Help my first fruit tree

[Tuscan Dreamer]

I've just bought a Fig tree which has just been delivered. It is a Bavarian Violetta which is apparently hardy to our UK weather to around -10 deg c. Which is just as well after the weather this week...! It's minus 8 tonight with 4 inches of snow.

The research I've found is that Figs prefer to be root bound so ideal for pot growning and its on dwarf rootstock.

However, I am unsure if I just grow it vertically in the pot or do I need to do anything "fancy" - bear in mind I am a first-timer.

I will place it against our south facing house wall where it is pretty sunny and sheltered, in winter I plan to overwinter it in the greenhouse with a fleece.

Any advice appreciated.

[Eco-Chic]

Figs also prefer poor thin soil and it won't need coddling with fleece and greenhouse in the winter.

[Two_Sheds]

I am unsure if I just grow it vertically in the pot or do I need to do anything "fancy" .

I just Googled this for you:

Figs really are a lazy man’s fruit and, once they have had their formative training, mature trees or wall-trained shrubs do not need much attention apart from some replacement pruning.
This involves removing one of the seven or so main limbs every three to four years in March or April, to stop the whole bush becoming too old and unproductive. Apart from this, providing you have the wall space, you can leave well alone.

On the other hand, if you want to maximise your crop (assuming it is against a wall), buy a copy of Clive Simms’ Nutshell Guide to Growing Figs (Orchard House, £3.50, tel 01780 755615) to see how to fan train it against a wall – it is not hard. Once you have established an approximate fan of branches, you can start the ongoing pruning regime:

Firstly, remove any weak branches in winter. Then, in April, remove the very tips of the main branches, above the developing figs. This will encourage side shoots, which are summer-pruned by cutting back in June to about four leaves. This technique can almost double the crop and bring it forward by a couple of weeks. Do not be tempted to cut back hard in winter, unless you don’t mind forgoing a lot of your crop – this will cause lots of new growth but little fruit. Growing figs - Telegraph

[Two_Sheds]

Unlike other figs, Bavarian Violetta needs regular watering and feeding to grow well, when the over wintering figs will mostly ripen in June, followed by a superb crop in September.

[memyself_and_i]

i brought a fig seed back from lebanon when i moved to england and it grew and now its getting really big and i dont know how to prun it anyone help