I'm hoping there's a fig tree expert out there that can help with my fig questions: We have two; Fig One has green fruit - I don't know its name and would love to find out. It has been planted in the ground for 3 years and grown a lot in size, but at most has only ever had three figs on it. Fig Two is a Brown Turkey and has also been in the ground for 3 years; both are in a south facing location against the house for protection. I know they can do well in this region, we know several trees around here who have figs galore, right now... they're about ready to pick and enjoy. But not ours... when I bought the Brown Turkey in a one or two gallon pot 3 years ago, and it had 8 or 10 figs ripening on it. It was the only year we've had more than 3 fruits! right now it has lots of pea sized fruit coming, but they are so behind, they'll never make it for this season. Any suggestions? We haven't fertilized since planting, as I read that it's not advised. We keep them watered in the hot weather and they seem otherwise happy plants. I am attaching pictures in the hope that someone may know the type of the green fruited fig, (first 2 pics) and to show the tiny fruits on the brown turkey (3rd pic), taken Aug 5. Should they be fertilized? Are they fussy about the soil they grow in? Ours is quite acidic with much clay.... should they be limed? Thanks for any help!
Probably you'll start getting more after these specimens get a little bigger. The leaves shown in the top left picture are yellowish, so there may be a fertility or moisture issue.
Hi. You may want to look at the location. They can grow pretty big and against your house may become a problem. Where are your neighbours successfully growing their trees? My tree has lots of fruit on it this year. I live near the ocean just north of Sechelt and there are lots of figs which seem quite happy away from buildings. Margaret
Most are in sheltered spots, if not on south wall then in a corner protected by nearby buildings or hedge... I've read they like their roots to be confined and do well in pots, I wondered if that's why our first year we had the most figs, it was still in the pot. Perhaps putting them in the ground has allowed the roots to spread out and they don't need to fruit with all that growth allowed? I also read that pruning back half the tree one year and the other half the following year can bring on more fruit... sometimes what you read online can be contradictory, which is understandable because regions and types of plants vary. Maybe they're too close to the house, maybe they need more time... I wondered about our soil quality too, although we dug in a lot of good stuff at the time of planting, and tried to keep them watered - they're quite protected by the house so may not get a lot of the rainfall. Thanks for your help, Ron B and Margaret.
