Just wanted to post a topic in which we can all chime in and share the do's and don'ts of fig growing that we've each experienced this year.







Here's many of mine:

*Dont waste time ordering from online nurseries that sell super "cheap" trees, or if the business in general have a horrible reputation. I've just wasted 2 years investing time, love and labor into a tree I thought was a Desert King just to find out this fall it was a celeste. 

* Don't leave out fig trees that are loaded with fruits you are waiting for ripening if you are having lots of guest over. I waited so long to taste my battaglia off a straggly tree  of mine and someone helped themself out :(

* Don't let your unriped figs go to waste. Pick them and pickle them!

* Do save your cuttings if you choose to prune your trees. I'm talking about those people who have large trees who heavy prune and throw away cuttings to avoid hassle of shipping or selling. I save most of my brown turkey cuttings and root about 50-60 in cups just to give away in the spring to neighbors, family, coworkers and strangers. Its a wonderful and frugal  way to make people feel special.
 

After learning the hard way:

Don't: Leave your year old 1 gallon figs out until the snows come - they become dead sticks in a 1 gallon container.
Don't: Keep your fast growing cuttings in 1 gallon containers because 'they'll be much easier to store for winter'.  If the fig needs a bigger pot, give it a bigger pot.


Andrew

aomeone had cut down a large fig tree (with some fruit on it!)
near my house, so i took a large branch with several smaller branches coming off of it.
the largest bit must have been close to 2 inches across.
i got about 10 cuttings. about 3 of them are rally large.

also, i have to trim back my Black Mission, Celeste, and another with no ID
but very productive.

i am sure i will have close to 30 cuttings when its said and done.
once they root i will use them to trade
or just give away to neighbors and friends.

1. I would pinch back the trees in June/ July to encourage fruit production.
2. Do more ground layering with low lying branches for starter trees throughout the season.
3. I would consider using a greenhouse in the spring to get an earlier start.
4. And lastly, I would take better notes and documents along with pictures.

1. As the love of figs has taken hold of me I'm learning that research is really important. There are huge differences in flavor, growing difficulty and cost. Read all you can and weigh the information so you really understand what you want before you fill up your available space with trees you may soon want to replace with different ones.
2. Look at the reviews about and comments by different sellers, not on their sites but on forums like this one. It will save you time, money and aggravation. I don't want to realize 3 years later that I've been scammed with dud cuttings by someone everyone knows to be dishonest.
3. Don't let a bad experience sour you. The people who love figs are basically generous people willing to teach anyone about anything and share their love for the hobby/habit/addiction.

My do's for my pot culture:

1.Sticking to a watering and feeding plan.

2.Same pot size for the established collection.

3.Water them so that the whole medium receives some moisture at the end or use an SIP.

4.Know your land- hot zones vs cold zones and plant accordingly with shade if needed.

5.start a wasp colony.

6.the closer pots are the less they are prone to heat up and lose moisture.

Keep a well organized fig journal which documents fig variety growth, fig characteristics like size and sweetness etc. I just started one this year and so useful to document what varieties are productive and worth keeping. Otherwise every spring they all look promising but some never put on fruit. Only issue is when wife found my notebook labeled "fig log" and I got that look....we all know that look.

Don't:  start cuttings of/trade for/collect extras of 30+ new varieties per year x 3 years...too many plants!