Japanese Fig Training for Cold Hardy Figs

[@raykinney9907]

Great example! I train mine to two long cordons in a single line that run out ten to twelve feet either direction. And, I have King variety that are San Pedro type breba producers, with no fig wasp to pollinate the second (Main) crop. So, I just prune off all vertical branches that I harvested breba off of, but leave all new growth containing the breba buds for producing the next season. These branches are supple enough to bend down along the cordons for similar protections, and allowed to raise up again in the spring after frost threats. I have an upper wire to help train the young branches back up.

[@raykinney9907]

This linear low cordon is great for keeping all the growth in line along protective fences or hedges too.

[@PHNursery]

@@raykinney9907 Thanks for sharing!

[@bosquebear1]

Wow! This is exactly what i have evolved into attempting to do! My planting is outdoors. I love your cardboard and frostcloth idea. I bent my second year old trees over in the fall and covered them with a woodchip and leaves mulch. I did this too late, however. I was waiting on the trees to go dormant, but after minimums in the 40's my first frost was a 22 degree freeze before lignification which killed the trees back to the ground. This was after a late freeze in the spring That was a setback but i'll see what happens next year. I keep a soil thermometer inside the woodchip mulch about the level o the crown which has shown a minimum of 45 degrees so far after having some nights down to 16 so i am very impressed with this method. I do you tube searches of japanese pruning figs and see lots of beautiful espaliered trees. I did notice if i bent the branches over in the summer while actively growing they died. I will wait until after the new year growth lignifies and leaves drop before bending over and doing the training. Thanks soooo much for this vieo!

[@PHNursery]

Glad you appreciated it!

[@bosquebear1]

I am now in the process of training my new growths while in growth in summer down along the ground. After seeing a guy showing how to do espalier, he said don´t turn the tip horizontal, but keep it at 45 degrees and i have tried that and it works! i Just go back as the branch grows and bend it along... keeping the tip where it can point up. I haven´t lost any this way. Since the growths are young and flexible, I am using 6, 9 and 12 inch landscaping staples from Sandbagy to hold them down. I use a rubber mallet to pound them in the ground if it is difficult. How do you deal with rodents in the winter under the cardboard?

[@3moirai]

Thanks for the tutorial on the Japanese Espalier form for the fig trees in a more personal home gardener setting. I'm curious to give this a try.

[@PHNursery]

Good luck with it!

[@TV-yj9mh]

Very helpful video , my will be like this too cause I’m in zone5b now is 6a that is only way they will survive in winter 👍👍👍

[@iamthewelcher]

Daang !! My hardies like to grow this way anyway! Perfect. Thank you so much!!

[@CampingforCool41]

I wonder if this method would work to keep a Chicago Hardy Fig alive in zone 4, with a whole lot of insulation on top.

[@jimk6862]

Great video! Amazing detail, thanks for posting. When first forming the laterals along the ground, is it necessary to prune the end of the lateral to force the buds to start shooting come springtime? Also, the fruiting verticals seem to be growing straight up in one long shoot, without too much side branching. Are you trimming any side branching as it happens? Thanks again.

[@PHNursery]

Thank you. The goal with year 1 or 2 is to form the laterals. The laterals do not immediately form fruiting shoots (the vertical ones that bear figs). Once the laterals are formed, it is basically the end of the season and the fig goes dormant. The following spring the vertical fruiting branches emerge from the dormant buds and grow vertical immediately. I do prune the ends of the laterals at this time so as to send more growth energy to the fruiting branches. The fruiting branches rarely make an y side shoots, but if they started to I would remove those. Also remember, the entire fruiting branch is removed at the end of the season anyway. I also top them in autumn to facilitate ripening of the remaining figs, as well as removing any tiny green figs with no chance of ripening before freeze. peacefulheritage.com/product-category/fruit-nut-trees/fig/

[@mikecf1]

I love this! Thanks so much for putting it together. Isn't this similar to how to train grapes?

[@PHNursery]

You're welcome. It is similar in many ways, yes. Soon I'll be posting a grape pruning video.

[@mikecf1]

I can't wait for that. I need that one for hardy kiwis but I think they are the same.@@PHNursery

[@СерджиоБевз]

Бачив ваши азимини ...просто супер...с оскоо..❤❤❤

[@PHNursery]

Дякую❤❤❤

[@otis3357]

Very interesting

[@СерджиоБевз]

Японцi ..класно придумали ..так вирощувати iнжир...😊

[@larawines4875]

What zone are you in?

[@PHNursery]

Zone 6 Kentucky. Hitting -2 F tonight.

[@gardubois7194]

Thank you for sharing this. I’ve been planning to build a fig greenhouse this winter with the intention of growing the trees in espalier fashion. Because our winter night time temperatures can drop to 5-10 degrees, this system of growing them close to the ground to allow mulching protection seems brilliant to me. We’ve lost a number of fig trees to the cold. Would you please explain the initial planting and training strategy? Since the young tree is likely to be 1-2 ft tall, it’s not clear to me how to begin to train to ground level. Thanks in advance for your response when you have the opportunity to reply.

[@PHNursery]

Hi, you will sometimes need to clip the top off the young tree to stimulate lower branches. Or, you can bend the entire top over to form one of the initial laterals. Figs make tons of branches and shoots, so it is easy to find 2-4 suitably low twigs and train them to be the laterals, going in whatever direction you want. Clothespins can be clipped to the trunk to assist in bending low branches to a more parallel to the ground orientation.

[@gardubois7194]

Thanks, very helpful.

[@BlackJesus8463]

Nice!

[@PHNursery]

Thank you , Superpoo.

[@philcam9493]

How does one train from the start? My two year old Tiger panache is a chandelier on the original three foot stalk. Chop it down? Can you show us how to train juveniles?

[@PHNursery]

You can either bend the whole thing over to make the trunk one of the main laterals. Figs are flexible and can usually handle this. They can break though, so be careful. Other option is to cut them back to about 6-12 inches before they bud. They will sprout new branches and then you can select the best 2 for the main laterals. Bend them when fleshy and green to the proper angles and directions you want.

[@Ok-vj3dw]

This video is exactly what I needed to see since I'm going to get some temperatures below 15 Fahrenheit soon. I have a few semi large trees in pots right now and I'll definitely be trying to train them super low like yours. As far as protection, I don't have a greenhouse, do you think putting down a tarp and then maybe a couple feet of mulch would do the trick? I'm in zone 6b, quite rarely we'll get around -10F but usually nit below -3F.

[@Ok-vj3dw]

To be clear, I plan on planting them in the ground if that's something I can still do at this time of year.

[@PHNursery]

@@Ok-vj3dw I would consider putting them in an unheated garage for the remainder of the winter. If that's not possible you could bury the pots and then bury the trunk and branches in several feet of mulch. If the pot freezes solid it might kill the fig. So, indoor storage makes the most sense and easiest approach. This is what I do.

[@pnwgarden2366]

What if you’re growing for the breba crop only due to hardiness? How would you modify your method?

[@PHNursery]

Here in KY we never get breba crops. This method of pruning likely eliminates the potential for breba crops as the 1 year old wood is almost entirely removed, and 1 year old wood is where breba figs form.

[@C3Voyage]

I really like the idea of this, but I can't do them in a greenhouse. If done outside, it creates a really large area that would be hard to mow around. How could I reconcile the large ground space and keep the concept?

[@PHNursery]

Use landscape fabric under the figs so there is no grass or weeds to worry about. SOLVED

[@C3Voyage]

@@PHNursery I was hoping that wasn't the answer. Been there; done that. In order for it to be an ok fix, you'd have to cover it with mulch and that leads to grass in a year or so once it begins breaking down. Turns eventually into a nightmare that's hard to clean up. If you don't cover the fabric with mulch, mowers will eat the edges and also bermuda grows over and through it. I'm a big proponent of fabric in many ways too. For example, my gardens are called "no-weed" gardens because of it. Love it. Maintaining the edge around it requires glyphosate a few times a year when there's no rain in the forecast. Anyway, thanks. I'll likely do a higher version of what you're doing. I live in 8a.

[@raykinney9907]

I do this style, but keep them in two long cordons in a line. I do this in both greenhouse and outside in ground. Zone 8b Oregon. In line keeps pathways clear, while growing w.o spreading out. Great for along protective fences or hedges.

[@cathibeastevenson634]

​@c3Voyage i have heard and seen where comfrey is grown to provide a rhizome barrier, and keep the grass out

[@cathibeastevenson634]

@.C3Voyage around the desired plants to be a barrier

[@galenyoung4838]

In my region, Hard freeze is expected to go down to 4 feet below grade. There is no 'heat' rising from the ground.

[@PHNursery]

Sounds like figs may not work in ground in your area. Container growing may be the best option.

[@galenyoung4838]

Figs produce great in my area, when allowed to die back to the crown every fall.

[@PHNursery]

@@galenyoung4838 Very nice. Are those 'Chicago Hardy' or what cultivar?

[@galenyoung4838]

Yes, these were 'cold hardy'