I bought two tiny one-day-will-be fig trees in Lidl the other day.
They are about 30 cm tall at this stage, but apparently very healthy,
with nice new leaf buds, and healthy looking rootballs. Having done my
research in Hessayon's Fruit Expert and a couple of other books, I have
potted them in large pots, with a load of stone for maximum drainage,
in a compost made of some garden soil, some of my home-made compost, a
little bought multipurpose, and some gravel for extra drainage. I
firmed the trees (each to its own pot) well in their compost, watered
them with a little liquid multipurpose feed. They are now located at
the base of a SW facing wall which gets the sun a great deal of the
day, is sheltered from the elements by another wall jutting out, and
from too much rain by being just under the overhang of the roof. They
also rest on gravel, which should ensure they never have wet feet.
The label - which says eff' all else - states they tolerate
temperatures from -4 to +40 which amply covers (especially at the lower
end) the kind of temp we get here.
My first priority is that they would thrive, and get to a respectable
size - time and TLC will do that. My second priority would be that
they set fruit, which I understand is best done by restricting their
roots - which will be the case when the trees have grown and their
roots are restricted by the pots.
My motivation is the nostalgia of my parents' huge figtree near the
chicken coop - though I suspect I'll never get the pure honey gooey
uber-ripe fruit it used to give...
But I live in hope..
Has anyone here who is growing or has grown fig trees successfully to
the point of producing fruit any advice on dos and don'ts?
TIA

Cat(h)