pruning/cutting back out door figs in teh Northeast, when?

ponnie1996

13 years ago

I have some trees that I did not cover left out and partially exposed this harsh winter. I sprayed them with wilt pruf in the fall and it appears that some of the branches are still greenish but other are partially orange/rust color which indicates that those branches are goners.

When should I cut back the rust branches down to the green section of the branch? is it to early to do it now? will I harm them if done now since the temps are still falling into the low 30s and sometimes upper 20 overnight?

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Comments (4)

taxus_man
13 years ago
I would wait until new growth starts. Even though I cover mine, there is some dieback every year. Careful of frost killing new leaves. I once found a fig in Orange NJ that died back to the ground, came back and produced that year.
noss
13 years ago
Hi Taxus-man,

Isn't taxus Japanese Yew? That taxus sounds familiar somehow.

Did you get cuttings from that tree in Orange?

I grew up in East Orange and never saw a fig tree in all my young life and they were probably all around me and because I was told figs didn't grow that far North, I wasn't looking for them. Still, if I had see one, I'd have known what it was by the leaves.

I always wondered why there was an Orange, East Orange, West Orange and South Orange, but no North Orange... They were just all called, The Oranges, collectively.

noss
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taxus_man
13 years ago
Yes, taxus is the Latin for yew. I lived in EO from 1954 to 1992. In the early days you could tell an Italian household by the wrapped fig tree in winter in the back yard. Things have changed. I brought my fig to OH when I moved here and have enjoyed many tasty figs. The section of Orange around Washington St from Day St to Main ST WO was called North Orange. Why is NJ like a tree? It has a Long Branch and 4 Oranges.-- Herman
noss
13 years ago
Now my husband tells me he knew that area was called North Orange, but doesn't think it was a true city with N.O. in the address. And I thought he'd told me everything!!!

We both got a laugh out of the riddle. Thanks.

We have one Japanese Yew left in our front yard. It is the kind with the long, wide leaves and was here when we bought the house in May 1967 and the two yews were mature back then. When we added a double carport to our house, they took out the one on the right side of the house front, but I wouldn't let them take out the one on the left because there was no reason to do so. The house was built in the 1950s and the yews were probably the builders' choice of plants at the time because they are all over the subdivision. They just won't give up living and have the spirit of the fig tree, IMO. I'll have to let the yew know how much I value it when I'm outside tomorrow. Looks like my yew is an elder..... ;)

noss