When to Prune Fig Trees – The Expert Timing for Healthy Growth and a Generous Harvest
There are two times in the year that are ideal for pruning figs
The best times to prune a fig tree is late winter or early spring, but some pruning can be done in summer, too. The reason for pruning is different at each time of year. In late winter, pruning is important to shape the tree and remove unwanted growth, whereas in summer, a lighter prune helps direct the tree’s energy and encourages more fruit.
Knowing how to prune a fig tree is important, but getting the timing right is just as crucial if you want a healthy tree and a reliable crop of delicious figs.
Figs are relatively easy fruit trees to grow, thriving in the ground or in containers, and their large, architectural leaves and spreading form can bring a Mediterranean feel to a garden. With the right care and a well-timed prune, they can also reward you with an abundant harvest year after year. We love the Fiskars Bypass Pruners, which you can find at Target, and would make light work of pruning a fig tree.
Pruning a Fig Tree in Late Winter or Early Spring
Figs should only be pruned at certain times of year
When growing fig trees, it is important to pick the right time of year to prune. This helps to ensure the trees are healthy and will give you a bumper crop of figs to harvest. The right time to prune fig trees is during their dormant season and after the leaves have dropped from these deciduous trees.
Tim Marshall, head gardener at Raby Castle & Estates, advises that ‘the best time to prune a fig tree is during late winter or early spring, before the new growth begins’.
It is the safest time to prune the fruit trees as they can cope with pruning better when dormant and frosts are not going to cause damage to the wounds.
Timing the pruning just before it starts growing again means the tree will quickly be able to start healing the cuts.
‘This is typically around February or March, depending on your location. Pruning during this time helps to promote new growth and maintain the overall shape and size of the tree,’ Tim adds.
Check our latest guide to be sure you are using the right pruning tools for the job.
Pruning a Fig Tree in Summer
The winter pruning of figs consists of shaping the tree and removing dead, damaged, and diseased wood. As well as the winter or early spring pruning, there can also be a light summer pruning.
This summer prune offers many advantages. It encourages the growth of new fruit-bearing shoots and gets sun into the developing fruits.
Summer pruning should take place in July and it will encourage fruitlet formation. It’s the fruitlets that overwinter and give us our fig crop, so the more of those, the bigger our future yields.
What Could Happen if You Prune a Fig Tree at The Wrong Time
You do not want to make the pruning mistake of getting out the pruning shears at the wrong time of year. Pruning at the wrong time would be a big mistake growing figs as you could lose crops, and it has the potential to jeopardise the overall health of the tree.
While it may not ultimately kill the tree, as figs are resolute fruit trees to grow, it can leave them vulnerable and their health and productivity can suffer as a result.
Tim Marshall says that pruning at the right time ‘allows the tree to heal properly and minimises the risk of disease and pests’. While cutting at the wrong time can do the opposite, also causing the tree to put its energy into repairing wounds rather than producing fruit. This means any fig harvest will be smaller than it could be.
He says: ‘Pruning too early in the winter, before the tree goes fully dormant, may lead to increased vulnerability to cold temperatures. Pruning too late in the spring, after new growth has started, can result in excessive sap flow and weaken the tree’s overall structure.’
It is not recommended to prune fig trees in fall as the tree will still be actively growing at this time and will therefore bleed sap from any pruning wounds. It is always advisable to wait until the fig tree is dormant in winter or early spring to do any pruning.
Figs will bleed a lot of sap if they are pruned during the summer, so any cutting at that time needs to be light. Not only does losing a lot of sap weaken the tree, but it also leaves the tree vulnerable to infection as pests, which can carry disease, are attracted to the oozing sap.
Pruning too much in September, for instance, will leave the fig tree more susceptible to winter weather, with any growth it does put on as a result of the early pruning not being able to handle the cold.
As well as excessive sap loss, pruning after midsummer won’t give the tree enough time to produce branches that will carry fruitlets for next year’s harvest.
Tim Marshall, Raby Castle’s head gardener, has had a career which spans nearly three decades and has taken him all over the world. Now working across Raby Estates in the UK, Tim is leading the transformation of the walled garden and the grounds to the north of the castle in the project known as The Rising – working with other high profile garden designers as well as his home team.
What to Shop
If you are looking for something a little more unique to grow in the house, then figs can also be one of the best indoor fruit trees.
They can be kept compact in a container and, by restricting them in pots, it stimulates the tree to grow fruit rather than lots of foliage. Give them a sunny spot and figs will grow happily in a container indoors.
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