My fig tree in a large pot had 20 figs this year -usually has 5 or 6- but they fell of when nearly ripe. My daughter says it is because I didn't water it in the hot weather. I thought figs liked it hot and dry
- am I wrong? Now that its leaves have fallen I see I have about 60 new medium sized green figs. Do I remove these to make room for next year's crop or leave them to overwinter?
Anything grown in a container will need regular waterings in warm weather regardless of how 'drought tolerant' the plant is supposed to be. That's one of the basic differences between container gardening and inground gardening. Uneven watering - allowing the pot to dry out too much between waterings, then soaking it - will stress the plant and often allows for premature fruit drop. Access to adequate soil moisture is essential when the plant is forming and developing fruit. Next season, make sure watering is monitored more carefully, keeping the potting soil evenly moist, niether too wet or too dry. You should get a better crop to harvest :-) And site the container where it get reflected heat - the heat is good and will help the plant set and ripen fruit better. Just keep it properly watered. :-))
And ignore the leaves. Edible figs are deciduous plants and it will lose that foliage soon, to be replaced by new growth in spring. These are pretty tough plants and can tolerate being killed back to the root system with cold and resprouting easily. But depending on where you live, you might want to move the container to a protected location for the winter.
"Patricia Thorpe" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@gardenbanter.co.uk...
Figs have 2 crops a year, the spring (breda crop) and the autumn (main) crop. If you have 60 figs on it now, those fruit could be your main Autumn crop. It's hard to know though given that we can't see it and don't know when the 20 figs fell off.
In fact having just written that, it'd make sense to me to say that the 20 figs that fell off were your Spring Breda crop and your 60 remaining figs are your autumn crop that haven't managed to reach maturity.
People who grow figs in tubs are all warned about fig drop should they dry out. I solved this problem by putting large 1.5" or so holes in the bottom of the 20 gallon pot and I place them on bare dirt. During the growing season the figs put down roots into the bare dirt and get surrounding water. In fall when I move them into the heated garage I prune the top and then rip the pots up which "prunes" the roots. I do, however, water the figs faithfully. The leaves which are usually standing straight out will show a bit of limping.
After leaves drop the breba crop can pop out any time and they look greenish 1-2" long pencil thin with a little bulb on the end. They always pop out when the days get longer and/or after a warm spell. Even in the 45oF garage the figs have to be watered. They drop easily. I have to be careful moving the figs out because the breba drop if bumped.
The little round ones are main crop. I wouldnt remove anything. I removed my breba one year. sheesh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Somewhere between zone 5 and 6 tucked along the shore of Lake Michigan on the council grounds of the Fox, Mascouten, Potawatomi, and Winnebago
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.