What Happens When You HEAVILY Prune a Fig Tree? (See the Results 9 Months Later!)

We pruned this fig tree WAY BACK at the beginning of fall last year. Here's how it looks now!
Grocery Row Gardening: amzn.to/3Ah48Vd
Grow a Little Fruit Tree by Ann Ralph: amzn.to/3bw8vkL
Subscribe to the newsletter: thesurvivalgar...
David's Other Gardening Books: amzn.to/2pVbyro
Compost Your Enemies t-shirts: www.aardvarkte...
David's gardening blog: www.thesurvival...
Thank you for watching! If you've wondered how to prune a fig tree, or if you're going to kill a fig tree by pruning it, today's video shows you the results of a SEVERE pruning! Cutting back a fig tree often makes it fruit again the next year, as fig tree fruits on the new growth. How wonderful!

[@TXDHC]

That's a cute little figlet in your arms!

[@yx6889]

Fig trees are incredibly resilient. I cut mine way back this year and as a result it has gone nuts and produced more than the normal amount of figs!

[@NoNORADon911]

Fig-ures

[@ZE308AC]

❤

[@shawneegrows]

I never knew the tree owner could have such power! Keeping it at Bush level. I'm convinced I can do this and manage fruit trees.

[@wordwalkermomma4]

Be careful, though... fig is more of a shrub. You have to prune peaches, apples, etc. a little differently, but yes, you can wield your power and make it more manageable.

[@wordwalkermomma4]

Be careful, though... fig is more of a shrub. You have to prune peaches, apples, etc. a little differently, but yes, you can wield your power and make it more manageable.

[@wordwalkermomma4]

Be careful, though... fig is more of a shrub. You have to prune peaches, apples, etc. a little differently, but yes, you can wield your power and make it more manageable.

[@davidthegood]

You can, yes!

[@ZE308AC]

@@davidthegood can I heavily prune apple trees that are 4 to 6 years old trees or seedlings?

[@imissnickplur4964]

adorable baby. the tree looks great.

[@Green.Country.Agroforestry]

Fun factoid: The average life expectancy of a hazelnut tree is about 40 years .. but if it is periodically coppiced, it resets the tree's growth cycles, and the tree never reaches 'old age'. There are estates in England where the trees have been routinely coppiced for hundreds of years, and the trees continue to grow back strong - barring an accident, and so long as there is a gardener to tend them, these trees will never die.

[@jonnyhawt8973]

Really neat!

[@Hy-Brasil]

i wonder if that works on other species.

[@ninemoonplanet]

From what I understand, a lot of tree species can be kept like this. One master gardener rejuvenated a series of very old trees by pushing holes in and around the roots, the trees regained their health and grew much better. Soil compaction can cause trees to die sooner than they otherwise would.

[@kerrywatson8581]

That's fascinating!

[@jeanponce2017]

@@ninemoonplanet It's not as much as soil compaction if it's an older tree. The holes (water and air) passage ways allows for new nutrients to reach deeper into the soil as opposed to the surface layer where weather and other environmental issues can deplete/lock out nutrients. I take a plumbers tee handle probe and aerate all of my plants and it helps feed deep roots which can fight out drought from having deep roots. But I also pour microbe rich teas in the holes to bring that deep soil back to life.

[@gelwood99]

Great!!!! We have an ancient Celeste fig that has grown for 80+ years that this will happen to this winter. Many years ago our renter got drunk (a Korean war vet so it was a weekend habit) got a wild hair and set the fig on fire and burned it to the ground. My mother was furious but surprisingly it came back the next spring with a vengeance. Severe pruning will allow us to pull out the honeysuckle vine that is trying to take it over.

[@davidthegood]

That is wild.

[@FlomatonFamous]

Looks good. Almost fig season. Ate my first brown turkey fig today.

[@charlesbyrneShowComments4all]

I have an LSU gold fig in the ground and a brown turkey fig cutting that will be ready to plant next year. The brown turkey fig is finally over 11 inches.

[@heatherk8931]

Mine is a Charlie Brown fig tree, maybe needs pruning. I've got 3 or 4, so if I cut the pinky finger sized branches back, I'm not killing it, I hope. Chickens and squirrels got my Brown Turkey gigs this year. There was less than a dozen😵

[@FlomatonFamous]

@@heatherk8931 it’s hard to kill a fig, you’re ok to prune it.

[@travislawrence52]

Oh yes! I live in TX, and we had notorious snowstorm in February of 2021 that was a once in a century type event. In a place where it very rarely gets below 20 degrees, we got down to -1, and we feared our fig tree was killed. It was over 10 feet tall, and it looked completely dead. We pruned it off almost at the ground. When Spring hit last year, it greened up and got about 5 feet tall. No figs last year, but it kept growing. A year later and it's probably 15 feet tall, even taller than before, and is covered with figs! The life is, indeed, in the roots.

[@davidthegood]

That is amazing.

[@baneverything5580]

It got down to 3 degrees here in central Louisiana in Feb 2021 and we had an ice storm and then snow. The power was out for days. Then in December 2022 we had very high winds and it got down to zero and stayed extremely cold and below freezing for a full week. It killed everything in my new garden except two little lettuce plants which the bunny spotted and devoured. I had moved to this lot in a travel trailer just a few months before. Even with my heater on high with a fan blowing the temperature stayed around 50 at face level sitting on the couch and below freezing at knee level. The high winds knocked out the power and I used an electric blanket and my solar batteries to keep from freezing and heated hot cocoa/instant coffee water with a 12v DC cup water heater and made cream of wheat in a 12v DC rice cooker. Then the next summer of course....extreme heat and drought lasting months. In 2020 we were hit by TWO hurricanes and had no power for 20 days so it feels like a curse is after me sometimes but weeks after my birth in 1965 I was in the eye of the infamous hurricane Betsy so I guess this is normal for me. This year my garden and fruit trees are thriving like kudzu. My fig tree planted during the drought last year refused to grow until I began heavily mulching, fertilizing and watering it and it finally came to life by late July. This year it`s a 10 ft diameter, 8 ft tall monster loaded with figs even though I pruned the tops in June to control the branching and shape and cut a lot off the tree. As soon as the side branches formed after pruning they began producing figs so I will get an extended harvest now because it has a variety of sizes and several that should ripen soon. I expect a tornado next...maybe 2 or 3! Mother Nature is dangerous!

[@michelearcher3370]

I did it! Yesterday was pruning day. My story-tall fig is now @5'6"...

[@terber12392]

Thank you for this update but I was not surprised at all by the regrowth. Last year after watching you prune that fig tree; I decided mine was taking up way too much of my backyard and went out and cut off at least 60% of the tree. Oh my gosh it has grown back out to almost the full size again. I plan to prune it again this dormant season. Daughter is gorgeous and a delight to see with you. Hope Racheal is ok...you said she had a fall?

[@davidthegood]

No - she is fine, thank you.

[@leadbyexample333]

Your baby is beautiful! Great Dad skills! Thank you for the tree advice!

[@lovecatspiracy]

Sweet potato spice cake with fig filling

[@lmgorbea1]

That sounds delish 😋

[@lovecatspiracy]

@@lmgorbea1 Thanks! I made some for Hubby's office potluck and everyone enjoyed

[@alexclifford2485]

I bought a fig tree recently sold as a bonsai (what a waste) so I planted it in the ground. We also have a massive fig tree in Spain (multiple actually. We let them grow tall because they offer fantastic shade in the heat and privacy from neighbours. It's the perfect place for meals in the evening. Thanks for sharing.

[@davidthegood]

I saw a HUGE one in Gainesville - it was beautiful. In the right place, I would totally let one get huge.

[@baneverything5580]

Little Miss Figgy "dwarf" fig type is one of the fastest growing, tallest fig varieties. It can grow 20 feet upward in one season.

[@wildflowers8966]

Nice to see the fig tree come back so well! I tried growing ~8 fig cuttings this year and somehow killed them all 😬 I blame a late freeze and then scorching temps back to back. Going to try again this year!

[@jeanponce2017]

Try air layering as opposed to rooting cuttings. You don't cut the branch off until it's fully rooted. At least it worked well for me and my new little tiny fig trees even grew figs on them. When I bought the tree probably 8 years ago it took two years before I saw 1 fig. My new rooted cutting had a half dozen at 18 inches tall

[@baneverything5580]

Mulch baby fig trees with layers of organic potting soil, chopped leaves (use a mower with bag), grass clippings, cardboard, garden waste, etc.

[@LittlePieceOfHeaven.65]

Those are gnarly cuttings lol !

[@heatherhall3452]

I have a black Genoa fig in a large pot, waiting for my move 🏡 it’s had a few figs on it in the last 2 years, they are delicious, I’d never eaten a fig before, they are sooo yum 😋 , I bought it 4 years ago and I’ve been slack on fertilising it on a schedule basis, I was sick and had too much to keep up with watering and bugs! I just ordered 3 of your books Free plants for everyone, grow or die, grocery row gardening and grow a little fruit tree 👏🏽😆 🍎🌳❤️🇦🇺

[@agentbarron9768]

My fig trees are now 2 inches tall, thanks for the advice David!

[@davidthegood]

lol

[@judymiller323]

We LOVE follow - ups ! Thanks for doing this, David

[@samuelwoolwine95]

Good to know. I just savaged ours way back and wondered about the recovery.

[@StubbsMillingCo.]

Hey hey! I’m planning to plant some figs soon (fall/winter) love what you do David!!

[@StubbsMillingCo.]

@Uncle Charlie ooohhh man! I have some Bell pepper and Better Boy tomato cuttings going now, just planted a BB Tomato and some Rosemary cuttings I took about 3 weeks ago. Really want some fig trees and to take cuttings also waiting on this wild American Persimmon to flower and produce(if female I’ll take cuttings) I found growing into my side of my fence from the woods! Mother Nature is amazing lol

[@rogerbeck5704]

I did the same thing two years ago from a 96 year old customer of mine. She was afraid she wasn't going to be around to get figs again. The tree is producing more figs now than it ever has and they are more accessible for her.

[@pattimears200]

Looks AWESOME! So much healthier too! Good job Mr. David The Good 👍

[@moniquegebeline4350]

She’s soooooooooooo cute!

[@Carolynfoodforest355]

Very nice the way that fig came back.

[@georgekahn3313]

Great video, thanks. And close-ups of baby Jenny are totally the best. Get that little face on camera. We all can use the cuteness fix. 😇✌️♥️

[@susanm9078]

I watched the first video and thinking it would be great to see how it did! Thanks for the update. As soon as o It stops raining in my lower Alabama town, my huge fig is getting pruned! Bought the house 9 months ago and working to get my food forest growing.

[@annlaughren9060]

Wow, like figs trees

[@oreopaksun2512]

That fig looks so much better than before! And does the gardener always get an adorable baby to show off 9 months after chopping a fruit tree down to its knees? I am running out to find me a tree to chop!

[@GoldenBoy-et6of]

Figs are the most resilient fruit tree there is! :)

[@GoldenBoy-et6of]

Berries are the only thing that come close in resilience!

[@pattiannepascual]

Your little baby is so precious! she is so lucky to have you as a dad.

[@davidthegood]

Thank you. She is a blessing.

[@teenagardner3623]

You folks are just 👍everytime 😊 your neighbors tree looks so much better, healthier, she can keep it small now, and cover from birds as you said. Big bonus she got her window back

[@jeanponce2017]

She got her window back less places for insects and mold to hide

[@TheSistersGamers234]

Omg I came and stayed for the lovely baby! Love babies! 💕💕💕 Blessed

[@Corvus-fw2hr]

I have a 20’+ fig tree that produces so well in our yard. I’ve always hesitated to cut it back. This year some of the top branches are bare and dying. It’s still producing a great crop that we’re picking daily. Next spring I’ll gird my loins and give it a good pruning. Thanks for the push.

[@evelynkorjack2126]

this year i discovered fig leaf tea. it is a mild green tea with a hint of liquorice. (brown turkey) justbair dried the leaves and put in cannister, about 5 leaves in a teapot. lets just see if the squirrels rob me of that, too.

[@zachariahstillwater]

So much love for you and your family

[@nicolefarry560]

Thank you for the update. 👌

[@Beecozz7]

I love figs!!! I need a fig hedge!!! TY

[@Daddycan1517]

Thank you for the follow up

[@brentonihms]

I love you, David.

[@user-sm8by9wj2n]

Your vidjos are green thumbs up!

[@jerryleopold1430]

Thank you for the follow-up. Job well done!

[@yogamovesme3825]

As much a I enjoy your fabulous informative videos, music and more (jokes). Your camera lady is so smart to hand over baby Jenny it keeps me engaged with heart as well as mind. Thank you ❤️

[@takeitslowhomestead5218]

Thank you for sharing your success! 🏆

[@GreenerShadeRC]

What a beautiful tree.

[@babetteisinthegarden6920]

I think fig trees are the only true you can butcher the crap out of and it keeps coming back bigger and better than before

[@melanieallen3655]

Im going2 prune my figtree now...thanks.make sense Its winter in Australia now.

[@isabelladavis1363]

Will be. Doing that with two Kiefer pear trees in the side yard...thank you David

[@JHS9498]

I have a fig tree that stood still in grow for almost 6 years, never had any figs. Last year I got the advice because it was so little to prune the ends of the branches. This year he grown very hard and I have figs. Yeah!!!!

[@DeepSouthBamaGRITS]

SOOO glad you posted this video update. I also have a HUGE OLD fig tree that needs a massive pruning. I've been afraid to do it thinking I will just kill it. I'm good at propagating & growing but SCARED TO DEATH to prune anything. Same goes with a massive tall peach tree that I never pruned since I planted it and now towers 15+ ft tall. I should have you come over and prune my trees since you're not so far from me! Was wondering if you saved any of those pruned limbs for cuttings. You could either root them to sale as plants or sell them as scion cuttings. But hey, I'm one that wastes NOTHING that could be a potential fruit tree! Great vid. Will get my pruners & saws ready to start pruning late winter...if the weather holds true to our normalcy. Mother nature seems to be on steroids this year and don't know which way she wants to go!

[@deannewilliams3321]

Wow! I’m impressed with all that new growth! Baby sister is super adorable! 🌼🌼🌼 Great song at the end, love the rhythm!

[@b_uppy]

Wish I lived in an area that got 2× yearly fig harvest.

[@haou132]

Excellent !

[@fivefamily5820]

Thanks for posting the update video. So many pruning videos never show the results over time.

[@camis.1347]

I just bought an Olympia fig tree in a container from a local privately owned plant shop! They grow in the Mediterranean mostly but do well in certain areas of the US. It had figs on it when I bought them. The ants have moved in but I am getting good size green figs already!!! They are soft and semi-sweet I think. Your neighbor's is crazy big! Thanks for the follow up video, these are easier to watch than your longer vids. I can't keep up with those!

[@triedzidono]

uncanny, a week ago i found this guy taking about something interesting to me & just after i get back from taming a large fig tree, this video comes up. Feels more like I have a brother, than merely a subscription to some dude who devotes a lot of his valuable time to a hoard of strangers on the internet

[@untameable6567]

The fig tree- 12k views and 144 comments 💜

[@GoodTimesHomestead]

I was drooling over all the cuttings you could have and maybe rooted…

[@borracho-joe7255]

Thanks for the fig update! They are truly resilient trees!

[@HedgehogsHomestead]

Awesome David thank you for sharing that because I want to fig tree in my new property to know when to trim back and keep it at a good harvesting level

[@williammikell2210]

There is a saying goes something like, "you can have a fig tree and get a few figs, or a fig bush and get a lot of figs" Cut any the largest limbs to the ground every winter. Keep the bush no more than 6 feet tall and pick the figs in the morning before the mocking birds.

[@BradfordHomestead]

I can’t wait for my cute little fig tree to produce!! Reminds me of my parents home

[@poodledaddles1091]

Sweet!

[@bigbendmarine]

Cut one of my fig trees down to a 1 inch stump a few years ago after I found it had been attacked by ambrosia beetles (drawn to it after a late hard freeze). By late summer the fig tree was 10' in height again and about 12' wide. Figs are INCREDIBLY tough. 👍

[@northwanderer800]

I cut mine back before winter, oops .. have to wait till spring to see if it comes back

[@nancythane4104]

Did you have a video, David? All I saw was the baby!😉😂

[@Constitutionalapologist]

I'm scared to put my fig tree in the ground because of the nematodes or whatever. I know it wants to be in the ground though. I am torn. Awesome video. The baby is growing well also:)

[@nancyfahey7518]

The first year I dug a huge hole, filled it with twigs and leaves and goodies. The fig grew great and had fruit. The next 2 years it came back but just sat there. Year 4, I put cuttings in a huge pot with nice soil and it's getting fruit. I'm thinking of burying the pot. You could buy good nematodes off the internet. Wait til winter before dark, cause heat will kill them, and water them into the whole area. Mine lasted 3 or 4 years. I did not know about the nematodes when I was experimenting with the fig tree.

[@OfftoShambala]

Thanks Dave, I literally had this question less than 24 hours ago.

[@sleeplessinthecarolinas8118]

Such a sweet baby! Thanks for the tutorial!

[@rosehavenfarm2969]

Ha! I was thinking about that tree last week. Thanks for the update, sir.

[@michelearcher3370]

Pruned my fig some in January. Next January, it's getting cut back that hard! Thanks for helping me be brave!

[@deltorres2100]

Yesss I remember ..I watched that episode..turned out great 🌱

[@harmonic3350]

Fig bush looks great! Who would have figured?

[@royrodgers567]

Nice. Figs are delicious.

[@moniquegebeline4350]

Omg David be so careful esp with the kids, I got first degree chemical burns pruning my fig back before my daughters wedding (Oct 2) there is a reaction with the sap and the sunlight look it up

[@homesteadmedic4848]

Awesome

[@patrickmoran5851]

Nice to know you can prune them back like that. Can I ask, did you save any of the “cuttings” to propagate. Just learned how easy they are to start. Enjoy following you!

[@mekay235]

Nice. Great job David and cutie pie.

[@bsdnfraje]

So timely. Heading home after closing on our house today, my wife was insistent that we have a fig tree. And a pomegranate. We saw one at another property 3 miles away that we considered in the search. It was about 15yo, and we'll pruned, you could tell. Also, at closing, the prior owners were able to clue me in about drainage and watershed. I waited until all docs were signed and the paralegal was off making copies to ask my questions, figuring there is now absolutely no incentive to conceal or minimize. He was able to give me a good idea how rainwater flows across the property, where the 2 spots are that get soggy after heavier rains, and that apparently there is a lone doe that wanders down the treeline at the north end of the clearing, and also what to expect hunting the small meadow thru the woods that he has established as a bait plot. So now I have a better idea where to put swales, roughly where to site my grocery row garden and how to orient my rows. Also, in the cleaned and emptied workshop, I found he left, very conspicuously, a Gideons pocket NT+Ps&P. It was very reassuring.

[@davidthegood]

Awesome! Congratulations!!!

[@loriirons9503]

That is amazing, it looks so good!

[@charlesbyrneShowComments4all]

I had thought my LSU gold fig was kaput after this year's hard freeze, because the only two branches that had growth were dead, but now there was so much new healthy growth that came out fruits. I didn't think she had it in her considering she was just two years old. Live and keep learning. If only the pomegranates would do as well.

[@TheOldGunsmith58]

our fig tree is about 4 years old now and has really topped out at about 10 ft this is the second year we have been able to keep the dogs from chewing it down to stubs and it has realy taken off this time . last year we got about 60 figs this year we stopped counting at 200.

[@erindepaz771]

My mom in-law in the Chicago area gifted me a little potted fig tree that a friend of hers had propagated from their fig tree. So we took it home in the car with us to TN (it was almost too tall to manage, but it worked). Every day it has gotten worse and worse. The leaves got limp, and now they’re wilted. I put it in partial shade. I watered it every day. Maybe the adjustment to the hotter, more humid climate was just too much after a long car ride. Would you mind offering your two cents? Should I just keep doing what I’m doing and hope for new growth to emerge? I was hoping to put it in my garden as a “grocery row” addition to my half blackberry, half vegetables garden.

[@pegsol3834]

I don't know the answer to your question, but I have a fig story. I had bought a fig tree, and other trees and plants before the Texas freeze. Everything looked terrible and we get scorching heat here and then hurricanes and floods etc. I just had to give up. This Spring almost every tree and plant came back. And my little fig tree is thriving in a big pot!

[@tyger13us]

I love figs,, to bad most people dont,, MORE for me,, LOL

[@kerrywatson8581]

Thanks so much for this. I'm in NZ so in about a month I'm going to prune my fig tree....hard!

[@koicaine1230]

Jenny is getting so big!!!

[@gardengatesopen]

Thanks for the update!! 👍

[@maroosk]

Beautiful trees

[@debbannon354]

Precious little sweetie! ❤ Thank you for the video update! Thinking now might be a good time to cut our fig tree back? We are in northeast Mississippi. Is it possible to get baby fig trees from what we cut off? What is the best way to do that? We appreciate all of your videos! Thanks!!

[@mattpeacock5208]

The wood you remove it's excellent for bbq!

[@taylorswf23]

What’s the best way to go forward from there- prune hard every year or choose a few of those limbs to grow on into a multi-trunk tree?

[@codedesigns9284]

As always, excellent advice! Awesome shirt! I would presume any/most trees are applicable? Have a great one! 😀

[@dans3718]

Amazing! Go figure...

[@babetteisinthegarden6920]

David I just thought I would let you know I'm looking into Purple Hull Pea and they are promoting both grow or die and grocery row gardening

[@davidthegood]

Cool! Who is?

[@babetteisinthegarden6920]

@@davidthegood I'm sorry I'm hot my brains are fried it is Amazon

[@betty8173]

That is beautiful, thanks for showing the 'after'...does she cover it in the winter? And the cute baby is a nice bonus : )

[@ajcsonsforge6370]

I've got a brown turkey fig that got hit with some heavy frost this past January so I pruned it down. I've gotten a ton of growth this year but no fruit this year. Any suggestions as to why.

[@LibertyNotLicense]

There was a fig tree in this video?! 😉

[@faithk_integrityandintention]

I was just thinking of asking for an update on the "mutilated" fig tree! Mom (in lower Louisiana) was just saying that she was losing her figs this year to the birds because she won't get on a ladder to harvest (my dad would, but he passed after harvest season last year). I wanted to prune it for her last year, and your video is what I saw, and I was like, yeah, no, that's just too much. But this is beautiful. When is the best time of year to prune it back? I'm heading back anytime between the end of this month and this fall.

[@davidthegood]

Best time is probably just before it wakes up in spring.

[@faithk_integrityandintention]

@@davidthegood Thanks. Maybe I'll go in February and do that for her then.

[@derekclawson4236]

I'm still afraid to prune stuff massively. Right before things wake this year in gonna butcher a few trees and see what happens. Perhaps the big unproductive pear tree and try bark grafting the stumps.

[@johndyer9232]

Yeah, a bumper crop of figs. The birds will love it, thank you very much. Oh except for covering it.

[@zanecrofts7085]

How would you prilune this tree yearly to keep at height but have new growth for fruiting