Hi - I have a question about my fig tree and was hoping that one of the fig gurus here would please help me out by shedding some light.

I live in Phoenix.  Three years ago, I bought a fig tree at Lowes in Phoenix.  I think it was a turkey fig tree.  The tree was about 30 inches tall and it had tiny little "fruits" on it.  None of the fruits matured.  That winter, all the leaves fell off.  The following spring, the leaves came back, along with more "fruits".   None of the fruits matured and were not edible.  This happened for 2 more springs.  Each time however, the fruits got a little bit bigger.  Last spring, some of the fruits grew to an inch, a few to an inch and a half.  However, the fruits were still not edible - they tasted raw.  Eventually, the fruits that were left on the tree to ripen rotted and fell off.

This spring, the leaves came back fine, and several small "fruits" also appeared.  However, all those fruits fell off and while the tree appears healthy, there are no "fruits" on the tree.

Is it time to dig up the tree and replace it with another one and hope for a better outcome?  Any information you could share would be much appreciated?  Thank you.

Sounds like you got a bad one, probably needs the wasp. Yes I would remove it   

Dale...welcome to the Forum...we are glad to have you on board...as far as your tree, that can be pretty discourageing after all that time and work..."BUT", there are loads of wonderfully delicious varieties of the common fig available to you...so do a little research to find the varieties that do the best in your growing area(there is a topic on that very subject at the head of the main Forum page entitled "Best figs for your location and climate")...I'm sure that you will find quite a few fig trees that will do just great where you live...good luck.

I don't think Lowe's has access to Caprifigs. Try looking into some of the threads about pinching. I don't know that it will help and if it were me and I waited that long I would probably throw it on the burn pile and roast a marshmallow over it, at least that way it would give you something to eat!!

Thank you for your responses.  Looks like the tree is headed to the trash!!

You can't say you didn't try, you gave it your best shot, it's another one down to experience I guess. Good luck with the next one. :o)

When the fruits fall off sometimes it's because of not enough water.  Figs are tricky.  If they sit in water the roots will rot and the plant wont get enough water.  If you keep them too dry the figs and sometimes the leaves will fall off.  The trick is to have a soil mix that wont let water drown the roots (it has to drain well so water doesn't stand in the pot) then water it often.  On days over 90 sometimes the figs will need water at 10 and 3-5 in order to hold on to the fruit.  In your hot, dry climate it may need watering 4x/day.  The bigger the pot the less often you have to water.  It's also good to shade the roots.

Thanks rcantor.

In peak summer, I shade the tree with cloth and water twice a day.  Its not warm enough in Phoenix yet to cause fruits to fall off.  So I think I am SOL and I just need to get a new tree/planting.  Thanks again for your feedback.

If you're going to get a new tree, check out the thread, "Best Trees for your Area"   (See Start here).  There are lots of easy, inexpensive trees that you'll probably like better than Brown Turkey.  Chicago Hardy and Violette de Bordeau are 2 that come to mind but there are many others.

Thanks rcantor.

I am now on the hunt for a VdB in Phx.

A lot of things can stress a young tree and cause the fruit to drop.  But Brown Turkey isn't recommended for this area anyway because it has a large eye and bugs will get in and spoil the fruit.  Figs with a small eye do better around here.  Why not try something else?  Maybe in a different spot if you have one just in case there are nematodes in that spot stressing the tree.  Nematodes are common around here.

Joe, unfortunately I do not have another spot available.....dont have a very large yard to begin with.  Any idea where I can find a VdB in the Phoenix area?  Thx.

Don't trash it, you can possibly graft other varieties onto it. You can also bring it back to where you bought it and demand they give you a tree that makes fruits and hold on to them for you to enjoy.

I'd keep it for root stock. I have a few Adriatic cuttings, if you want I will send you a couple for you to play with grafting. Who knows, maybe next year you can have new figs.

If I faced this annoying problem, while trying to figure out what when wrong, and how to correct the original situation, I'd order an "Instant Orchard" size, - "Black Mission" tree from Ison's Nursery, GA.  When it arrives, plant it in the original spot after digging out the original tree and planting it in a large, container IF you still want to keep it.  Otherwise devote you growing efforts towards a known quantity. Cut your losses.  "Black Mission" is a tastier, and better fig variety anyway...and.... the 'instant orchard' size tree will probably set fruit this year.

Read all the threads about pinching, watering, fertilizing, add granular limestone, etc.  Bet you taste figs this year!  Start fresh.

Frank

Dale,

Dave Wilson Nursery grows VdB.  They supply a lot of the local nurseries in our area with trees.  You can check out this website to see which local nurseries carry their trees and then call around to see if anyone here has one in stock or can order one for you.  http://davewilson.com/br40/retailers/outofstate.html

You can also order VdB from several online nurseries like ediblelandscaping.com or raintreenursery.com

It's getting late in the year so if you're going to order from an online nursery you should do it soon before it gets too hot to ship.

Good luck.  PM me if you still can't find a VdB anywhere.

Sooooo.....an update on the fig tree saga. I decided to leave it in the ground for another year and pull it out next year if it does not fruit. Lo and behold - new figlets(?) have started to form! Not a clue if they will mature and become edible and some point, but I am willing to wait for a year before trashing the tree. I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, thank you for your advice and offers of help.

try pinching. if it's not giving fig, but the tree is growing very well, it might be putting all its energy into vegitative growth and not concerned about reproduction. pinching will help promote figs and also branching.

That's great!  Keep us updated this year!

@bullet08 - I tried pinching once, but she slapped me in the face and called me "fresh"! - whatever that means!  I should try it again though, maybe the fig tree will have a different reaction.  Thanks for the advice.  :-P

reading the post again.. i don't think pinching will work. you mentioned that they are setting figs, but they are just not ripening. so it's possible that you have caprifig like someone mentioned or the season is not long enough for your tree to ripen. you mentioned on 4/26 it's putting on the figs. that means, if it's common type that doesn't need fig wasps, it will ripen by last july. and i dooubt that late july will be too cold to ripen a fig. that leaves caprifig, or one of those strange type that will just drop all the figs llike Pastiliere or certain Celeste.

if no ripe fig by end of aug. i would dig it out. not worth wasting good spot on the yard.

you will need more practice on pinching. last time i pinched a girl, she gave me biggerst smile :)

I found a panache and a VDB at Home Depot last fall here in Tucson. I got them both for 1/2 price on an "end of the season" sale. I planted them directly in the ground in October and they came throuigh the winter unprotected (the 2nd coldest in 50 years) without any dieback at all. It appears like fall is a good time to plant fig trees here. Fall is my prefered time to plant most trees. These are my first fig trees, but I've grown lots of other types of fruit before.

If your tree doesn't give you a reasonable harvest, Fall might be a good time to shop for a replacement.

Thank you Bada_Bing.  If I dont get an edible fig by the end of the summer, I might follow your advice.

If root nematodes are a problem put lots of organic material in the soil.  You can start by mulching the plant you already have.

In the continuing saga of my fig tree, thought I'd post a few pics and see if any of the fig gurus here see something that gives them any ideas.  Thanks in advance.

Try dabbing a spot of olive oil on just the eye of a fig or two, if they are close to want to start to ripen it can cause the fruit to ripen, prehaps it can give you an idea if it's the tree or if it will ripen.  Try once a week on the same fig, when it takes effect it will swell the fruit in a few days, if it's hot about half that time, 1.5 days.  Sometimes it doesn't work.

To me these look like breba fruit and prehaps the climate is not right for the brebas, are they on last years wood?