How To Prune A Fig Tree (Quickly & Easily By Season!)

By keeping your fig trees properly pruned, you will allow them to produce sweeter, more flavorful figs. Pruning enables the hormones and sugars to make their way all the way up the branches and into the fruits. While the process isn’t entirely complicated, many home gardeners are at a loss as to how to prune a fig tree.

Basic “maintenance pruning” of fig trees involves pruning off damaged, diseased, or dead limbs as they appear. This process is similar to the way you would prune most other plants. However, beyond the basics, there are specific pruning instructions for after the fig tree has been transplanted and once it’s established.

During the fig tree’s first year or two, it must be pruned considerably to help train its growth pattern for the years that follow. Whereas, after this time, the tree can survive on either very minimal pruning or more extensive pruning. So long as you keep up with basic maintenance procedures, your fig tree will rebound year after year.

The Common Fig (Ficus carica) is considered to be a deciduous tree or shrub of the Maraceae family. Known for its edible fruits, the fig tree is also a relative of the mulberry tree. They are believed to originate from Western Asia and can also be found in areas of southeastern Europe. However, it is considered an invasive plant in some parts of North America.

In addition to producing their namesake fruits, fig trees are characterized by their palmate leaves and numerous spreading branches. The leaves are thick, deeply lobed, and possess a hairy lower surface and a rough upper surface. Their many attractive features make them ideal as ornamentals in patio landscaping, especially if you’re trying to achieve a tropical aesthetic.

While the fig itself is most commonly referred to as a fruit, it technically isn’t. The fig “fruit” is actually a syconium, or a hollow, fleshy receptacle that contains small flowers on the inner walls. It is pear-shaped and, although most often seen in a dark purple color, can be bronze or even yellow-green.

Although the flowers that sprout in springtime are nothing special, they are the first stage of the production of figs. Fig trees can range in height from 10 to 30 feet tall and roughly 10 to 20 feet wide. Depending on conditions, fig trees can live for 50 to 75 years.

While some sources claim that you should prune fig trees immediately after transplanting, others recommend waiting until the first winter, or dormant season. Pruning right after it has been planted helps get the tree off to an early start and trains it to focus its’ growth in a more concentrated manner. By the end of the growing season, the fig tree will likely be better established and stronger.

On the other hand, you do risk shocking the tree if you trim too much off of it immediately. While most fig trees are pretty resilient, if you obtained a weak sapling, the tree could wither and stop growing. As a rule of thumb, if you trust where your fig tree came from, you can prune it immediately. If not, you may want to consider waiting until the first dormant season.

During the first pruning, it will be a pretty extensive trimming. You must clear away a major portion of wood, trimming the fig tree back by about half. This is what is known as “training pruning.” By pruning a significant portion of the tree, you are forcing it to form a very strong root system. It can also encourage the tree to grow in a horizontal direction, developing in a bushier tree.

The following dormant season after transplantation, you’ll be pruning for fruiting wood. You’re continuing the training process, but now you have much more to work with. Choose roughly four to six of the strongest branches that are spaced evenly around the trunk, allowing room to grow. These branches will be the backbones for fruit production. You’ll want to trim away all the rest. By doing this, you are promoting healthier fruit and restricting the tree’s height.

Although the majority of the pruning will take place in the winter, there are some fig tree maintenance tasks you should do in the summer. For example, you want to pinch out any new growth that forms on your fig tree in the summer. Allow roughly five to six leaves to grow on new branches during peak summer and after they establish themselves, pinch away any additional leaves that emerge.

If you have a fig tree that does not produce edible fruit, this pruning isn’t entirely necessary. The main purpose of pinching out new growth is to focus the minimal necessary energy to the tree’s leaves. Removing excess leaves stops the tree from giving energy to the leaves and with less energy focused on the leaves, more can be dedicated to fruit production.

In the autumn months, take a good look at your fig tree. If you notice any large figs that have failed to start ripening, these should be removed. These fruits are potentially harmful to the growth of your fig tree. Since most fig trees produce fruit in either early or late summer, fruit that isn’t mature by autumn likely won’t ever mature.

Like most reasons for pruning, removing fig fruit that isn’t ripening redirects the tree’s resources to other, more important areas. Removing fruit that is stealing vital energy also helps to strengthen the tree come wintertime.