Do This NOW and Your Fig Tree Will LOVE You, by Martha Grows on YouTube. 20 min 13 s.
- Video length
- 20 min 13 s
- Time to do it
- 45 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Wrap a tape measure around a branch and note how much new growth the tree put on this season. Compare it with the older, thicker wood so you can tell new shoots from last year's growth.
Push your finger or a trowel under the mulch to feel the soil before you water. If it is still damp an inch or two down, skip the watering and check again in a few days.
Water slowly at the drip line, the ring of soil under the outer branches, until the water soaks deep rather than running off. Dig a small hole afterwards to confirm the moisture went down well below the surface.
For a fig in a pot, water until it runs out of the drainage holes, then let the top few inches dry out before watering again. Pots dry far faster than ground soil in fall.
Spread a four inch layer of wood chip mulch over the root zone, starting a few inches away from the trunk. Keep the chips off the bark so the trunk does not stay wet and rot.
Stop fertilizing in late summer. Feed once in spring instead, with compost or a fruit tree fertilizer, and keep lawn fertilizer well away from the root zone.
Prune lightly while the tree is dormant, removing only dead, crossing or crowded branches. Figs fruit on new wood, so take off too much and you lose the crop.
Paint the trunk with white latex in fall to reflect winter sun and stop the bark splitting. This matters most on young trees and in hot, sunny climates.
Rake up fallen leaves and any moldy fruit, treat rust if you see orange spots on the leaves, and add winter protection in cold areas once the tree is dormant.
Tips and common mistakes
Lots of soft new growth and few figs usually means the tree is overfed, so cut back rather than feed more.
Deep, less frequent watering beats a daily light sprinkle, which only wets the surface roots.
Figs often drop fruit when watering is uneven, so keep the soil moisture steady through summer and fall.
Wear gloves when pruning, and clean your blades between cuts if you are treating rust.
Questions
Why is my fig tree dropping fruit?
Uneven watering and overfeeding are the usual causes. Check soil moisture under the mulch and water deeply, then hold off on fertilizer until spring.
Do fig trees need pruning to fruit?
Only light pruning. Figs crop on new wood, so remove dead or crowded branches while the tree is dormant and leave the rest alone.
Why is my fig tree losing leaves in fall?
Figs are deciduous and normally drop their leaves as they go dormant. Yellowing and leaf loss in autumn is expected, not a sign of disease.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
