The current offer in the Independent has enouraged us to think about
growing a fig tree. The Independent offer seems way overpriced having
looked elsewhere, so - what's an easy to grow a fig tree and how/where
does one plant it?

We have a South facing wall with not much happening, it's variable
from shady to sunny. One site I read says keep the fig tree in a pot
as this encourages fruiting. Any/all advice welcome.

--
Chris Green

wrote in message ...
The current offer in the Independent has enouraged us to think about
growing a fig tree. The Independent offer seems way overpriced having
looked elsewhere, so - what's an easy to grow a fig tree and how/where
does one plant it?

We have a South facing wall with not much happening, it's variable
from shady to sunny. One site I read says keep the fig tree in a pot
as this encourages fruiting. Any/all advice welcome.

--
Chris Green

I'm growing a fig tree, it's 6" tall at the moment :-) Someone layered a
branch of an existing
fig tree for me, and cut the tip off when it had roots. I believe they are
planted with their roots
restricted to encourage fruiting. I understand something like 1 yard on a
side pit, with the
base filled with rubble ( they like good drainage ), and the sides made up
of slabs of concrete
placed in the form of a box. They don't seem to need to be against a wall
where I live, but I think
planting against a wall is the safest option.

Andy.

The message
from contains these words:

The current offer in the Independent has enouraged us to think about
growing a fig tree. The Independent offer seems way overpriced having
looked elsewhere, so - what's an easy to grow a fig tree and how/where
does one plant it?

Most commercial cultivars crop well if they like you.

We have a South facing wall with not much happening, it's variable
from shady to sunny. One site I read says keep the fig tree in a pot
as this encourages fruiting. Any/all advice welcome.

South-facing wall is good. The advice (IIRC by Bob Flowerdew) is to get
the stainless steel drum of a large washing machine or tumble-drier and
bury it. Fill it with soil and plant the tree in that. If you don't
restrict the roots you soon have a *VERY* large tree.

My Brown Turkey is having a long bath...

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

wrote:
what's an easy to grow a fig tree and how/where
does one plant it?

There is one in a little garden half way up steep hill in Lincoln. It
can't get more than 8 hours sun on the longest day, but it's enclosed
by walls and very sheltered. The branches overhang the road and I have
occasionally nicked a fruit and eaten it toward christmas.

They are supposed to need large amounts of water, but this one is said
to be 200 years old and I don't suppose the orginal owner is still
watering it.

The message . com
from contains these words:

There is one in a little garden half way up steep hill in Lincoln. It
can't get more than 8 hours sun on the longest day, but it's enclosed
by walls and very sheltered. The branches overhang the road and I have
occasionally nicked a fruit and eaten it toward christmas.

They are supposed to need large amounts of water, but this one is said
to be 200 years old and I don't suppose the orginal owner is still
watering it.

Might be feeding it though...

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

wrote in message ...
The current offer in the Independent has enouraged us to think about
growing a fig tree. The Independent offer seems way overpriced having
looked elsewhere, so - what's an easy to grow a fig tree and how/where
does one plant it?

We have a South facing wall with not much happening, it's variable
from shady to sunny. One site I read says keep the fig tree in a pot
as this encourages fruiting. Any/all advice welcome.

We have a Brown Turkey growing very successfully in a pot in a south facing
Suffolk garden.

Needs plenty of food and water in the summer, but crops well.

Lives out all year round.

I have read many tales of how you have to box a fig in if planted in the
ground.
However, I am now a little dubious as to how effective this will be.

OT_ANECDOTE

Just removes a Clematis from the front wall as we are block paving the area.
The Clematis was in a pot sitting on gravel.
It seemed to be doing remarkably well considering the size of the pot and
the amount of food and water we were giving it.
I had stopped feeding and watering when it became obvious it had another
more reliable source.
Tried to move the pot and found (as expected) it was held down.
Heaved a bit, then cut through two roots each as thick as a garden hose
which had grown down through the drainage holes and through the gravel into
the soil below.

/ OT_ANECDOTE

Roots have a way of seeking food and water through the tiniest of gaps.

I gues if you want a tiny tree then it needs to be in a pot of some sorts,
on or in the ground.

If you have space for a large tree and some time, then let it grow free.
You will probably not get a large crop of figs compared to the size of the
tree in the early years, but you will probably get at least an many figs as
you do from the small, half starved pot bound tree.

Cheers

Dave R

wrote in message ...
The current offer in the Independent has enouraged us to think about
growing a fig tree. The Independent offer seems way overpriced having
looked elsewhere, so - what's an easy to grow a fig tree and how/where
does one plant it?

We have a South facing wall with not much happening, it's variable
from shady to sunny. One site I read says keep the fig tree in a pot
as this encourages fruiting. Any/all advice welcome.

I shoved mine in my heavy clay slightly sheltered but north facing garden.
I do nothing to it. It grows like a weed and fruits loads.

-- "David W.E. Roberts" wrote in message
...
I have read many tales of how you have to box a fig in if planted in the
ground.
However, I am now a little dubious as to how effective this will be.
I never bothered. I guess my love of fre ranging poultry means I prefer to
free range my trees too lol.
In fact I look forward to mine growing really big. I bet it will look
amazing with those beautifully shaped, dark green leaves.
What with that and my fast growing walnut tree, I reckon I can never move
house as I want to see how spectacular they look in 10 years time.
Such a pity that there are no mature fruit trees of any kind in the garden
of my cottage which is approx' 140 years old.
If the original owners had only had some foresight and planted for future
occupants, my garden would be a lot nicer. Instead I moved in to a nasty
bare 3/4 acre field full of weeds.
I hope whomever is living here in 100 years time, will be grateful to the
anonymous planter of their fruiting walnut tree, peach tree, olive tree, fig
tree and apricot tree among others.

David W.E. Roberts wrote:

[snip helpful response]

All useful stuff, thanks, we're in Suffolk too so your experience is
directly relevant.

--
Chris Green

The message
from "pammyT" fenlandfowl @talktalk.net contains these words:

I never bothered. I guess my love of fre ranging poultry means I prefer to
free range my trees too lol.
In fact I look forward to mine growing really big. I bet it will look
amazing with those beautifully shaped, dark green leaves.

They do, and they get *HUGE*. Aged about nine and at boarding school, we
had one in the school grounds. I'd estimate it to have been a good
thirty feet high. I was the only anklebiter who scrumped them, and the
most surprising thing is that it was soon after the war when fruit was
scarce, and the big purple figs with the delicate pink insides weren't
picked for supplementing our pretty plain and rather meagre diet.

What with that and my fast growing walnut tree, I reckon I can never move
house as I want to see how spectacular they look in 10 years time.
Such a pity that there are no mature fruit trees of any kind in the garden
of my cottage which is approx' 140 years old.
If the original owners had only had some foresight and planted for future
occupants, my garden would be a lot nicer. Instead I moved in to a nasty
bare 3/4 acre field full of weeds.
I hope whomever is living here in 100 years time, will be grateful to the
anonymous planter of their fruiting walnut tree, peach tree, olive tree, fig
tree and apricot tree among others.

I hope so too: just be sure that the people who get their hands on it
later aren't likely to fall for a TV garden makeover...

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from contains these words:
David W.E. Roberts wrote:

[snip helpful response]

All useful stuff, thanks, we're in Suffolk too so your experience is
directly relevant.

My bathing tree is in Norfolk,and we're just a bit nearer the North
Pole, and the school I mentioned ^ up there is in Brentwood...

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

In article , writes
The current offer in the Independent has enouraged us to think about
growing a fig tree. The Independent offer seems way overpriced having
looked elsewhere, so - what's an easy to grow a fig tree and how/where
does one plant it?

Look at Reads nursery web site - they have a large number of different
varieties of fig.

Commonly grown is Brown Turkey, which will crop outdoors here and is a
nice rich taste, but it may not be the best.

We have a South facing wall with not much happening, it's variable
from shady to sunny. One site I read says keep the fig tree in a pot
as this encourages fruiting. Any/all advice welcome.

Figs are used to growing in fairly poor soil. In rich moist soil they
will flourish and grow lots of big green leaves, and feel very little
pressure to reproduce themselves by fruiting. Hence the advice to
restrict the root run, either by growing in a pot or in a large sunken
container.


--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In article , David W.E. Roberts
writes
If you have space for a large tree and some time, then let it grow free.
You will probably not get a large crop of figs compared to the size of the
tree in the early years, but you will probably get at least an many figs as
you do from the small, half starved pot bound tree.

How much is a reasonable crop?

I was content with last year's 25 figs of a 3 foot bush (especially
since it was entirely effort free - no feeding or watering), but is this
a ridiculously small yield compared with what I could be getting?

This S facing terrace in Yorkshire, altitude 400ft.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In article , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes
The message
from contains these words:
David W.E. Roberts wrote:

[snip helpful response]

All useful stuff, thanks, we're in Suffolk too so your experience is
directly relevant.

My bathing tree is in Norfolk,and we're just a bit nearer the North
Pole, and the school I mentioned ^ up there is in Brentwood...

You're not another Brentwood School person are you?
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

The message
from Kay contains these words:

You're not another Brentwood School person are you?

'Fraid so - but didn't stay long. I got lead poisoning there (long
story): it was undiagnosed even though I spent nearly half my time there
in the sanatorium, and soon was sent to a boarding school in Frinton for
my health.

There I regained physical health but have never been quite the same in
the memory department. I've had 'senior moments' since I was ten...

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/