Hi friends. Have any of you planted a maximum number of fig tree's in a small area that you've trimmed to large bush size each year?  I have a planting area in my backyard of approximately 15 x 25 with a couple small obstacles.  I want to plant as many fig tree's in that spot as reasonably practical (though reasonably practical is a pretty broad term  lol) and keep them no taller than 5-6 ft. high. Can anyone give me their personal advice? If no one can give me their similar experience I'd appreciate comments none the less. In live in zone 9b in Southern California. Thanks and Happy New Year! 

Noel, mine are 6-8 feet apart.
I planted them this close to do exactly as you say by pruning them back
each year to maintain the height I want to start out in the spring.
Mine are too close I think for anything but pruning them back each year.
It was also my intention of having cuttings available from bush form.
I wish you great success.

Doug

edit
here is how I started out in spring with cuttings rooted over winter

DSCF1179 by Doug B, on Flickr

Thinking about your project.
I would resist spacing any closer than 5-6 feet apart.
2 reasons
the roots spread just under the soil surface but they quickly can
reach a 5 foot span. I know this from digging up young trees to move them
in my garden. The roots will overlap each other underground, depleating
the soil quickly and could be a struggle to maintain.
Also with roots overlapping, if a tree gets diseased roots, it could spread to the tree beside it.
Make sure each hole you dig has good drainage, if not move it a bit and try again.
I could send you a box of bunny manure to sprinkle in your hole, (if your into organic)
Stuff works wonderful on transplants.
Just my thoughts, hope it helps a little.

Doug

Check out the Dave Wilson Nursery channel on YouTube. California based and excellent information on high density planting. I think that's the way to go but it involves lots of heavy winter pruning, if you're up for it :-). They are doing it with everything from avocado to olives commercially now in CA and it significantly improves production per square foot.

Good luck

Respectfully, bunching up the trees will also spread problems from one tree to
the next to the next.
If one gets spider mites, they will most likely all get spider mites.
Bunching up also restricts airflow that helps prevent rust.
I feel I'm pushing the limits at where I spaced.
Upper branches now can already touch other trees.
I pruned it back to prevent again, for a season.
Not trying to be sarcastic at all, but I would rather have a few very good healthy figs
than a bunch of sick ones.
Doug

Hi,
It depends on the strains that you choose. Remember that there are strains that grow high (col de dame, bourjassotte ... ) and some that are sort of dwarf (Dalmatie, LDA).
It is my opinion, that figtrees should not be trimmed every year, or they don't produce as much as they could. In my Zone7, I'll be pruning every 5 years ... 2017 (2012 killing winter + 5 years ) is that year for some of my trees  ... I'll do half of them this year, and the other half, next year or the year after.
For spacing distance, I use 2 meters (7') as I'm restricted on space. I have some closer but shading is a problem then.
Don't forget to fertilize and water accordingly ... More trees require more water and more fertilizer or manure.
Planting in a pot ( 30cm * 30cm deep - 1'*1' or bigger ) with bottom removed seems so far to have a dwarfing effect on trees ... while protecting the roots from the wandering under-ground rodents ...

There's good advice and appropriate caution above, especially about risks of crowding.  

FWIW, here's what I would do:  Twelve plants -- 3 rows, 4 plants per row.  Each plant is pruned to a low cordon.  After pruning, each plant occupies a space 1-2' high, 2-3' wide, and ~6' long (with 1-2 ~3' laterals on each side of the trunk).  In late season, vegetative growth (controlled by some pinching) will make the heights 4-6' and the widths 3-4'.  That'd leave roughly 2' between each row after fall pruning, but maybe ~1' during late summer. 

Three rows x 5' wide = 15'; four plants x 6' long = 24'.

p.s.  The pruning implies main crops only.

Cannot give you advice on specific variety yet, but noticed that some grow like shrubs while others tend to grow like trees and mixing and matching might become a problem later. I also found that some varieties if pruned heavily won't produce the following season or produce very little. A 15x25 space could easily be taken over by just one or two varieties if allowed to grow to proper size. I would plant a maximum of two or three varieties in such a space allowing at least 8ft spacing between the trees. Even that might be too tight.
It all depends on whether you want a crop or a sample when picking your fruit.
No matter what you chose, it's a multi year project. So getting it right early is better than late. Removing a tree later is much harder than when it's young.
I'm in zone 8b and currently have six trees in my yard and in full sun. The space between my trees is at least 12 ft. I want to make sure that they get plenty of sun.
After four years, I can safely say that my trees are not even close to being mature nor productive. The results will vary from one zone to another depending on the elements.

Think of a checkerboard. Each square is 5' x 5'. In the center of each Black square plant a tree. In a 15 x 25' space it will be 8 trees that are offset. A row of 3 then 2 then 3. Each tree is 10' on center.

The other option would be 5' on center and you would get 15 trees in the space. (3 rows of 5) However, that opens up another can of worms as detailed in the posts above.

When growing in bush form you can leave half the branching uncut.
Then I still have a smaller breba crop. At least I get a good taste here and there.

:)

Doug

Thanks everyone for your input. Now for some homework on which varieties are naturally better bushing and which like to go skyward. This is my second year and will be planting from 3 gallon pots.  I'm thinking checker board 5' but I've paid for planting other stuff too close in the past. If you have any hints on varieties for bush form spacing please post it. Thank you and Peace.

Noel hi,
I belive that with enough sun exposure whatever setup u have would do great, training will be demanding.
I think mt etna var can be good, i also saw frozenjoes vdb on utube which is very bushy.

Col de Dame Blanc my preferred variety appears to grow upright. The Col De Dame Gris which has a great flavor also grows like a shrub without any interference. One thing I like about these varieties is the closed eye
and rich flavor.
Here's a four year old Col de Dame Gris.

Nice. Nice. Nice.