Desert King pruning in the northeast?

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5fignut6

Registered:1308262329
Posts: 53

Posted 1435840403	Reply with quote #1

I live in the northeast and have a Desert King that is several years old and I get a nice crop of brebas each season. The tree is getting leggy; can I prune it after the figs ripen with the hope that it will still put on additional growth for next years early crop?

jdsfrance

Registered:1376988473
Posts: 2,591

Posted 1435847307	Reply with quote #2

Hi, Yes and no . I doubt that where you will cut, that you'll get breba figs next year. You'll get brebas on the untouched stems. So the more logical way to go, is to prune half of the tree this year, and the other half, the next year. You could as well air the tree in the same way. If you still have some place, you could airlayer some of the to be cut stems ( root them ), and install them in the garden to have more than on tree, and thus pruning the trees one at the time, one each following year. Pruning is never easy, but at some point must be done. __________________ ------------------------ Climate from -25°C to + 35°C Only cold hardy figtrees can make it here

Jarl_Berg

Registered:1435234917
Posts: 23

Posted 1435854941	Reply with quote #3

Thats always been one of the questions and concerns I've had with Desert King or any other fig that primarily provides Breba figs. Since the figs like to grow on last years wood and last years wood makes the best cuttings you are effectively reducing your plants ability to create figs every time you prune or take cuttings aren't you? __________________ Northern WV, Zone 6a Current Collection: Hardy Chicago, Petite Negrone, Desert King, Strawberry Verte, LSU Purple, Brunswick. Wish List: VDB, RDB, Panache, Jolly Tiger, Liturgia

Rewton

Registered:1291943117
Posts: 1,946

Posted 1435855257	Reply with quote #4

I like JDSFrance's suggestion. You could imagine having a Y-shaped tree with two main scaffold branches. One year after fruiting you could prune back one side but leave the other unpruned. Then then next year you do the opposite side, and so one. That way half of the tree will be productive every year. I haven't done this but on paper it sounds like a good idea. __________________ Steve MD zone 7a

pino

Registered:1383190021
Posts: 2,117

Posted 1435869672	Reply with quote #5

An alternative may be to use a branch thinning strategy. Each year select appropriate number of branches either suckers, criss-crossing branches, damaged or sick looking, or too close together and cut those out completely. The remaining untouched branches will have more room to grow and should produce a lot of breba figs following year. __________________ Pino, zone 6, Niagara, JCJ Acres Wish; Peace on earth and more figs Italian 258, Galicia Negra, Luv, trade suggestions welcome.

ejp3

Registered:1193140374
Posts: 668

Posted 1435883167	Reply with quote #6

If you prune after picking the figs wouldn't the rest of this summers growth starting from where you cut it (the wood) be what gives you next years breba? So what's the problem? __________________ Ed NY zone 7 Wish list CDD Blanca/Negra

OttawanZ5

Registered:1192897779
Posts: 2,551

Posted 1435885772	Reply with quote #7

I am thinking similar to Ed. I am going to prune my DKs after ripening of the few fruits they have. If it did not work I will give up on DKs altogether which I had been thing to do foe the past few years. I find pruning routine for DK a bit messy for my taste. __________________ Ottawan-Z5a, Canada

Feigenbaum

Registered:1377643723
Posts: 382

Posted 1435893273 · Edited	Reply with quote #8

How to prune a Desert King fig tree __________________ Hi from Germany! (Zone 7b) Christian

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