Winter Pruning of Figs in Plant Doctor

 PLANT DOCTOR Pruning Figs:  Ficus carica is the edible fig that hails from the Mediterranean. <p>Fig trees aren’t quite as ubiquitous as citrus trees are in the produce garden but they are still a firm favourite.</p> What's not to like? They are delicious to eat fresh and or dried, plus nothing beats home grown figs.  There are a few different types:  <ul><li>'Black Genoa' is typically a large growing fig tree and not suitable for small back yards. This is a fast growing heavy cropping tree that produces large sweet purple skinned fruit. Good for inlan Australia but not so good on the far north coast.</li> </ul> <ul><li>White genoa-great for drying about half the size of black genoa: also grows well in cooler areas.</li> <li>Brown Turkey  good for eating fresh, is a very hardy tree that does well in inland areas.</li> <li>White Adriatic-a green skinned medium to large fruit.</li> <li>Dwarf Brown Slow growing and compact this small tree can be kept at about 1 - 1.5 m in height. Great for small spaces and pots and smaller backyards</li> </ul> There’s a only few things you need to know when attending to those trees and believe it or not, winter time is one of those times. In fact, winter time is the time you need to go out and take a look at your fig tree, assessing it for what to prune and what to leave <a href='https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tZfdHjrnsGc/YRzC74vUciI/AAAAAAAAk1Y/BGckNLsOGGwNqG5MeVYo3nxTzOGEgkMnQCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/fig%2Bfruit.jpg'></a>   <ul><li>When you first get your fig tree, prune the tree by half; cut it back to 3 or 4 branches.</li> <li>Prunings can be used to propagate more trees as the cuttings take root very easily.</li> </ul> TIP: figs like to grow in shallow soil which has been enriched with limestone.  <ul><li>pH 8 is an ideal for figs, and you can do this by adding crusher dust to the soil. </li> <li>What is crusher dust?</li> <li>Crusher dust is a blend of small crushed blue metal rocks and finer dust.</li> <li>Either add it to your pot or to the soil.</li>