Pruning fig trees at the right time is key to keeping them healthy and productive. While dormant season pruning in winter helps establish structure summer pruning is equally important for vigor fruit production, and disease prevention.
In this complete guide, we’ll cover when, why, and how to prune fig trees in summer. Follow these tips for strong, lush trees and abundant sweet figs!
When to Prune Fig Trees in Summer
Aim to prune figs
- In early to mid-summer, June-July in most zones.
- After the first crop of figs forms and begins to ripen.
- Before the second late crop sets fruit in late summer.
Pruning too early risks damaging emerging figs. Pruning too late removes wood that will bear next year’s crop.
How Often to Summer Prune Fig Trees
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Vigorous varieties that put out a lot of growth annually benefit from summer pruning every year.
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Slower growing figs only need occasional summer pruning every 2-3 years.
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Container figs usually require annual summer pruning to control size.
Why Summer Pruning is Beneficial
Summer pruning offers many advantages:
- Removes unwanted new growth that blocks light and air.
- Opens up the canopy to improve disease prevention.
- Controls size and shape on fast growers.
- Allows more sunlight to aid ripening.
- Stimulates fruit bud development for the next year.
- Increases air flow to decrease fungal issues.
- Improves fruit quality, size, and taste.
How to Summer Prune Fig Trees
Follow these steps:
Remove Unproductive Growth
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Cut out diseased, dead, broken, or rubbing branches.
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Remove shoots growing straight up or down that won’t bear fruit.
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Thin congested areas and crisscrossing branches.
Shorten Extension Growth
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Cut back current season’s shoots by at least one-third.
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Prioritize thinning and shortening vertical shoots.
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Remove or cut back growth shading developing figs.
Shape and Contain Growth
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Prune for an open vase shape, widening as it grows taller.
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For containers, prune to limit size and direct growth inward.
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Make cuts just above an outward facing bud or side shoot.
Clean Tools and Paint Cuts
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Disinfect tools before and after pruning to prevent disease spread.
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Seal larger wound cuts with tree paint to prevent infection.
What to Avoid When Summer Pruning Figs
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Don’t remove more than one-third of total growth.
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Avoid heavy pruning right before dormancy.
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Don’t leave branch stubs – cut back to a bud.
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Don’t prune heavily after fruit sets.
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Avoid pruning during hot, stressful weather.
Signs Your Fig Needs Summer Pruning
Watch for these indicators:
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Becoming very large and unruly.
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New growth is mostly vertical and forms a dense interior.
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Lower and interior branches losing vigor.
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Fig clusters shaded by new shoots.
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Noticing disease, fungi, insects, or other issues.
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Poor fruit ripening on new growth.
Summer Pruning Tools
You don’t need fancy tools:
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Bypass hand pruners for small shoots.
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Loppers for thicker branches.
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Pruning saw for old wood over 2 inches across.
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Disinfectant spray to clean tools.
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Tree sealant for large wound cuts.
Tips for Summer Fig Pruning
Follow these best practices:
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Remove up to one-third of total growth when summer pruning.
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Time summer pruning between fig crops in early summer.
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Focus on removing unhealthy, unproductive, and congested growth.
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Cut back extension shoots by at least one-third.
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Open up the center to improve air circulation.
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Direct growth outward for an open, vase-shaped habit.
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Disinfect tools before and after to prevent disease spread.
Benefits of Summer Fig Pruning
Summer pruning provides many benefits:
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Keeps trees a manageable size for their space.
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Allows more light into the canopy to ripen fruit.
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Stimulates fruit bud development for the next year.
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Removes unattractive, unproductive new shoots.
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Reduces disease issues like fig rust and leaf spot.
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Extends the productive lifespan of fig trees.
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Makes harvest easier without damaging branches.
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Improves fruit quality, flavor, and yields.
Enjoy Abundant Fruit With Proper Summer Pruning
Paying attention to summer pruning, in addition to winter dormant pruning, results in vigorous, healthy, and highly productive fig trees. Follow these tips and you’ll be rewarded with plentiful crops of sweet, delicious homegrown figs.
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Fans – pruning and training
Fan training is an attractive and productive way to train a fig tree against a sunny wall or fence. You will need to attach horizontal wires to the support, spaced 30cm (1ft) apart. Spreading out the branches in a fan shape aids fruit ripening, as does the heat that radiates from a warm wall. Fan-trained figs need pruning twice a year. For advice on training newly planted fig trees to form a fan, see our guide to fan-training.
Start pruning once the danger of long, hard frosts has passed:
- Cut down on about a third of the young shoots that formed last year, leaving a 2 5cm (1in) stub and aiming for good spacing. If you want, you can get rid of long shoots that don’t have little fruitlets at the end.
- Take out all of the replacement shoots if you don’t want them to grow, like if they would be too crowded or in the wrong place.
- On fully grown fans, cut off one or two older, bare, overly-long branches to 5–8cm (2–3in) stubs to make room for new shoots. Cut back hard any shoots that are growing outward, and get rid of any shoots that are growing inward toward the wall or fence.
- Connect new shoots to the wires and spread them out like a fan.
- As new shoots develop, tie them to the support
- In early summer, cut off the tip of every other young shoot that has five leaves. This will encourage branching and stop the tree from making fruit that won’t ripen. Wear gloves and long-sleeved clothes to protect your hands from the sap that may ooze from the cuts.
- Stop cutting back new growth by the middle of summer. That’s when the shoot tips will start to form the embryonic fruitlets for next year’s crop. If you prune after mid-summer, the new growth won’t have time to make fruit embryos before the end of the growing season. This means that the tree won’t bear figs the next year.
- Remove the larger figs that failed to ripen. Next year’s crop will only come from the pea-sized embryonic figs at the tips of the shoots.
When and how to prune
You should prune your trees twice a year: after the last hard frost in early to mid-spring and again in early to mid-summer. When you prune figs, remember that the sap can be irritating, so wear gloves and start pruning at the plant’s base and work your way up to avoid drips.
For best results, follow these simple guidelines, whether you’re pruning a fan or bush-trained fig:
- When you prune in the spring, keep in mind that your crop will grow from the pea-sized fruitlets that form on the tips of shoots that grew the previous year. Some of these may need to be pruned in the spring, but make sure you leave a lot of them alone. If you want, keep the smaller shoots with tiny fruitlets at the ends.
- Fig trees tend to grow long shoots and branches that are bare. Cutting these off short doesn’t help much; instead, prune hard to push new shoots low down. Cut back branches to 5–8 cm (2–3 in) long and young shoots to 2 5cm (1in) long .
- If you’re pruning in early spring, you should either leave the branch or shoot alone or cut it back hard. Always keep plenty of new shoots unpruned .
- From early to mid-summer, pinch out the tip of new shoots when they have five leaves. This will make them branch out more instead of growing longer.
In early summer, pinch out the shoot tips after five leaves
How to Prune Fig Trees for BIG Harvests
FAQ
What is the best month to prune fig trees?
However, it’s now advised that fig trees should be pruned in spring. Figs should be pruned after the risk of frost has passed but before the tree starts to grow new leaves. Figs should be pruned twice a year in: Early to mid spring.
Do figs fruit on new or old wood?
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New Growth is Key:Fig trees produce their primary fruit (the main crop) on the new growth that emerges each spring. This means the figs develop on the current year’s branches and shoots.
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Breba Figs:Some fig varieties also produce a first crop called “breba figs” on one-year-old stems (the previous year’s growth). However, the main crop is still produced on the new wood.
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Pruning for Production:Pruning fig trees is often done to encourage more new growth, which in turn promotes a larger and more prolific main crop of figs.
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Light is Essential:Like many fruits, fig production is also influenced by sunlight. Ensuring that branches are exposed to adequate light through pruning can help maximize fruit production.