How to Prune a Fig Tree in the Fall

Fig trees benefit from pruning to improve structural development when they are young. Due to the relatively slow growth habit of fig trees, mature figs are rarely pruned. Light pruning can be done to remove broken or damaged branches or to lightly thin the branching to increase fruit harvests. Fig trees should be pruned in the late fall or winter when the tree is in its dormancy.

Things You'll Need

• Long handled loppers
• Hand saw

Instructions

1. Prune your young fig tree into a single trunk, tree shape or allow it to develop into its natural form with multiple trunks and a large rounded, shrub shape according to your preference. Remove branches and sucker growth on the lower third of the trunk with loppers or a hand saw when the tree is one to three years of age to establish and maintain an upright tree form.

2. Prune away any dying, damaged or diseased branches or limbs each year in the late fall or winter to prevent disease or damage from spreading. Cut down to the point where you reach healthy wood, placing the cut an inch or so above a leaf node.

3. Thin the branching of older fig trees that are producing reduced fruit harvests every few years if needed. Remove up to one-third of the oldest branches to stimulate new branch growth, for larger fruit production on remaining branches and to stimulate more fruit on the new branches once they mature.

References

• Fort Valley State Univesity College of Agriculture: Pruning Fig Trees
• Texas A&M: Home Fruit Production Figs