I recently bought a small tree by mail. It seems dead to me...kinda bent over. What concerns me more is that the branches are gray. The seller says that it is merely dormant, but the color concerns me.
Would gray branches be from being dormant or is it just dead?
Regards, John
Kadota Fig Tree Dormant?
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The top still looks o.k. As long as the stem is not rotting, it may be all right. It is probably a lateral branch. If you take a cutting from a lateral branch, it has a memory and will want to grow more laterally or bushy. If the branch came from the top, it would grow more like a tree. I would have preferred a thicker branch myself.
I have a brown turkey that was grown from a lateral branch. I had initially tried to get it to grow into a tree form, but I have since decided not to fight nature and let it grow the way it wants to.
I have a brown turkey that was grown from a lateral branch. I had initially tried to get it to grow into a tree form, but I have since decided not to fight nature and let it grow the way it wants to.
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applestar
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- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Edible fig branches that have died I think tend to get wrinkly and shriveled up, and turn reddish then black. Yours look plump and healthy to me, and the grey looks sort of shimmery like normal healthy fig bark. One simple test is to flick it with a finger — it should feel and sound solid not dry and hollow, or mushy.
At this young stage you don’t have extra to waste, but my other test for more mature, larger tree is to bend the branch and see if it snaps or resists. Once the tree is established and growing every which way, you will find yourself hacking off a lot of the branches, which you could root and grow more, but even that becomes too tedious and then they are just mulch and compost.....)
I have a White Marseilles that is acting the way imafan describes.
Try to straighten it out and tie in three places to the support stake for now. If some of the roots end up being lifted out and become exposed, pile more potting soil up the base to evenly cover the exposed roots. The fig won’t mind.
At this young stage you don’t have extra to waste, but my other test for more mature, larger tree is to bend the branch and see if it snaps or resists. Once the tree is established and growing every which way, you will find yourself hacking off a lot of the branches, which you could root and grow more, but even that becomes too tedious and then they are just mulch and compost.....)
I have a White Marseilles that is acting the way imafan describes.
Try to straighten it out and tie in three places to the support stake for now. If some of the roots end up being lifted out and become exposed, pile more potting soil up the base to evenly cover the exposed roots. The fig won’t mind.
You are right. The grey color is natural. It will turn black and the core will turn brown and rot. Mine does not always shrivel when it dies, it just gets soft and hollow. Figs root fairly easily, as long as you let the latex have time to dry and the end to callus off. Branches grown from mature trees will fruit in 1 gallon pots.
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applestar
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- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Keep us posted — I would love to hear how your Kadota does in NYC climate. I currently have the White Marseilles (one in container, one in the ground) that have not fruited yet, Chicago Hardy — 2 in the ground, older one grows to over 7 feet tall/wide each season and fruits prolifically), and 2 Petite Nigra which is a Zone 8 in containers that need to be overwintered in the unheated garage in dormant state, but bear wonderfully sweet fruits.