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Recovering Ficus carica


Fusca

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My 7' overall height "Brown Turkey" fig didn't come back from the February freeze until late April.  Outer branches died back so all new growth only appeared near the base of the trunk.  After a few weeks with no new growth areas I just sawed off the dead wood above the new growth.  Now all growth is parallel to the ground with very little vertical growth.  Before it was taller than wide and now it's the opposite and in the way.  I thought about tying up the branches to encourage it to grow more vertically but the branches are still mostly green and I don't want to damage them.  I've not had to deal with this kind of winter damage before.  Any advice or will it eventually straighten itself out?

 

IMG_20210724_170828.jpg

Edited by Fusca

Jon Sunder

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15 minutes ago, Fusca said:

My 7' overall height "Brown Turkey" fig didn't come back from the February freeze until late April.  Outer branches died back so all new growth only appeared near the base of the trunk.  After a few weeks with no new growth areas I just sawed off the dead wood above the new growth.  Now all growth is parallel to the ground with very little vertical growth.  Before it was taller than wide and now it's the opposite and in the way.  I thought about tying up the branches to encourage it to grow more vertically but the branches are still mostly green and I don't want to damage them.  I've not had to deal with this kind of winter damage before.  Any advice or will it eventually straighten itself out?

 

IMG_20210724_170828.jpg

Could let nature figure it out, or Tie up the most upright directed branches to stakes ( to train more vertically ) Won't hurt a thing.. and trim off other stuff once those branches have gained more height ( so that the stuff you don't want doesn't try to out- grow the branches you want )..  Do this all the time w/ things that try to put out more horizontal growth rather than vertical year round..   Stretchy, Green Tree Tape is your friend. :greenthumb:

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Thanks Nathan.  Never heard of Green Tree Tape but sounds like a good product.  I had a similar situation with new growth on a seed-grown Meyers Lemon.  I tried straightening out one wayward branch but it ended up snapping at the base.  Haven't seen a palm in your avatar in a long time! 

Jon Sunder

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The issue may be lighting, is the plant growing towards the sun? My figs freeze to the ground about every other year, but the growth is always vertical. 

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17 hours ago, amh said:

The issue may be lighting, is the plant growing towards the sun? My figs freeze to the ground about every other year, but the growth is always vertical. 

That's one of the odd things about it - it's in mostly full sun, from 8 am to 4 or 5 pm when the fence shades the late afternoon sun.  Presently it's sprawled out along the ground perhaps 7' x 7' and 2' at its tallest point.  There's some green fruit on it mostly laying on the ground.  Last year at this time it was above the fence and most of the fruits already harvested.  I did find some green tree tape yesterday so hoping that I can make it work without snapping the mostly green branches.

Jon Sunder

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On 7/28/2021 at 6:54 PM, Fusca said:

That's one of the odd things about it - it's in mostly full sun, from 8 am to 4 or 5 pm when the fence shades the late afternoon sun.  Presently it's sprawled out along the ground perhaps 7' x 7' and 2' at its tallest point.  There's some green fruit on it mostly laying on the ground.  Last year at this time it was above the fence and most of the fruits already harvested.  I did find some green tree tape yesterday so hoping that I can make it work without snapping the mostly green branches.

The wood should still be green enough to bend, but you may consider dividing the plant this fall/winter.

Did that caster survive February too?

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1 hour ago, amh said:

The wood should still be green enough to bend, but you may consider dividing the plant this fall/winter.

Did that caster survive February too?

It is just one of over a hundred volunteer seedlings!  The original plant germinated in 2017 and survived 20F in 2018.  It up and died last September so I guess 3 years is about the lifespan.  I have already weeded out the majority of them.  They grow fast!  Tallest one is about 6' overall.

Edited by Fusca
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Jon Sunder

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