pot did you use?  I can't see the pot in the photo.  Did you knock all the old soil off the roots when you repotted it?  (I'm not advocating your doing that.)

I hope someone will be able to help you out here, but if you have put it back into the sun, remove it from the sun so the tree can settle in, then get it used to full sun little by little.  It's stressful for a tree to be transplanted, even into another pot and the sun can tear it up and make it harder for the tree to adjust.

Good luck with your new baby,

noss

Tina, stop watering!  Fig's like heat and not too much water.  VdB is a good find at a local nursery.  I have a couple, and I can shoot you some green cuttings if yours doesn't make it.  So CA zone 19.. AKA hills of Hemet!

Suzi

New growth this time of year and/or in low humidity will often look a little wilted.

Put it in the shade fro a week or so and give it some rest. You might also set it in a bucket of water for several h0urs and let it get thoroughly wet. The original soil might have been dry may not re-wet as easily as you might think, esp. if the potting mix it was in was heavy with peat moss.

Do not prune!  I agree with the humidity diagnosis above, so any way to increase humidity is probably a good idea (which can be tough with a large plant and no greenhouse!).  The tree is definately stressed and pruning will only increase the stress.  You may want to try some SuperThrive as a way to get her to perk up a little quicker.  Good luck!

I love superthrive for all my repot plants. Helps with the stress. No too much it is like a drug to plants.

Zone 8
Southwest TX

Bigsmile, where do you buy superthrive?

Thanks everyone for all your advice and suggestions!
When I bought it, it was in a 5 gall. pot- coarse sand based soilless mix. it was very quick draining- the water shot right out of the bottom when I watered it. I have now repotted it into a 7 gallon smart-pot (one of those fabric pots).  I used Fox Farm potting mix with added coarse perlite and a scoop of compost. I tried not to disturb the roots or soil that the tree roots hung on to- since the sand was so coarse and loose/airy (don't know if that's the right terminology), it came out pretty easily.
I have now moved it into a shady spot and will go out and get someSuperthrive tomorrow.
 I guess all I can do till then is watch it obsessively till it gets better (I've gone outside 5 times today to check on my tree and fell asleep on the couch watching it out the window yesterday).
Thanks again! Ill update again in a couple weeks :)

Bless Your Heart, welcome to the club :)

Just a thought, maybe your tree had already suffered a bit of root damage before you bought it. In any case if that is the most it wilts, then eventually it will come around. No worries.

Hope your plant perks up for you.  I have a VdB in my yard, and it is always the first tree to look droopy and unhappy when the temps start warming up and the humidity is low.  But even though it looks like that it keeps on growing and producing fruit right through the summer.  Maybe just give it normal care and see what happens.  It doesn't look that bad in the photo.  It just looks like a young plant that is thirsty or hot.

i would move it into the shade and make sure to water only when it needs it. too much water and new location might be stressing out the tree.

Welcome!  You've picked a great variety.  What are the others?  The others are right about the shade although since the leaves weren't scorched by the sun it looks pretty well adapted to sunlight.  I'd give it partial shade or full sun in the am and partial or full shade in the hottest part of the day.  A fast draining mix might need to be watered every day depending on temperatures, wind, etc.  Also, if it was sitting near a wall as in the photo that will be hotter than if it is away from other structures. 

It sounds like you've done your homework and know what to look for.  I hope you enjoy your time here.  Have you tasted figs ripe from the tree before?

One thing to try as I had this happen to a recent repot...if you can find room in the pot, put in a stake and then attach a piece of pvc or other other material as a cross brace about the top of the plant to act as a support structure.  Then take a clear piece of plastic (I used thin garment cover from the dry cleaners.  Mist inside the bag heavily and place over the top of the plant and keep it out of direct sunlight.  I would then "let it breath" a couple of times a day by lifting up the plastic to the support piece...may 15-20 minutes.  Mine (although not a VdB) perked right up after a day.  Then gradually leave the plastic off longer and longer over several days.  Anytime the inside of the bag gets dry, mist it again.

Good luck....

Tami
I get superthrive form Ebay.
I have most everything shipped in as I live out in the remote sticks of west TX.
I am like a fig love it hot and dry.

Zone 8
Southwest TX.

Concur with others, move to a shade spot for a few days.  You've stressed out the tree and it needs to recover.  On another note, you could have a Petite Negra.  PN is a tree that will droop and sag in heavy sunlight and heat.  Once shade comes, the drooping goes away.  If its a true VdB, then this is a mute point.

figs must be 'hardened off', meaning to gradually acclimate them to full sun. That's not to suggest that your plant will be damaged, merely set back a bit. I planted a vdb and an improved brown turkey in my backyard(northern exposure) in north Texas. They froze to the ground but now are coming back. Very resilient plants, these figs. Hard to kill.

That big orange home center that's in everyone's town carries SuperThrive, also

Tina like Jon said "Shade" if you keep watching it obsessively sing a song to it.
Start with
Dean Martin's - Thats Amore

and
Welcome to the figs4fun forum.
There some real fig nut cases here. lol

One of my VdB cuttings all of a sudden was wilting and I thought it probably was a goner.  I had the cover on the bin off for maybe 20 min.  I put the cover on and it came back.  The roots were unable to support the growth yet.  For some reason the roots aren't able to support the amount of new growth on top.  I see you are in Southern California.  I was going to say that maybe the root mass was still somewhat cold and dormant but you must of had warm temperatures for a while now?  Maybe the tree was stressed for whatever reason at the nursery and lost some of the roots it had the prior season for that size plant but now can't support it's size.  If kept in partial sun instead of full sun will give it a chance to recover.  Ever go into the garden center to find that the stock of plants look like they hadn't been watered for a week.  Maybe that happened to the fig before you bought it.

Thank you all so much for your help! I moved the plant into a shady spot, waited for the soil to dry out a bit and today, I watered it along with some of the Superthrive. I have been checking every two hours and I think some of the leaves have 'flattened'! The other trees I have right now are: Black Mission, Panache, LSU Purple, and today- I just got a Peter's Honey. I haven't tried any of the figs yet- all the trees are a year old or younger/ no fruit- but I'm sure I will love them. I've only had Brown Turkey and Kadota figs and I have loved them. I guess I know I love chocolate and vanilla but now I am excited to try all the other exciting flavors- especially after seeing everyone's beautiful pictures!

Great varieties.  Enjoy them!

I bought a 15 gallon Voilet De bordeaux from Armstrong and the tree stalk looks very healthy. The leaves picture matches to tandmadd  posting

Droopy leaves :(

The potting soil is soo loose that it drains the water within minutes and the roots on the top surface was dry as the temperature last week
was in 90's in California.

I have not planted it on the ground waiting for the leaves to flatten.

Question to tandmadd since you have been through the similar situation, im being paranoid newbie when it comes to figs :)

1. How long did it take the leaves to flatten
2. How often you watered
3. Did you add any NPP mixture to give additional relief 
4. I do not want to ask this question but will do :( did the leaves wilt off and re grew.
    This would break my daughters heart :(

I already have Brown Turkey, Black mission few months old and doing great

Any inputs are appreciated

Welcome to the forum Sivaveera! I would poke some holes in the soil with a screwdriver or something and loosen the top roots up and allow water to penetrate to all the soil. I may soak it in a bucket for an hour as well as repot it. I can't speak for all but my VdB likes partial shade and let's me know about it if she doesn't have it!

I put my little figs back out this morning. I had been having issues with my VdB wilting and needing more water when outside, so I put them in another container that I could water independently. All the others just had their wicks in the water, the VdB I top watered and made sure that the bottom of their bags were slightly immersed when I put them out. An hour later just the VdB were wilted, awful fast for either drying out or being damaged from being to wet. They're still in the shade in my sip  http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/kiddy-pool-sip-6838413?pid=1282247050#post1282247050  and they've been in front of South facing windows so they aren't getting that much more sun. Change of temperature maybe? They seem pretty prone to wilt... but they survived wilting several days in a row last time I put them out. They would perk up in the evening and they didn't lose their leaves or anything so I'm trying not to get too concerned this time.

If the root ball is finally soaked with water you can take it out and water as normal. If the leaves have perked back up you can plant it and fertilize.

Thanks javajunkie

Ok will do as soon as I get home

original poster's pix looks like the leaves are dehydrating very fast. that happens when left in the sun suddenly after spending all the time indoor or in dark place. keeping in shade and misting will help. if the pot is light, add water. if the pot is not light or has water in there, just leaving it in the shade will work. 

if left in the sun longer, the leaves will dry up and drop. but as long as the buds are still green they should put on new leaves and things will be fine. 

Sounds logical Bullet08

Since I got them from Armstrong, the tree could have been indoor and sudden heat of 90 plus made it droopy
I have it under shade a good one :) between a huge orange and Key lime tree. The leaves are not dry yet
But will plant as soon as I see the leaves flatten but remove the water bowl today.

I had added some compost mulch so that the top layer did not dry up. I just did not want to repot/replant cause
that might bring up the stress level up and higher.

As a perk I watered it with AV11 (15% nitrogen 35% potash 35% phosphorous)

 

I noticed some of my black nursery pots were hot as heck in the sun. Moved them to a place--still in sun--where I could half bury the pots in pine straw. They seem much better now. I think most varieties like heat on the leaf, cool around the roots. Anyone else vouch for this? (Just an observation, and I could be off the mark.)

[QUOTE=tandmadd] I guess all I can do till then is watch it obsessively till it gets better (I've gone outside 5 times today to check on my tree and fell asleep on the couch watching it out the window yesterday). [/QUOTE]

Sounds like you got it bad! I am a certifiable fig-nut, but I only check my trees 3 times a day when I am home ;-)

Im attaching the pictures.

Removed the water bowl at the bottom and now there is  bit of water retention on the top layer I have added mulch.

Looking better than what it was yesterday

Based on those photos I would say there is more going on than just heat stress.  Heat stressed leaves usually curl up.  There is some serious drooping going on there.  The plant looks like it is in shock.

Should I return the plant or give it some time?

It looks much better than yesterday

If it was me, I would give it some time. Are you sure the water penetrated all through the roots? If it spent time in the full sun getting home that may be part of the problem but the leaves still look viable.

I can get a trash can and immerse the whole pot for couple of hours 

Can I do that?

Absolutely! Did you take a sharp object and punch holes for the water to penetrate? I use a long screwdriver, push it in and move it in a circular motion. I am really rooting for your tree! If you have any superthrive that may be a good idea as well.

Okay

Let me run to Homedepot and get some super thrive

Will keep you posted

I waited for this tree for couple of months I just do not want to give up

Thanks all for your help

I wouldn't want to give up either, that's a nice tree and a nice variety!

I thing that the root ball is dry. I would definitely take it out of the new pot and examine the root ball.

SUPERTHRIVE!!

All the way I have added the magic potion

Waiting for it to come back alive

If it works I may drink it to when I feel down :)

Will keep you posted.

Hi sivaveera,
Some question:
Are you watering the tree twice a day (morning and evening) with some 5 liters of water ?
I would put a plate one centimeter high under that pot, so that the dirt has access to water.
Tell us if the dirt is taking all the water from the plate .

Let me break your heart : knock off some figlets - the smaller ones . Leave three per stem . For sure that can only help ... but I have to admit that it's heart breaking ...

Answers to jdsfrance

1.Are you watering the tree twice a day (morning and evening) with some 5 liters of water ? 
     Yes, I made sure I water in the morning and evening. Im not sure if it is 5 liters but
      for sure I water a bucket almost half the size of the pot container. Should be around 7 gallons
     I water till water starts to come down.

2. I would put a plate one centimeter high under that pot, so that the dirt has access to water.
   Yes, I do I have put trash can lid at the bottom so it just holds around 2 inches of water and not in excess.

3. Tell us if the dirt is taking all the water from the plate .
   I do notice water level comes down in the trash can lid but does not dry up completely. Since the pot is in the shade
  I could say 50% evaporation and 50% absorption :)

More updates:
The plant is recovering I guess see pictures attached. It could be a combination of all the suggestions I have had. Amazing group and thank you.
I will continue to update pictures and will keep you posted. 

It is heart breaking to clip the fruits :( can I wait and see for another day to do that? I have had this tree for only 2 days and for sure the leaves have
not dried but just droopy. I can see the difference which could be subtle as Im watching it every few hours "PARANOID".  

Some how other 2 pictures never got attached

It absolutely is looking better. Did you poke the holes for water to get down in there? The superthrive has to be helping a little but I'm still worried water isn't getting to the middle of the pot. Is the pot really heavy like it's saturated?

Yes javajunkie.

I did poke holes and also the pot seemed heavier. When I get home I will get some holes closer to the trunk before I water in the evening. 

Nicely done!

Doing much better :), Water in the trash lid is decreased looks like the plant is absorbing the water. I did make additional holes near the 
main stalk.