Return to the Gardening in the UK Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
figs??
| | |
Posted by Suiko Oxford, England (My Page) on Tue, Aug 30, 05 at 7:49
| How to get edible fruit?
My plant, in a pot in a warm microclimate in S England, produces huge numbers of fruitlets but rarely anything edible. I understand you have to pull off small fruits at certain times of year. Having had nothing this year, I'd like to try to make sure I get something next. So what should I do? What size fruits should I leave on the plant?
Cheers!
|
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: figs??
| | |
| Any decent-sized fig in a pot will probably need to be watered every day of the summer, they need loads of water. You should also feed them regularly. Use a fruiting fertiliser once spring is over to help develop the fruit instead of growing more branches. Which variety do you have? Brown Turkey? Starting in spring, remove any visible small figs. This will allow next year's crop to develop fully without the plant trying to mature half-dead overwintered figs. The branches that grew in the previous year will have tiny fig buds ready to develop so prune out weak branches but don't prune out all of the previous year's growth. |
RE: figs??
| | |
- Posted by Suiko Oxford, England (My Page) on
Wed, Aug 31, 05 at 9:19
| Thanks. No idea what variety it is, I'm afraid. Certainly drinks a lot of water tho. Do I need to remove the figs that are on the plant now, or just do it in spring? |
RE: figs??
| | |
| Shrubs is essentially right but in very favoured areas the overwintering figs can ripen too. My in laws and my parents have ripe figs at present from last year's figlets plus new ones coming. But they do live on the S coast. |
RE: figs??
| | |
- Posted by Suiko Oxford, England (My Page) on
Fri, Sep 2, 05 at 7:45
| Mine stays outside pretty much all winter here in Oxford, and only comes in when it goes below -5 o -6 (usually not more than a week or so). I've left figlets on all winter before, but they always seem to end up falling off. |
RE: figs??
| | |
| It doesn't need to come indoors at all Suiko. You're making work for yourself unless you want to try for two crops. Even my lemon only comes in from Dec to March and the fig stays out in all weathers. |
RE: figs??
| | |
- Posted by Suiko Oxford, England (My Page) on
Mon, Sep 5, 05 at 5:26
| Yeah, that's the SW tho! We get -10 the odd night and pots get frozen solid. Two crops?! Just a couple of figs would be nice :-) |
RE: figs??
| | |
| I get loads of figs but they all fall off over the winter .. I lost 49 last winter.. I think it's the winter gales :( but in the summer there's hardly a breeze in my garden and it's a suntrap, regularly 34C cos of all the walls .. and yes I water the fig a LOT |
RE: figs??
| | |
| Wise to cover the plant with something to keep frost/wind off for winter. If you go to Lincoln just take a look at the city walls near the cathedral, its full of figs every year. |
RE: figs??
| | |
if you remove the small figs as they formbefore and in the winter it is supposed to give the plant more energy to ripen the summer crop so you should get one good crop a year you can also remove say 10% of the summer crop so the plant has less work yo do in our less than perfect climate
i have to add this is not from personal experience it is from an old victorian manor garden book but it seems logical
good luck
steve
oh btw where in oxford are you my gran lives in summertown and she has a great micro-climate i really envy her |
|
|
|
|
