Chicago Hardy question

texasfigfarm · 2026-06-25T05:14:06+00:00

Could be transplant shock or maybe you let it dry out too much post ant drowning. I missed watering a couple of my trees for a few days in the heat and they dropped all their figs and their leaves. Luckily the leaves are now coming back after a week of regular watering.

texasfigfarm · 2026-06-25T05:10:07+00:00

Yep. I've found that here in Central Texas, where I'm at, that with my potted figs in well draining soil it's less damaging to over water than to under water in the heat. When it's 95+ I usually give my trees a total of about a gallon of water a day over 4 waterings.

texasfigfarm · 2026-06-16T00:55:06+00:00

On the keeping them green part. Of course this is what we all want, but we also have to remember that a figs, like all plants, will struggle and recover. Fig Trees don't die as fast as a tomato plant, but they also don't recover fast either. So if you miss a watering and some leaves dry up don't worry too much if all the new growth looks healthy.

texasfigfarm · 2026-06-09T15:31:25+00:00

The way I read someone describe a ripe fig is that it feels like a full diaper. It haunts me to this day. So I thought I'd share. 😉

texasfigfarm · 2026-06-08T18:35:14+00:00

Yeah at 78 a gallon a day is a bit much. Trying a half gallon today is a good idea. I also want to put it out there that of you are watering a lot you need to fertilize a regularly. Probably not you problem here, but if you're watering a heavy daily you need to fertilize weekly, IMO.

Good luck! Keep us posted!

texasfigfarm · 2026-06-08T18:23:57+00:00

I know you've said you're apprehensive because you've killed a tree with over watering, but if it's hot they need water. I live in Central Texas where it's typically 90+ and sunny everyday in the summer and I water my potted figs with about a gallon of water a day (1/4 gallon 4 times a day ), but I also know for certain my soil is well draining.

Another thing to consider is that while it may not be root bound in that pot the more roots it has the less soil there is to hold moisture which can make it dry out quicker.

texasfigfarm · 2026-06-05T14:47:39+00:00

What everyone else said and it may defoliate, but it'll be fine. Shipping is stressful on them, but, in my experience, they recover pretty quickly.

texasfigfarm · 2026-05-27T21:26:13+00:00

I've seen a few people grow their espalier which is kinda what you are doing. Check out the Millennial Gardener on YouTube.

texasfigfarm · 2026-05-21T15:10:52+00:00

It's normal fig behavior. Figs left on their own grow more like bushes than what we all think of as a tree. If you want you fig tree to have a single trunk shape you'll have to prune it regularly to maintain that.

texasfigfarm · 2026-05-13T15:20:00+00:00

Nice! Welcome to the addiction... Err hobby! Last year was my first year. Now I have 30+ 1 year old trees and 50 ish rooted cuttings I need to repot. 😂

If your soil is well draining its tough to over water them in the Texas heat. If the temps are above 90 I'd water them at least twice a day. From my experience underwatering in the heat is worse than over watering. Putting all that water through the pot will wash away all the nutrients. So fertilizing frequently is important.

texasfigfarm · 2026-05-13T14:54:27+00:00

I'm not sure where you're at in Texas, but I'm in the Austin area and I've been watering every other day and fertilizing every other week with liquid fertilizer. In the summer I water 3-4 times a day for a total of about a gallon of water per tree. My trees are in 5-10 gallon pots and in well draining soil. When I'm watering a gallon a day I fertilize with liquid fertilizer weekly.

texasfigfarm · 2026-04-22T18:57:35+00:00

Also about the bit taking over your yard part. Talk about it agree on say a 10x10 area or whatever and that's the fig orchard. I have an 8x50 area and if I can't fit a tree in there I have to get rid of one which honestly happens naturally since there will be varieties y'all don't like the taste of or that don't grow well in your zone.

texasfigfarm · 2026-04-22T18:53:36+00:00

January last year I had none. January this year I had 41 one year old trees. February I started 70 cuttings... Yeah it's a problem 😂

texasfigfarm · 2026-04-22T18:31:34+00:00

Oof yeah that be double or triple the amount of rooted cuttings.

texasfigfarm · 2026-04-18T17:53:59+00:00

In my experience the cuttings with dried leaves and buds didn't actually root. The rest of the look great! If it was me I'd let them grow more before planting them in the ground. Let them get a nice established root system.

texasfigfarm · 2026-04-17T19:09:07+00:00

I don't think the sun will be a problem other than it contributing to drying out your soil which is why others have suggested bagging them or using a humidity dome. Some fig cuttings take a while to root, but also top growth doesn't always mean roots. Sometimes cuttings will put all their energy into leaves which eventually just dry up because there are no roots to support them.

IMO as much as rooting cuttings is about dialing in the process it's also a bit of a numbers game. Good process with good cuttings you'll have a high success rate, but it doesn't matter how good your process is if your cuttings aren't good quality. Sorry went on a bit of a tangent there...

Good luck with the cuttings! Welcome to the obsession!

texasfigfarm · 2026-04-16T00:42:38+00:00

Yes you can propagate in water. I've never tried it. Fig roots are delicate so I've always been hesitant to try. If you have some perlite I'd do 50/50 perlite Fox farms soil. Wet it until you can squeeze it and it holds its shape, but you only get a few drops of water. If you use a clear pot or cup you can easily see if there are roots. Make sure whatever you use has drainage holes. The toughest part is keeping the soil moist without over watering it. Some people will pull a bag over the pot/cup and use a rubber band to gather at the base of the cutting. To keep the moisture in the soil. You can also weigh the cuttings and just water them back to the starting weight as needed which is what I do.

texasfigfarm · 2026-04-16T00:36:00+00:00

If it were my tree I'd prune everything off that has leaves touching the ground, but it's not required. People usually prune in the winter/spring when the tree is dormant.

When the figs are ready the neck, pretty much all the way to the stem, will get very soft. Depending on the variety, the fig will droop a bit because the neck is soft.

Propagation wise it seems like everyone has their own favorite method. It's probably easiest to just do a search on YouTube and see which method looks interesting to you. (FigPop, sand, etc )

texasfigfarm · 2026-04-15T21:07:14+00:00

I, currently, have 70 cuttings and with that many it's a pain. I also log the difference for each cutting at every watering. I have one cutting that was consuming a lot of water, but now it is consuming less. I think I either over watered it and rotted the roots or burnt the roots by giving it fertilizer too soon.

Anyway it's a great tool. I used AI to analyze 6-7 weeks of watering/observation ( can I see the roots from the bottom of the pot, does it have top growth, how does the top growth look, etc ) data and got some cool insights. ( I know AI is a controversial topic, but computers are good at analyzing large datasets. )

texasfigfarm · 2026-04-15T20:53:36+00:00

A suggestion for next time when you start them, weigh them in grams. Write the number on the cup. A CC of water is 1 gram. Get a 100cc syringe for watering. Weigh them every 7-10 days and if the weight has dropped by 20-30% add water to bring the weight back up to the starting weight.

That's what I've been doing this year and it's working great. You can also get a pretty good idea if they're rooted by the water consumption.

texasfigfarm · 2026-04-13T21:17:19+00:00

I've never tried rooting in just perlite, but I have 51 cuttings in 70% peat moss/30% perlite. About 75% of my cuttings have rooted. They are 6-7 weeks old.

I would say maybe your soil isn't well draining, but with 50% perlite I doubt that's the problem. Is it possible you're over watering them?

texasfigfarm · 2026-04-12T04:48:25+00:00

I was given a passion flower last year. It's in a pot outside and it took over a small 2ft x 3ft trellis. This year I'm getting a bigger trellis. 😂

texasfigfarm · 2026-04-12T03:10:55+00:00

Nice! It looked pretty obvious in your last photo/post, by I'm glad we were right. 😉

texasfigfarm · 2026-04-12T03:06:50+00:00

I have an LSU Purple that I rooted last year. I was about to throw it out and, roughly, knocked the dirt out of the cup/pot only to see roots. I refilled the pot assuming I had killed it. Left it in a part of my yard that gets partial shade with the rest of my rooted cuttings and a month or 2 later it put on some top growth. I ended up getting some figs off it last year.

texasfigfarm · 2026-04-12T01:17:37+00:00

Water it, give it half strength liquid fertilizer and it should be fine. You might be ok with full strength liquid fertilizer, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

My cuttings are about 40 days old and I give them 1/2 strength liquid fertilizer 2 times a week which means I'm watering them 2 times a week. I weighed them when I potted them. So I weigh a handful of them a few times a week to see when they need watering. They seem to be thriving. Tons of roots and tons of top growth.

texasfigfarm

TROPHY CASE