Q.
I planted various fig trees that were very good producers in southern California,
Los Angeles County to be exact. Here they have been planted for over 10 years
and I have yet to pick and eat any fruit from any of the trees! The problem
that I am experiencing is fruit drop off. The figs grow to a fifty-cent piece
and then they drop off.
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| Figs need water when they produce fruit even if the tree looks fine. |
A.
At the University Orchard and elsewhere I grew nearly 12 varieties of figs, and
all have done very well. As long as they get enough water. Figs are what I call an “oasis” fruit tree. They handle
the heat and do well and produce fruit if water is available.
Hot, Then Water More Often
However, this is the desert. Our
desert has two major problems when growing fruit trees like figs: soil
improvement and water. Figs produce basically two crops of fruit. These are
classed as the “briba” crop and “main” crop. The briba crop is the earliest because
it produces figs on last year’s growth. This is also the crop that fails each
year if there is a late spring freeze.
.JPG) |
| Figs produce fruit in different stages. First is the early or ‘Briba’ crop. The second crop of figs are produced on growth from this year and called the ‘Main’ crop. |
But figs also produce a “second”
crop later in the year called the main crop. This main crop of fruit starts
growing late enough in the season that freezing weather has gone. It starts to
produce figs early in the season when it starts getting hot. It gets hotter so
the tree needs more water to produce its figs. It is confusing because the tree
shows no signs it needs water because the leaves look fine! But the figs drop
off because the tree needs water. Very confusing!
Those are the keys to successful fig
production. Give it a productive soil and apply a two-to-three-inch layer of
surface mulch. Water it more often in
the early summer even though the tree doesn’t look like it needs it.