I live on the Sunshine Coast in B.C. within view of the ocean. My fig tree fruited quite well during the summer. It kept on producing more and more fruit and I now have hundreds of small immature figs although the leaves have all falled. Will these weaken the tree and affect next year's crop and should I take them all off? Should I prune the tree which is about 9' high? Many thanks for any help. Margaret
The common fig bears a first crop, called the "breba" crop, in the spring on last season's growth. The second crop, borne in the fall on the new growth, known as the "main crop", often do not ripen properly in the coastal BC weather because they need heat and sun to ripen. We are usually short on both counts at this time of the year, as the dreary, wet, down cast weather over the past few weeks would attest. They well simply soften and drop off. I have never had to remove them and my fig tree seems to perform well. Fig trees will produce with or without pruning. The general suggestion is to prune to suit the intended purpose for which the tree is grown - i.e. you can prune it to size, especially in it's early formative years. However, judging from my experience with our own fig tree, the main crop is the breba or spring crop. The fruits of the breba crop are borne on terminals of previous year's wood. The main crop has never had a long enough season to ripen. Therefore, heavy pruning now (in late fall or in winter) will reduce the following year's yield. In the first 2 years that I had the fig tree, this was not important, as the priority was to train the main structure of the tree. Pruning may well depend on the variety too. With late-ripening cultivars, it is recommended to summer prune half the branches and prune the remainder the following summer.
Thank you for the very informative reply. Your description of fruiting patterns very accurately describes my tree. I suppose that I enjoy the fruit so much that I want to maximize the crop. Our black lab is also a big fan of figs so I have to consider him as well!!! This is such a super site and is a fund of knowlegable people who are generous with their knowledge. Margaret
