Quote:
Originally Posted by ZeroZero
I have a fig tree that I have been growing for two years after buying it as a shrub in a nursery. Its 'brown turkey' as I recall.
It thirved through last summer, then when Winter hit in the UK it lost all its leaves.
When Spring came it started growing again but the only leaves that have come back are on the new growth at the tips.
If it continues to do this its going to look a little odd.
I have seen figs in the UK with many thousands of leaves, growing in pub gardens and the like.
I wonder if this is normal behaviour? It seems healthy and even sprouted a fig this year. Its about 5ft tall. I wanted to keep it in the greenhosue for a few years to bulk up, before letting it out in the gasrden permanantly. If it repeats this behaviour its going to be tall and lanky but with leaves only on the top and my greenhouse is going to need a roof extension 
I have put it outside in the sun when warm thinking it might be lackinmg sunlight, but no perceivable action yet.
Any advice please? |
It's normal. In our temperatures they lose their leaves in winter and regrow at the ends of the branches. The recommendation is to prune to encourage branching (since the figs too grow only nearly the tips), but I've never sorted out how to do this - in the growing season the sap oozes, and in the winter there are always tiny embryo figs. So what I do is to prune in winter any branch which doesn't have embryo figs on it, and when the first leaves appear I carefully pinch out the terminal bud.
I'd have though Brown Turkey should be OK outside at 5ft. It'll be easier to manage outside as they are quite susceptible to red spider. I'd imagine they'd also be susceptible to scale insect, like other Ficus species.
The figs which start developing in summer and are between pea and ping pong ball size at the end of the season won't come to anything, so remove them - the ones that will ripen are the ones that start in late autumn and are tiny less than pea sized) at the end of the season. They will be ripe in late summer.
Google on Reads Nurseries for more info - they are fig specialists
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