Figs in the Southeast?

[grannysmith]

Hi everyone!

I don't know if anyone can help, but I'm trying to grow the fig "Brown Turkey" and I've never done it before. I was hoping to put it in a large pot with John Innes #3 on a south-facing, sunny, sheltered site and cross my fingers.

I've heard that to make sure it fruits, I have to contain the roots somehow, or I will end up with a large 30 foot non-fruiting tree instead. Is pot-growing still suitable and will it fruit?

Has anyone ever tried to do this before? Do I have to do anything special to it (soil-wise, water-wise?)?? How long before I am eating a fig? (One year, two years??)

I would be very grateful for any advice!!!!!!!

[Capsid]

Growing it in a container/pot will restrict the roots, stress it and cause it to fruit more than in the ground. I have one in the pot which is about 3 years old now and I got 3 delicious fruits off it last year. The key is to remove any young figs in November so that it directs all its energy into making one lot of fruit per season. Normally in its native habitat it can fruit 3 times a year but our UK winters don't allow a long enough growing season. I overwinter mine in the greenhouse, but it's probably not necessary.

[vicky]

My dad had one in Essex that was about 10 years old in a pot sunk in the ground - very prolific -20-30 fruits last year!

[Glutton4...]

My dad had one in Essex that was about 10 years old in a pot sunk in the ground - very prolific -20-30 fruits last year!

Do we have the same Dad?

[grannysmith]

Thanks everyone!

Do I have to sink the pot into the ground? I have heard some people say that they do, but other people say you can just grow it above ground. Is it better for the tree if it is sunk in? Or is it just personal preference?

Also, does it matter if I grow it as a tree or a bush? At the garden centre they said it could grow either way. Mine has about 3 or 4 shoots and so looks more like it was trying to be a bush than a tree, but what do people think about that one?

I can try to shield it for winters and insulate it a little, plus I will choose a sheltered walled spot for it to overwinter against a south-facing fence. Other than that, does variety of fig matter much?

Sorry for all the questions. It's my first fig ever and, frankly, I think it might be easier to grow in Italy or somewhere warm but the thing is, I'm in Bucks.

[sewer rat]

At one of the gardens I worked in last year, there were two large fig trees which were both prolific fruiters. They were on a south facing wall but as we are 35 miles north of Inverness, I don't see why you should have any problems at all down your way.

[sarraceniac]

Granny, just spotted this thread (well there are a lot of them).

The recommended compost is JI no. 2 not no. 3 which is too nutritious. Not sure if it will make much difference, but that is what the experts say anyway.

[grannysmith]

Thanks, sewer rat! This is really reassuring. I think part of the problem is, figs tend to be imported into the country from warm-sounding places and so it's a little daunting at first trying to grow one here. I have an olive tree in a pot which is doing really well, except because of our climate, we don't ever really get any olives off it because the growing season is too short here. I thought it might be the same problem with figs, but I'm pleased to hear that others have had some luck with them.

I mean, if they can grow 35 miles north of Inverness, hopefully they can grow down here too, with the right conditions.

Thanks very much for your input, though, as I get very attached to my plants and especially to my trees and I hate to lose any.

PS - thanks sarraceniac---I'll go for John Innes #2 instead. Thanks for the tip!!!

[sewer rat]

Re your olive trees - there was a short feature on the One Show the other night where Aldo Zilli visited a couple who are growing and cropping olives in Sussex - though admittedly they were in glasshouses. Maybe a small portable greenhouse over the tree would help it to crop - then again, it might not.

[grannysmith]

Yeah, this is an idea. The thing is, the olive is mostly a decorative tree in a patio pot, although it does irk me somewhat when my Italian friends come over and smirk at its lack of edible olives.

I'm more concerned about the fig, as I had that one slated for cooking/eating. I'm assuming I won't be cooking any this year, though, since I imagine it'll take awhile for it to settle in.

All the same, I'm repotting the olive this year into a giant patio pot (well, nearly giant! ) and so I may consider a portable greenhouse cover early in the season to see if it extends its growing season sufficiently to allow the fruit to develop properly.

Thanks for the idea though. If I could change one thing about my garden, I would add a greenhouse or conservatory, but we just don't seem to have the space for it. I bought a portable small one to bring on my veggies earlier, but it won't be large enough for things like olives or grapes etc. That's why I was getting edgy about the fig, since I had read that people do seem to be able to get fruit off them even uncovered, but after having nearly no tomatoes last year, I began to get nervous.

[Liza]

I have a six year old brown turkey planted in the ground against a south facing wall, shes about 7ft and I just make sure I prune every year, last summer I had about 50 + fruits. She fruited all through the summer.

yum

[grannysmith]

Hi Liza,

Yeah, I'd also heard from various people that pruning is essential or they run riot and won't fruit. When do you usually prune them? I mean, are they like plums where you need to prune in summer when disease chances are low? Or Wisteria where you need to prune in very early spring? Or what?

Sorry if I sound like a novice, but I sort of am.

[Liza]

I prune mine in the autumn as soon as is has lost all its leaves

[grannysmith]

OK, I'll bear this in mind. I doubt I'll need to prune it much for the first year or two while it is getting established. Just dead bits etc.

Thanks for the tip, though, as I really have high hopes for it.

[jaimie]

[QUOTE=grannysmith;605524]Yeah, this is an idea. The thing is, the olive is mostly a decorative tree in a patio pot, although it does irk me somewhat when my Italian friends come over and smirk at its lack of edible olives.

Hi Granny (and other olive tree hopefuls).

I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of olives on your trees. It's not as if you can pick them off the tree and eat them, of even cook them and eat them. I really fancied an olive tree myself until I found out how much effort is required to get the olives into an edible condition. So I suggest you just appreciate them for their lovely leaves and colour and (eventually) gnarled and rugged shape.