Love this way of growing! Could you grow a fig tree with this kind of form.. By laying down branches and cutting them out after fruiting?? Similar to vineyard grapes grown for wine, or would it not work? What do you recommend?
Figs can be fan trained but not quite in the same way. The fruiting habit - when and where fruit buds (and later fruit) develop - largely dictates the pruning methods. As figs have a different habit, pruning needs to be adapted to suit. I talk about figs and pruning on this video: th-cam.com/video/SbRNcfeOYxo/w-d-xo.html - hope it helps 🙂
Your instinct is correct, in that you probably want to cut back the main stem, but I think you may want to cut it further down. First, you should decide what form you want to train it in. For a bush, one would head it closer to the ground - perhaps 12 inches or so above the graft. A bush is trained in a similar way to a standard or half-standard - it is just the starting height that is different. Essentially, you cut the leader (main stem) a little above the height where you want the main branches to start. You want to see an arrangement of well placed buds or young side shoots that can develop into perhaps four or five main branches. There are other methods of training where the leader is left, but for a bush you want to cut it back much lower than 6ft. I hope that helps.
@@jonnyskitchengarden thank you for the advice, I'll try and put the information into practice. not sure if its a good time to prune as the tree is coming out of dormancy
You should make those formative cuts soon, but stone fruits should not be pruned when dormant. The sort of pruning you need to do can be done after bud break, so wait until the leaves / young shoots have appeared - should be just a few more weeks I would think. After that, general pruning is best done in the summer for these, and never in the winter.
Yes, there are a few options. Like you, I have been removing them by hand and that’s the best way to start with in my opinion. They are often removed later as part of the pruning process so I don’t worry about it too much. If numbers continue to build up, though, I might try a spray of soft soap - I use an organic liquid Castile soap made from olive oil. If applied in the evening, it’s pretty benign stuff. If things get worse still, I might resort to something based on pyrethrins but prefer not to. There are other sprays available that can control scale but I don’t use them. There is also a biological control - some sort of nematode that can be sprayed on. I haven’t tried that yet but have had good results with biological controls for red spider mite. We generally have a healthy population of ladybirds and lacewings - not sure why - both of which are supposed to feed on the young, but their numbers usually lag a bit so it can take a while before pest populations are brought under control so a helping hand is needed early in the season.
Great information. Thank you! 🌿
Love this way of growing!
Could you grow a fig tree with this kind of form.. By laying down branches and cutting them out after fruiting?? Similar to vineyard grapes grown for wine, or would it not work? What do you recommend?
Figs can be fan trained but not quite in the same way. The fruiting habit - when and where fruit buds (and later fruit) develop - largely dictates the pruning methods. As figs have a different habit, pruning needs to be adapted to suit. I talk about figs and pruning on this video:
th-cam.com/video/SbRNcfeOYxo/w-d-xo.html - hope it helps 🙂
I just bought a Peach tree on a SJA rootstock. its quite tall. should I pinch out the main stem to keep it around 6ft and concentrate it into a bush?
Your instinct is correct, in that you probably want to cut back the main stem, but I think you may want to cut it further down. First, you should decide what form you want to train it in. For a bush, one would head it closer to the ground - perhaps 12 inches or so above the graft. A bush is trained in a similar way to a standard or half-standard - it is just the starting height that is different. Essentially, you cut the leader (main stem) a little above the height where you want the main branches to start. You want to see an arrangement of well placed buds or young side shoots that can develop into perhaps four or five main branches. There are other methods of training where the leader is left, but for a bush you want to cut it back much lower than 6ft. I hope that helps.
@@jonnyskitchengarden thank you for the advice, I'll try and put the information into practice. not sure if its a good time to prune as the tree is coming out of dormancy
You should make those formative cuts soon, but stone fruits should not be pruned when dormant. The sort of pruning you need to do can be done after bud break, so wait until the leaves / young shoots have appeared - should be just a few more weeks I would think. After that, general pruning is best done in the summer for these, and never in the winter.
Jonny when you say deal with the scale insects later , in which way , I have been removing them by hand , is there another way, kind regards rog
Yes, there are a few options. Like you, I have been removing them by hand and that’s the best way to start with in my opinion. They are often removed later as part of the pruning process so I don’t worry about it too much. If numbers continue to build up, though, I might try a spray of soft soap - I use an organic liquid Castile soap made from olive oil. If applied in the evening, it’s pretty benign stuff. If things get worse still, I might resort to something based on pyrethrins but prefer not to. There are other sprays available that can control scale but I don’t use them.
There is also a biological control - some sort of nematode that can be sprayed on. I haven’t tried that yet but have had good results with biological controls for red spider mite. We generally have a healthy population of ladybirds and lacewings - not sure why - both of which are supposed to feed on the young, but their numbers usually lag a bit so it can take a while before pest populations are brought under control so a helping hand is needed early in the season.