Damage to fig in a field.

[Mark_Riga]

All the growing tips seem to have been removed/eaten from a small fig tree I've been growing from a cutting.
Has anyone else seen anything like this?

Just came across it yesterday when I was inspecting various trees and bushes. Suspect pigeons but could be something else I suppose.

[nickdub]

Deer probably - they are certainly what do that sort of damage in my garden - I have to put wire netting around any fruit tree or bush under 6' tall - bloody nuisance.

[PyreneesPlot]

It would be deer (roe) in my garden - they come close to the house and eat anything, even in daylight.

[bikermike]

Agree on the deer guess. Those feckers can jump 6' fences from a standing start.

(Although if you are Finding Figs Finished in a Field, have you thought of Finches?)

[greenishfing]

I agree. I would cage it. I'd imagine it will survive. They are pretty indestructible. My husband tried to get rid of one once. He cut it down, dug out what he could, but a fire around the remains and then built a patio over it. The next year it came up at the edge of the patio.

[Mark_Riga]

Never seen any deer here. I think that is the one pest we haven't got yet.

edit: The only other things I can think of that I know are round here as squirrels, crows, rats, badgers and rabbits, could be rabbits, most of the others are unlikely. Could be the hare that passed through a few weeks back. Last year pigeons took most of the plums about 2 weeks after flowering when they were just starting to grow.

I've planted one cutting in a polytunnel and hope to get a small crop this year.

[Can the Man]

I think I read somewhere that you need to restrict the root growth on fig trees if you want to get high yielding crops, so your poly tunnel should work provided you have it in a pot or a raised bed. Maybe I’m wrong I’m sure somebody will tell me if I am.

[Mr Bones]

Squirrels will take figs and figlets.

[bikermike]

I agree re keeping them constrained.

We went to a stately home which had a dedicated greenhouse for figs (a figgery?) And they were all in pots (2'ish diameter)

[Plot70]

I will have to keep an eye on my fig tree.
It grew from seed in a small patch of earth between a gravel board and a concrete path and has had to be moved to my allotment to prevent damage to buildings.
I didn't get all of the root due to the location.
I second one has germinated. It was the dust from the bottom of a bowl of fruit and nut that was tipped onto the ground that they sprouted from.
I have been keeping an eye on the buds to make sure it gets enough water to get going again.
Bud thieves are not good news.