Hello everyone! New fig enthusiast here in Houston, TX. I planted my first fig (LSU Purple) early this year which I bought from JRN Nursery. Due to the poor draining heavy clay soil here, I started to plant my fruit trees in raised beds.

This fig tree put out some nice new growth after planting but soon after it started developing brown spots on the leaves. The spots slowly grew and spread to most of the leaves and now have started to kill some of the leaves. Also, some of the figs themselves have a few dark brown spots. Several branches developed cankers with a dark ring around the border. I tried spraying with neem oil and copper fungicide but I did not see improvement so I pruned off the branches with the cankers.

I suspect that this disease is anthracnose rather than the fig rust which I hear is common down here around the gulf coast. I cannot find much online specifically about anthracnose on figs. Have any of you encountered this disease on your figs and if so, what can I do to cure my ailing fig?

If any of you have tips on growing fruit trees in Houston area clay, I'm all ears. I've planted citrus, jujube, starfruit, and guava and they all experienced the "soup bowl" effect after I amended the clay and planted them in the ground. The amended soil fills up with water due to the clay around it and the trees were drowning and/or experiencing root rot when I dug them up. All of my fruit trees recovered and have been growing much better in the raised beds. However, I would like to plant more trees in the ground here.


Matt

Not really anything on the disease...but rather a couple of tips for planting.

If you are amending the soil for planting trees, you need to 'go big'...do at least the same area that is covered by your raised bed.  And at least 2 feet deep in that area, too.

Although, it's often better, in the long run, to NOT do anything other than nutritional amendments and breaking up the large clumps of soil when filling the planting hole.

Matt - welcome to the forum.

There is a lot of information here and there are a bunch of figgers around you down there.  The one thing I would suggest is to determine what works for you, down there.  Find the local figgers, talk to them, learn from them.  Regardless of where you are located, your growing conditions are different even from the guy across the road or next door.  Most people do not understand anything about GUMBO in Texas, breaking up the clods will only make it easier to turn to solid gumbo when watered or rained on, only quicker.  If you have gumbo, dig a hole, circle or trench even if you are going to go raised beds.  Use a mix of Landscapers Mix from Lowe's mixed with Manure Compost, you can use pine bark if you want but it is not absolutely required, the landscapers mix has enough solids to allow the growth/expansion of the roots.  By the time the solids break down the roots will be sufficiently in place  Do not over water, even with the hole or trench you have dug a hole in gumbo which is like building a bathtub, it does not drain, it drys, watch the water.

When it comes to recommendations, be careful, even if from the guy you bought the property from, everything changes sooner or later.  It is very easy to fail down there, do your homework and develop a set of practices that work for you, that works there.  There was a huge commercial fig operation even as recent as the early 70's so it is a good area.

Class dismissed, LOL

DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING I HAVE SAID UNTIL YOU HAVE DONE YOUR OWN RESEARCH AND DETERMINED WHAT YOUR TRUTHS ARE.

Rust

I think it is just plain rust too. A large number of my trees covered with it already this year, especially the container grown ones just planted (up-potted) this spring. I can show you identical leaves on several of my trees.

Welcome to the forum! We can always use more fig-nuts in Houston.

CliffH

What Danny said..