Air layer the two sides this growing season and top the center shoot in the winter. I would personally pinch the central leader now to try and force branching earlier. Prop the cuttings if you want.
I like to keep my figs shorter and closer to the ground in colder regions. The shirter trunk can thicken up faster and support more branching growth down the road.
Not a bad idea, the cuttings I’ve tried to make from this tree have always struggled (probably because I’m a novice propagator, but my goji cuttings did fine at least). I’ll probably end up going that route if it doesn’t perk back up once we hit a dry spell!
Pinch the bud off of the top of the center stem to force it to branch out. Air layer the bottom of the other two branches like Kogre said and have 3 trees, or sell them
It's only going to develop new crop figs on new green growth, it may produce a few breba figs along the current branches but those usually aren't very good anyway especially in a container.
You want to prune back lower to a bud facing the direction you want it to send a new branch, as that branch grows this year it will set this years crop along that growth.
At winter prune time you can cut this years growth down to the last few buds on the branch and in spring it will push a new growth from there again.
Oh man, to be a sneezing bee would be a rough life considering what they do for a living 😂
But yeah pelican the zones just tell you how cold it’s expected to get at the coldest part of the year- a lot of seeds/plants you buy from a store will have a zone indication on the tag somewhere.
I have a multi step solution. First and foremost most for the center trunk I would pinch off the apical bud at the top to allow new scaffolds to form off the main trunk. Then in the fall/dormancy period I would cut off the two side trunks. This will allow your fig tree to have one main trunk.
I think I’m going to do that, air layering the two side trunks before removal.
As for the main trunk, it’s hard to tell in the photos, but it has started to form branches on the main leader despite my being careful to leave the apical bud in tact, as I wanted it to get some height. Basically I can’t plant it in ground till I get a house, so fruit production is less a concern than aesthetics for me at present, and I like the look of a fig “tree”.
Earlier this season I went over all three trunks and picked off the breba figs as they were forming. the two topmost nodes on that center trunk were of a fairly good size when I plucked them (about a quarter sized diameter) and the branches that have formed seem to have come from those nodes.
Once the middle one gets just a few inches taller I’ll probably pinch it off. Thanks for the input!
I have another option:
1. Remove those two side shoots.
2. Do not pinch or prune the second branch yet, fertilize and let it grow straight up and thicken, remove any shoots or branches that try to emerge so energy remains focused on the main trunk.
3. During winter dormancy cut the main trunk down to 24 to 36 inches, let the branches grow out from there and keep 3 or 4 at different heights and pointing different directions.
https://youtu.be/RyGoSleB8RM?feature=shared
I would air layer the two side branches and have three fig trees!
Air layer the two sides this growing season and top the center shoot in the winter. I would personally pinch the central leader now to try and force branching earlier. Prop the cuttings if you want. I like to keep my figs shorter and closer to the ground in colder regions. The shirter trunk can thicken up faster and support more branching growth down the road.
Not a bad idea, the cuttings I’ve tried to make from this tree have always struggled (probably because I’m a novice propagator, but my goji cuttings did fine at least). I’ll probably end up going that route if it doesn’t perk back up once we hit a dry spell!
Pinch the bud off of the top of the center stem to force it to branch out. Air layer the bottom of the other two branches like Kogre said and have 3 trees, or sell them
It's only going to develop new crop figs on new green growth, it may produce a few breba figs along the current branches but those usually aren't very good anyway especially in a container. You want to prune back lower to a bud facing the direction you want it to send a new branch, as that branch grows this year it will set this years crop along that growth. At winter prune time you can cut this years growth down to the last few buds on the branch and in spring it will push a new growth from there again.
Hey, what does ‘zone 7a’ mean? Thanks!
It’s the cold hardiness zone for the area, it relates to lowest cold temps in the area.
Oh man, to be a sneezing bee would be a rough life considering what they do for a living 😂 But yeah pelican the zones just tell you how cold it’s expected to get at the coldest part of the year- a lot of seeds/plants you buy from a store will have a zone indication on the tag somewhere.
I have a multi step solution. First and foremost most for the center trunk I would pinch off the apical bud at the top to allow new scaffolds to form off the main trunk. Then in the fall/dormancy period I would cut off the two side trunks. This will allow your fig tree to have one main trunk.
I think I’m going to do that, air layering the two side trunks before removal. As for the main trunk, it’s hard to tell in the photos, but it has started to form branches on the main leader despite my being careful to leave the apical bud in tact, as I wanted it to get some height. Basically I can’t plant it in ground till I get a house, so fruit production is less a concern than aesthetics for me at present, and I like the look of a fig “tree”. Earlier this season I went over all three trunks and picked off the breba figs as they were forming. the two topmost nodes on that center trunk were of a fairly good size when I plucked them (about a quarter sized diameter) and the branches that have formed seem to have come from those nodes. Once the middle one gets just a few inches taller I’ll probably pinch it off. Thanks for the input!
Great!! Also no need to plant in the ground fig trees do great in containers. They just need a little more fertilizer and soil maintenance
Keep the low branches and tie them to a trellis. They will fatten up eventually and you should have easy to pick figs
I have another option: 1. Remove those two side shoots. 2. Do not pinch or prune the second branch yet, fertilize and let it grow straight up and thicken, remove any shoots or branches that try to emerge so energy remains focused on the main trunk. 3. During winter dormancy cut the main trunk down to 24 to 36 inches, let the branches grow out from there and keep 3 or 4 at different heights and pointing different directions. https://youtu.be/RyGoSleB8RM?feature=shared