Fig trees are prolific fruit bearers and easily propagated bytaking cuttings from the woody branches. The best time to take cuttings fromthe fig tree for propagation is in the late winter or just before the last frost for your climatearea. In fact, many cuttings can be rooted in a single 6-inch diameter pot.Using a 2 L soda bottle acts like a mini-greenhouse, and within three weeks newshoots and leaves will be growing on the once-bare stemmed cutting.
Step 1
Combine a mixture offour parts potting soil to one part sand. Mix thoroughly. Fill the 6-inchdiameter pot to the upper rim with the dry soil mixture.
Step 2
Take stem cuttings fromthe fig tree you wish to propagate. The stems must be no larger than 3/8 inchin diameter and no longer than 8 inches. Cut the stem diagonally with the knifein a clean and smooth motion. This will make a larger surface area for theroots to take hold, and allow for greater moisture up take to the stem cutting.
Step 3
Dip the cut end of thestem cutting into the rooting hormone. Coat the end approximately 1½ inches to2 inches long from the base in the white powder.
Step 4
Insert the cut end ofthe stem into the pot with the soil mixture. You want at least 4 inches of thecutting in contact with the soil. You can place up to five cuttings in a single6-inch plastic pot.
Step 5
Water the cuttings inthe pot with approximately 1 pint of water. Leave the pot to sit for 24 hoursso all excess water drains from the pot.
Step 6
Cut off the bottom ofthe 2L soda bottle with the scissors. Only remove the lower 1 inch of thebottle. Leave the top cap in place. Wash out the bottle. Rinse with cleanwater.
Step 7
Place the soda bottleover the cuttings, like a mini-greenhouse, after the 24-hour period. Set theplastic pot, mini-greenhouse, in a window that does not have direct sunlight.Direct sunlight will cause the cutting to overheat and die.
Step 8
Leave the cutting alonefor two weeks. Do not touch the pot or lift the soda bottle before that time.The cuttings will begin to show green growth on the stem in about seven days.
You can plant bare-rootfruit trees in the fall/winter, but if you get a spring/summer brain wave thatyou'd like to add a fruit tree to your garden or orchard, you can certainlyplant a potted tree. Right now in July we have potted apple, peach and peartrees in our Grass Valley nursery, ready to go into local gardens.
In fact, if fruit treeshave sensitive roots, or are evergreen, they should be planted from asoil-filled pot or sleeve. Figs, pomegranates, olives, and citrus trees arefinicky that way.
In our new video Tricia plants afig tree in a home orchard. Here's how to transplant your new fig tree, orother fruit tree, from a pot or a sleeve.
Fruit tree site selection
All fruit trees need 6to 8 hours of full sun. Bear in mind how large the mature tree will beand make sure it will not be shaded when it's full grown.
All fruit trees require well-drainedsoil, but fig trees are able to handle wet soil better than the others.Ideally the soil depth should be 3 feet. If your soil is compacted byconstruction machinery, or you have a layer of impervious hardpan not far belowthe surface, plant on a berm of soil or in a raised bed about 2 feet deep.
Think ahead to how youwill water the tree, and choose a site near an irrigation source.
Prepare a planting hole for the fruit tree
If you're not sure howwell your soil drains, check this article about testingand correcting drainage.
Dig a hole the samedepth as the pot or sleeve, and twice the width of the roots.
Protection from gophers
Fig trees are especiallyattractive to gophers and in our video we used one of our Root Guard Gopher Baskets to stop gophers from reaching the tree roots.
Planting your fruit tree
Gently ease the treefrom its sleeve or pot and check the roots. Cut off any dead roots, and loosenany that are wrapping around the root ball.
If there is a graftunion site on the trunk, turn it to face north-east, away from harsh sunlight.
Place the tree in thehole and back fill with the original soil, adjusting the trunk to keep it atthe right planting height. Most fruit trees should be planted so the trunk soilline is planted at the same soil level as they were pot. A fig tree is anexception. It should be planted 2 to 4 inches deeper than it was in the pot.
Check with your localMaster Gardeners or Farm Advisor about any chronic soil issues in your area. InNevada County the soil is low in phosphorus so we usually add rock phosphate atplanting time. Otherwise, do not add fertilizer to the planting hole.
Prevent crown rot bysloping the soil away from the trunk of the tree, tapering to a basin beyondthe edge of the planting hole.
Add a 3 to 4-inch layerof compost and then a 4-inch layer of mulch around the tree, keeping thosematerials 4 inches away from the tree trunk.
Irrigation
If you're plantingduring the growing season, the basin will be the water source for the treeuntil wintertime. When winter rains come, depress the outer sides of the basinso rain does not accumulate there and drown the tree.
Water the tree withabout 5 gallons of water the first time, and tamp down the soil to eliminateair bubbles. The University of Maine suggests 5 gallons each week during a dry season, and theUniversity of California recommends 5 to 10 gallons of water weekly. Check with yourlocal Master Gardeners for your county's rule of thumb.
Pruning the new fruit tree
Bare-root fruit treesshould be pruned at planting time, Potted trees with leaves should not bepruned until they are dormant in the winter time.
Trunk protection
A young tree trunk needsprotection from sunburn, and the standard sunshield is to paint the trunk witha 50/50 mixture of water and white latex indoor paint.
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