Hi to anyone who can help, I have a small fig tree. I was told that fig tree has deep roots. I live in Steveston in Richmond. I have sewer pipes close to my garden and am worried that someday the root will damage the pipes and might cost me a fortune when this happens. However, I've asked someone and was told that if the pipes are made of a plastic material there is really nothing I should worry about. However, I haven't found out. Should I decide to transfer the fig into a container, what type should I use and what size? Can I use a drum? don't really know if that is what it is called and honestly I don't know where to buy this. I've gone to some garden shops and all I see are big potteries which are too way expensive for me and look too glamorous for my simple backyard. I've thought of using a plastic trash cans but I think that the bottom is not wide enough that when the tree is bigger the container might tip over. Any suggestions? Do you think I should really transfer my fig into a container? Thanks.
The older Italian & Portugese neighbourhoods of Vancouver are full of houses with fig trees planted very close so I'd be surprised if it was really a problem worth worrying about. You might try directly posting the question "Are Fig Tree Roots a Problem?" to the Food Plants or Pacific Northwest forum to see if you get a response. A plastic trashcan will be unsuitable both because of the unstable shape and because the plastic will likely deteriorate after a few years. If you are going to buy a pot for a "permanent" plant then in my opinion glazed ceramic is the long lasting solution and ends up being cheaper when averaged over many years. Perhaps some of the new (expensive) fibreglass composites would be good also, but both plastic and terracotta get fragile and brittle and need to be replaced ever few years. If you do decide to go for a container make sure that has a shape which does not curve inward towards the top, otherwise when the soil freezes in the winter it cannot expand upward and may crack the pot.
I've never heard of a fig breaking pipes like a willow-I'm sure you'd be fine. It will be hardier in the ground, actually, but might fruit better restricted. One piece of advice I've heard for figs is to plant in an old washing mashine (buried, of course,) to permanently cramp the roots in the ground. You'll have to do a lot of shoveling either way. If you want a giant sprawling fig tree you can leave it be, but if you are growing it for figs a container may be best.
