The size of the fig tree is particular because it varies according to the mode of fruiting of this fruit tree and the climat local. This pruning, which requires suitable equipment, helps to promote fruiting, to contain the development of the fig tree or even to remove dead wood and rejections but also to give it a nice silhouette. However, it should be moderate. Let’s discover the pruning method to adopt depending on whether the fig tree is united or drink, knowing that in no case should it be drastic, quite the contrary. Pruning the fig tree is therefore an art. Let’s do a check in.
Material adapted to the size of the fig tree
To perform a safe size but also for don’t hurt the fig treeit is recommended to have:
- protective gloves,
- protective eyewear,
- From a very stable scaffolding ladder,
- With a handle shear,
- With a pruner,
- A tree pruner for branches located very high up,
- A pruning saw or pruner.
The pruner is especially useful for branches with a diameter greater than 5 cm.
Before pruning your fig trees, it is essential tosharpen the blades of its various tools in order to obtain clean cuts, and to disinfect your tools before and after use. This precaution is essential to limit the risk of disease transmission from one tree to another. The ideal is to pass each blade to the flame.
Pruning the fig tree
The biferous fig tree is distinguished by its two annual fruitings. Ses autumn figswhich form the first generation fruit of a fig tree, develop on the shoots of the year, in the axils of the leaves, but generally only in the southern regions. A second generation fruit then appears, then pauses throughout the winter as the leaves fall. The growth of these figs flowers only resumes in the spring for them to mature in the summer. They can then be harvested in July.
We only resort to pruning the biferous fig tree in the most northern regions, taking care of the following particularities.
- Spring pruning of the biferous fig tree : only the branches carrying “fig flowers” are pruned, then during the month of May, the side shoots furthest from the frame are to be eliminated, namely those which emerge from the point of insertion of the fruits.
- Summer pruning of the biferous fig tree : during the hot season, when the harvest of the “fig flowers” is finished, pruning is carried out in order to promote the growth of the side shoots that were spared in the spring. They will then be able to carry the autumn figs. To do this, it is necessary to remove only the parts which gave fruit in summer, namely the “fig flowers”.
Be careful, however, of don’t be too harsh in terms of the size of the biferous fig trees in the regions soft climate since these fruit trees are likely, in these particularly mild conditions, to produce beautiful figs throughout the year. It is therefore recommended to delete only the weakened branches and the dead wood which unnecessarily weigh down the fig trees and no longer bear fruit.
Single fig pruning
Is united the fig tree which does not give only one annual harvest. It is only on the shoots of the year that the figs develop. Improper pruning can ruin production, so great care is important and it is usually only needed in regions with winters marked by low temperatures because the frost tends to burn the branches.
Above all, care is taken to encourage the fig tree to produce shoots by carrying out, in March and not before, a pruning of the branches affected by the frost. In this way, the fig tree is led into a bush since the shoots start from the base. We thus give free rein to nature. This is called the stump pruning or stump driving. The buds pull the sap upwards and are therefore preserved.
It can be noted that pruning in clumps is also to be reserved for old fig trees whose branches are completely tangled to such an extent that their silhouette totally lacks harmony. But above all, these old fig trees that seem to have been abandoned no longer bear fruit. However, even if you think that it is no longer possible to get anything out of them, it is essential to give them a minimum of attention by cutting them according to the rules of the art because it is so that they find a balanced form and a sufficient vigor to bear fruit again.
We understand that before tackling the size of this emblematic fruit tree of the South, it is necessary to know if its fig tree is uniferous or biferous and also to pay attention to the local climate. The pruning should not be too severe, but just enough to allow the different generations of figs to develop and reach full maturity in order to be harvested.
As is the case with any tree, the pruning of the fig tree allows anyway to ventilate the heart of the tree so that it benefits from the air and the light, preserves its resistance as well as a pretty port. . In the southern areasa fig tree pruning every 2 to 3 years turns out to be sufficient. But if you want to limit the production of the number of figs to harvest larger fruits, it is often enough to prune this fruit tree each year. The main one is to do not traumatize the tree. This is why we recommend light cuts rather than too invasive.