Q. We brought this fig from Southern California to
Pahrump, Nevada, where it’s colder. I tried to protect it through the winter,
but I had to cut it back this spring because it froze to the ground. Four or
five suckers are now growing from the base of this tree. Can I still get fruit?
A. Pahrump has a colder climate than Las Vegas so expect
figs to freeze to the ground after a cold winter but regrow from the base.
Grafted Vs on Their Own Roots
Plants that freeze to the ground each winter, whether it’s in Pahrump or Las
Vegas, should be grown on their own roots, not grafted onto a special rootstock.
If grown on their own roots, then sucker growth will produce fruit the
following year.Many times pomegranates are on their own roots. And in Nevada there is not yet a reason to buy grapes that have been grafted. That may change in the future.
Briba Vs Main Crop
 |
| Here is a mixture of breed the and main crop figs on the same branch |
Expect
fruit from figs each year that they freeze to the ground . That’s because fruit
is produced on new growth as well as last year’s growth. Figs that freeze to
the ground will not produce an early (Briba) crop but will produce a later crop
(main crop) on new growth.
Keep the Suckers
When the
majority of suckers are 18 inches tall, remove weak suckers at the ground and
leave 5 to 6 strong suckers growing outward. Fertilize the plant once at the
beginning of the season and irrigate so that the soil is wet 18 inches deep. If
you want fruit, furnish the plant with at least four drip emitters, 12 – 18
inches from the trunk and cover the soil with woodchips. Fig trees that don’t
freeze back and get larger require more emitters than that.
I have been trying to start fig trees by cutting some smaller branches off my big, sturdy tree and putting them either in water or in soil. Not having much success. How can I start new fig trees?
ReplyDeleteAlso, you said the main crop is the second one, but on my Black Mission fig, the first crop has large fruit, and the second crop, although much more plentiful, has fruit that is about 1/3 the size. Both are delicious.
Figs are not particularly hard to root but you need to cut shoots off (cuttings) The right time of year and the right length. Using a rooting hormone is necessary but it usually increases the number of roots and can improve the success of rooting.Fakes can be routed from the suckers, air layering and by taking cuttings. In a desert climate I think you'll have most luck with cuttings. I included the link below on a video rather than tell you how to do it. The first crop on last year's what is called the briba crop while the second crop coming from new growth is called the main crop. It may not have much to do with the number of figs each produce or their size. It's just the names they are given. So when I call something the main crop that is the accepted name so that everyone knows it's coming from new wood, not last year's wood.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZf0owX6cUM
Rooting hormone is not necessary but it does help.
Delete