The message
from Sacha contains these words:
On 15/11/04 11:48, in article , "Franz
Heymann" wrote:

snip Incidentally, in my parents' home in South Africa, they had two fig
trees which were grown as simple single stemmed half-standards. They
were kept to around 12 ft in height by rough and irregular pruning.
One produced green coloured figs, and the other bore purple figs.
Both were intensely sweet.


I thought there was/is a belief that a restricted root run was good for fig
trees, plus a fair amount of dryness and a dead donkey under the roots? ;-)

Dead trolls are much more attractive...

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

In message , BAC
writes

"June Hughes" wrote in message
...
In message , BAC
writes


Although that tree is left to its own devices, it was originally in what
was
the garden to the head gardener's cottage of a local estate, and I
suspect
the roots were restricted, as was common practice, because it hasn't
grown
into a large tree, more like a big straggly bush. I have seen some figs
grown into very large specimens, e.g. there is one next to the
conservatory
at the Portmeirion Hotel which fits that description, and I suspect they
are
growing in particularly suitable microclimates and with unrestricted
roots.
Although your fig will probably be OK in a big pot, providing you water
it
in the summer, and try not to let it freeze through in the winter,
perhaps
the best option would be to plant it out into what amounts to a sunken
'pot'. If you can dig out a hole 2 ft square by 2 ft deep, and line the
bottom and sides with 2 ft square paving slabs, then put some gravel in
the
bottom and then plant into the construction, you'll probably be OK with
that. You'd be advised to remember that, left to their own devices, figs
spread quite a bit, so bear that in mind when deciding where to plant.
Obviously, a nice sheltered sunny spot would be ideal for the fig.


Thanks for the advice. I just wondered, what is wrong with cutting the
bottom off the pot the plant is in and planting the whole thing in the
garden? The pot is about 2 feet in diameter and around 2 feet tall.

Cutting off the bottom of the pot and planting it wouldn't restrict the
roots much. The idea is to restrict the root growth so the tree tends to use
its energy to fruit rather than grow large. The advantages of planting it in
a subsoil level construction as I advised (rather than leaving it in its
pot) are that the roots should be better protected from extremes of
temperature, and would be less likely to dry out.


Right. Thanks. We had a similar (probably Victorian) pit in our old
garden. I often wondered what it was for. Probably had a fig tree in it
as some time or other. Sadly, by the time we moved in, we found it was
full of rubbish.
--
June Hughes

On 15/11/04 16:18, in article
, "Jaques d'Alltrades"
wrote:

snip
Dead trolls are much more attractive...

Couldn't agree more! There seems also to have been a tradition that they
were planted outside the 'outhouse' or dunny. I had one such at my last
house in Jersey and the one we have here is in a small courtyard between the
house and the cottage which was the old coach house. I'm pretty sure there
was an outside loo attached to that and the fig tree is on that wall.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

In message , BAC
writes

Cutting off the bottom of the pot and planting it wouldn't restrict the
roots much. The idea is to restrict the root growth so the tree tends to use
its energy to fruit rather than grow large. The advantages of planting it in
a subsoil level construction as I advised (rather than leaving it in its
pot) are that the roots should be better protected from extremes of
temperature, and would be less likely to dry out.


Sorry to reply twice. After two pints of Courage Best, I got to
thinking - Suppose I plant the fig in a hole in the ground but wrapped
the plant-ball loosely in fleece beforehand? If the fleece doesn't rot
but is slightly flexible, then it should protect the roots without
allowing them to spread too much. Perhaps this is a silly idea but I
don't fancy putting paving slabs in a hole in the ground. Our soil in
North London and is heavy clay.
--
June Hughes

The message
from June Hughes contains these words:

Sorry to reply twice. After two pints of Courage Best, I got to
thinking - Suppose I plant the fig in a hole in the ground but wrapped
the plant-ball loosely in fleece beforehand? If the fleece doesn't rot
but is slightly flexible, then it should protect the roots without
allowing them to spread too much. Perhaps this is a silly idea but I
don't fancy putting paving slabs in a hole in the ground. Our soil in
North London and is heavy clay.

Sorry. It'll just grow straight through. I'm afraid it means a bit of
mud plugging.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

On 11/15/04 4:46 AM, in article ,
"Pam Moore" wrote:

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 11:59:49 +0000, Sacha
wrote:

I thought there was/is a belief that a restricted root run was good for fig
trees, plus a fair amount of dryness and a dead donkey under the roots? ;-)

I have mentioned this here before. Bob Flowerdew on GQT once
recommended getting an old washing machine drum, sinking that in the
ground and planting a fig inside it. It restricts the roots to stop
the plant getting too big, but allows free drainage.

Pam in Bristol
Now that is an idea even I can use...

In message , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes
The message
from June Hughes contains these words:

Sorry to reply twice. After two pints of Courage Best, I got to
thinking - Suppose I plant the fig in a hole in the ground but wrapped
the plant-ball loosely in fleece beforehand? If the fleece doesn't rot
but is slightly flexible, then it should protect the roots without
allowing them to spread too much. Perhaps this is a silly idea but I
don't fancy putting paving slabs in a hole in the ground. Our soil in
North London and is heavy clay.

Sorry. It'll just grow straight through. I'm afraid it means a bit of
mud plugging.

Will it grow through old pond-liner?
--
June Hughes

On 11/15/04 6:52 AM, in article , "Franz
Heymann" wrote:


"Sacha" wrote in message
k...
On 15/11/04 11:48, in article ,
"Franz
Heymann" wrote:

snip Incidentally, in my parents' home in South Africa, they had
two fig
trees which were grown as simple single stemmed half-standards.
They
were kept to around 12 ft in height by rough and irregular
pruning.
One produced green coloured figs, and the other bore purple figs.
Both were intensely sweet.


I thought there was/is a belief that a restricted root run was good
for fig
trees, plus a fair amount of dryness and a dead donkey under the
roots? ;-)

During the great drought of 193something in SA, the local farmers got
rid of unwanted animals for a song.
Which song did you sing...? "Old Black Joe" ? Or would it have been "Bye Bye
Black bird"?

My father bought us a donkey as a
pet for 6d.
I married a donkey...for free...and it has been costing me ever since...(:
It lived for longer than we lived in that town, so we
never had the benefit of seeing whether its bodily remains would be of
benefit to the figs. {:-))
Live on donkey-I hate figs...

(Great droughts occurred about every three years or so

Is that where the 'dry' humour comes from?

in the Free State
There is no such thing as a free state!

Franz

The message
from June Hughes contains these words:

In message , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes
The message
from June Hughes contains these words:

Sorry to reply twice. After two pints of Courage Best, I got to
thinking - Suppose I plant the fig in a hole in the ground but wrapped
the plant-ball loosely in fleece beforehand? If the fleece doesn't rot
but is slightly flexible, then it should protect the roots without
allowing them to spread too much. Perhaps this is a silly idea but I
don't fancy putting paving slabs in a hole in the ground. Our soil in
North London and is heavy clay.

Sorry. It'll just grow straight through. I'm afraid it means a bit of
mud plugging.

Will it grow through old pond-liner?

It will grow through anything it can get its roots through and expand,
push apart or break. You will need drainage, so the liner will have to
be punctured. If it is plastic the roots will escape with no problems. A
concrete liner should be ok - but drill your drainage, don't risk
cracking the liner by assaulting it with a cold chisel. (Unless you are
very careful.)

My fig grows in a sunken bath.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

In message , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes
The message
from June Hughes contains these words:

In message , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes
The message
from June Hughes contains these words:

Sorry to reply twice. After two pints of Courage Best, I got to
thinking - Suppose I plant the fig in a hole in the ground but wrapped
the plant-ball loosely in fleece beforehand? If the fleece doesn't rot
but is slightly flexible, then it should protect the roots without
allowing them to spread too much. Perhaps this is a silly idea but I
don't fancy putting paving slabs in a hole in the ground. Our soil in
North London and is heavy clay.

Sorry. It'll just grow straight through. I'm afraid it means a bit of
mud plugging.

Will it grow through old pond-liner?

It will grow through anything it can get its roots through and expand,
push apart or break. You will need drainage, so the liner will have to
be punctured. If it is plastic the roots will escape with no problems. A
concrete liner should be ok - but drill your drainage, don't risk
cracking the liner by assaulting it with a cold chisel. (Unless you are
very careful.)

My fig grows in a sunken bath.

OK. I give in. I shall dig, dig, dig then submerge an old washing
machine drum I intend to obtain from the local amenities site. Thanks
Rusty.
--
June Hughes

"June Hughes" wrote in message
...
In message , BAC
writes

Cutting off the bottom of the pot and planting it wouldn't restrict the
roots much. The idea is to restrict the root growth so the tree tends to
use
its energy to fruit rather than grow large. The advantages of planting it
in
a subsoil level construction as I advised (rather than leaving it in its
pot) are that the roots should be better protected from extremes of
temperature, and would be less likely to dry out.


Sorry to reply twice. After two pints of Courage Best, I got to
thinking - Suppose I plant the fig in a hole in the ground but wrapped
the plant-ball loosely in fleece beforehand? If the fleece doesn't rot
but is slightly flexible, then it should protect the roots without
allowing them to spread too much. Perhaps this is a silly idea but I
don't fancy putting paving slabs in a hole in the ground. Our soil in
North London and is heavy clay.

The roots would almost certainly grow through it. If I were you, I'd prowl
round my neighbourhood until I spotted a fig doing OK, and ask the gardener
responsible whether the roots are constrained. If not, perhaps no need to go
to all the bother?

In message , BAC
writes

"June Hughes" wrote in message
...
In message , BAC
writes

Cutting off the bottom of the pot and planting it wouldn't restrict the
roots much. The idea is to restrict the root growth so the tree tends to
use
its energy to fruit rather than grow large. The advantages of planting it
in
a subsoil level construction as I advised (rather than leaving it in its
pot) are that the roots should be better protected from extremes of
temperature, and would be less likely to dry out.


Sorry to reply twice. After two pints of Courage Best, I got to
thinking - Suppose I plant the fig in a hole in the ground but wrapped
the plant-ball loosely in fleece beforehand? If the fleece doesn't rot
but is slightly flexible, then it should protect the roots without
allowing them to spread too much. Perhaps this is a silly idea but I
don't fancy putting paving slabs in a hole in the ground. Our soil in
North London and is heavy clay.

The roots would almost certainly grow through it. If I were you, I'd prowl
round my neighbourhood until I spotted a fig doing OK, and ask the gardener
responsible whether the roots are constrained. If not, perhaps no need to go
to all the bother?


Rusty has convinced me that the only way forward is either paving slabs
or a washing-machine barrel, so I shall go with that. I only know one
other person who has a fig and haven't seen her for a few weeks, so
shall ask. (My original question was because I thought the plant was
dying and I haven't seen her since before that).
--
June Hughes

June Hughes wrote or quoted:

I just wondered, what is wrong with cutting the bottom off the pot the
plant is in and planting the whole thing in the garden?

Figs are very invasive - the roots will grow through most things.

Also - if you /don't/ restrain the roots, the fig puts its energy
into vegetative reproduction - which most-likely means not many
fruit until its roots run start to run out of space again.
--
__________
|im |yler http://timtyler.org/ Remove lock to reply.

In message , Tim Tyler writes
June Hughes wrote or quoted:

I just wondered, what is wrong with cutting the bottom off the pot the
plant is in and planting the whole thing in the garden?

Figs are very invasive - the roots will grow through most things.

Also - if you /don't/ restrain the roots, the fig puts its energy
into vegetative reproduction - which most-likely means not many
fruit until its roots run start to run out of space again.
Thanks. I have already decided to take Rusty's advice and find a
washing-machine drum.. After all this, I can now see why the seller
told me to keep it in the pot!
--
June Hughes

The message
from June Hughes contains these words:

My fig grows in a sunken bath.

OK. I give in. I shall dig, dig, dig then submerge an old washing
machine drum I intend to obtain from the local amenities site. Thanks
Rusty.

You know it makes scents...

Do get a large one though, and stainless steel, or it will eventually
rust and the fig will escape - mabe not your problem by then. mind.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/