If your plant is less than 5 feet (1.5 m) tall, wait several weeks or months until the plant has grown more. See 5 Glamorous Fiddle-Leaf Fig Trees.) The first time you should be doing fig bush pruning is when you first transplant your young fig tree.

Notching – make a small cut just above a bud or growth node to encourage branching.

This loss of sap can weaken the plant and in extreme cases may cause death.

Growing a fig tree is easy, which explains why this particular fruit tree has such a long history of cultivation around the world. Secret No. Step 3 Keep all branches of the fig tree shorter than the trunk of the tree during the first four or five years of development. Before You Begin . If you are pruning a tall fig tree, the process and steps are the same, but the difference is, you will likely need a ladder and larger pruning equipment like a pruning saw.
It originates from southeastern Europe and western Asia and is one of the first plants that the humans cultivated. Dwarfing. How to Prune Fig Trees .

Before you decide How to Prune Fig Trees, it is first important to understand some of the most common fig trees.. Figs can either be grown on trees or bushes.

A light pruning can be done in mid-June to take out juvenile vertical sprouts. Buy THESE 3 Types of Fig Trees. While the thought of fiddle leaf fig pruning may seem intimidating, cutting back fiddle leaf figs is actually very easy. Pruning the fig tree is not difficult once you understand where the fruit is produced on the tree.. When to prune your tree depends on the variety of fig. Types of Pruning. The first time that you prune your fig tree will be during its first winter (period of dormancy). Prune your magnolia fig when dormant, either the fall or winter. You want your fig tree to direct its energy to root development rather than to getting bigger. Take note of the thickness of the limbs and branches so that you can determine which tools to use. When a fig tree is first planted, you should trim a fig tree back by about half. Figs form on terminals from the previous year’s growth, so once a fig tree is established, heavy pruning is not generally recommended for Black Mission figs. The best time to prune your fiddle leaf fig is in the spring when there will be plenty of light to fuel recovery and new growth.

How to Prune Fiddle Leaf Fig. You don’t want to prune the plant’s branches until the fig tree is well-established. This will allow the tree to focus on developing its roots and becoming well established. The most ideal time for pruning fiddle leaf fig is when it is actively growing, which is typically spring or early summer. Figs are grown from cuttings, not grafted, so in order to dwarf, restrict the root system. This makes the fig form more sideshoots with more leaf axils, which means more fruits next year.Pick of any larger, green figs on the main shoot so that the tree concentrates on the embryo fruits. There are many situations where you might want to prune a fig tree. The tree can survive quite happily without pruning, but if you want to maximize the size of the fruit and the overall yield, you should prune it soon after planting it and for the first two seasons after it becomes established. When to Prune. In the case of growing fig trees in a cooler climate, they grow better in a pot. Come spring, leaves will sprout. TIP: Expert gardening advisor, Karen Thurber adds, "If you prune an older tree heavily to rejuvenate it, white washing the trunk can help protect if from sunburn." Prune the branches of the fig tree immediately after the year's harvest, so that the tree has the entire dormant season to heal.

To Prune or Not to Prune Damaged Fiddle Leaf Fig Leaves Damaged leaves look bad, and certain conditions (like bacterial infections) can actually spread if those leaves are left on the tree. (To be fair, there’s nothing prettier than a healthy fiddle-leaf fig tree. Pruning A Tall Fig Tree. Tip pruning – pinch or cut off a few leaves. Fig trees will blossom and produce fruit without heavy pruning. This will be a severe pruning: You will reduce its size by about one half. Figs and other plants prone to bleeding, like acers and laburnum, should be pruned in winter to stop sap bleeding from the wounds.Pruning a fig tree at the wrong time, during spring for example, can cause them to bleed profusely.
Pruning and Shaping Your Fiddle Leaf Fig Plant. Fig trees grow well in the ground with 8 hours or more of sunlight and heat. Most fig trees grow up to 20 feet wide and up to 20 feet tall. ONCE AGAIN IN JUNE Even though you remove lots of limbs and shoots in winter, your fig will have no trouble sprouting plenty of leaves in April to nourish those sweet brown delicacies. Leaf scars are small, round marks found where your plant originally grew leaves. However, fiddle leaf figs are very sensitive to change, as every fiddle leaf fig owner knows, and removing leaves can send the tree into shock. The focus in pruning your fig tree at this point is on training it to remain a compact plant. If your ficus tree has thinned out more than usual, inspect your ficus for scars where leaves used to be. Inevitably, vertical shoots will arise. If you see any brown husks, leave them alone too—the hard covers could be protecting new growth. All pruning techniques are designed to encourage new growth These can be used on a fiddle leaf fig: Scoring – cutting into the cambium layer of the bark.