what happened to my fig tree? (grow, grass, trees, mower)
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I bought a fig tree a while back at lowe's. It was mid to late summer and about a foot tall. Before winter came, I harvested 9 figs from it. I went to check on it in the early spring while cutting grass. Each branch (about 5) was black and very brittle, I assumed it had died so I ran over it with the mower. After a couple of weeks I saw new growth and got somewhat excited. It grew to about 18" tall but never produced fruit. This spring produced the same results (but I didn't run over it). The black crumbly branches are still there and new growth is now around 2 foot tall. It is early september and I still don't see any signs that it will bear fruit this year either....do I need a second tree? What's going on here?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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You ran over it with the mower, and it grew back from the stump. That's starting all over again. It was probably 2-3 years old when you bought it, so it may take another year or two before it fruits again. Trees will not fruit until the branches have the strength to take the added weight. Meanwhile, cut off the black branches, they are will attract pests and disease.
Unusually cold winters killed the top growth the past two winters. Don't start over. There is an amazing root system that is established beneath it. This year, you should protect the part above ground (chicken wire fence around it filled with fall leaves is perfect). If the top part survives you will see fruit next year.
Once you have growth that survives 3 winters you can stop protecting the tree. It will be hardy enough to withstand anything you get in SC.
Read up on how to shelter your fig tree. Figs can come back from ground level but that uses a lot of energy and doesn't leave a lot of energy to form fruit.
Figs are very susceptible to frost and freezing. If you will wrap that fig over the winter it might not freeze and it will have the energy to set fruit.
If you live where you always get a hard freeze in the winter, you might have to keep your fig tree in a pot and move it indoors over the winter. I get fruit from my fig trees in an area where winter temperatures routinely hit twenty below. But mine are in pots and living under grow lights.
I just ate two figs from the Chicago Hardy fig I got from Lowes 3-4 years ago. It died back to the ground two years ago and also has it's "brown crumbly" branches that died last winter.
The first year my chickens scratched it out of the ground and almost killed it. This is the first year I'm getting any fruit. So I think you may be OK if you just wait for a while to get fruit from it. Also I'm not sure that they normally graft fig trees.
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