Hi Laura441,
I have 4 fig trees that I have had about 4 years now. They do okay because I get figs every year since the first summer. 3 are brown turkey figs and the other one is a celeste. Let me share a true story with you: I bought and gave a brown turkey fig to my next door neighbor for her birthday back in 2010. I watched my neighbor and her husband plant that tree in nothing more than Georgia red clay. I thought to myself, wow, they will never get any figs and the tree is going to dry up and die from no fertilizer! I was secretly appalled that they would treat that tree with no regard. I reasoned in my mind that I needed to tell them what fertilizers they should apply to the soil. However, I said nothing out of fear that I may have offended them. SO GLAD I KEPT MY MOUTH SHUT!. How bout 3 years later, that bush is now a tree standing at least 12 feet tall. I will send pictures of it just to show you that they did nothing but plant the tree and the tree makes mine look like a wimp although my tree produces awesome figs, the size of their tree is like an elephant compared to my trees which look like mice. I applied miracle grow, and horse manure. I made sure I had the best fertilizers, and inspite of the precise applications, my fig trees are below average size. Now I have written all this just to tell you that you don't need all of those fertilizers for your fig trees. They do well in poor soil. This fall, I plan to uproot each tree and replant them in nothing more than Georgia clay dirt! LOL. However, if you are going to use fertilizer, please don't go heavy on it. For some reason, fig trees have their own built in fertilizers because they will grow if you just plant them. Good luck and keep us informed as to how they do.

LOL! That is a great story! I am happy to hear that neglecting a fig tree should not hurt it too much! Brown turkey figs grow very well here in MD. I know someone who inherited a HUGE fig tree with her house. The tree must be 20x30 feet or something like that. It produces thousands of figs...they sell them to local restaurants. In the past years, we have bartered. I have bees, so I give her a jar of honey and she gives me a huge plate of figs!

I will go light on the fertilizer...

Hi Laura,
Here is a pic of my small fig tree. I would send you pics of the other 2 but the pics are coming out blurry for some reason. Sorry. In any case though, my neighbors fig tree without any fertilizers applied, simply put my fig trees to shame! On a positive note though, as long as my figs are delicious-I don't mind this year. However, next year-I expect to get quantity as well as quality. LOL

Laura, here is a pic of the giant fig tree of my neighbors, without fertilizers...

Laura441,
Here is an upclose pic of the neighbors large fig tree

Laura441,
Here are the final pictures of my 3 small brown turkey fig trees in comparison to my neighbor's 1 big bt fig tree....Hopefully, next year, around harvest time--I will have a few feet of new growth on all 3. I have had my celeste tree for 3 year too and it is as small as the smallest one of the bts and I thought I was really doing something using all those fertilizers!!!

Laura, here is the second one...

And here is the third one. If this one comes out clear, this is the same one I showed you first that was unclear. And this, Laura441, completes my story! LOL

I have also heard figs don't need fertilizer suppliment. I assume figs need less nitrogen than other plants we are used to. I put rotten limbs that fall from my trees around my fig. The only way I know to hurt a fig tree is to water it wrong. If you must water a fig, you have to water it with a small trickle for a long time. Does anyone know if it's the chlorine in the water or just smothering air away from the roots? If a fig is watered too fast or too much, the leaves yellow and fall off.

That is a funny story...although not so much for you! I took some pics of my trees, one of which is probably around 10 ft. I put myself in the picture for scale...I'm 5'3"...the second picture, of a shorter tree is of my mystery fig that has never fruited. It is quite large and is only in it's third year (it was less than 1' when planted)...but no figs!! I think it is a black mission, but maybe you or somebody on this forum can help identify it by it's leaf shape.

Ah grower: your trees do look healthy...just not as big! Dies your neighbor's tree get more light?? Nice trees John!! I wish I had that much space!

Here is the ingrate, non-fruiting tree...I'll post close-up pics of the leaves in the next post.

Close-up of leaves...

Hi Laura, Nice to meet you. That last tree looks like a Syrian Black Fig that I saw on another post on this fig forum. When you get a chance, check it out okay? Anyway, Laura, you asked was my neighbors tree getting more sunlight than mine? The answer is no because we have our trees in the exact same area of our yards. Hers just happen to be on the left side of her yard directly accross from my bedroom window! LOL! My trees are planted on the left side of my yard where we get at least 8 hours of sun when the sun is out. (And thats a lot here in metro Atlanta.) In any case though, all your trees are big and healthy looking. While mine gives delicious figs-(and that is the main objective) I want as many as I can get so that is why I plan to replant as soon as dormant season comes. Thanks for allowing me to share my story with you. Anyway, check out the forum where someone is trying to find out what kind of fig trees that he (or she) has. I am on my own post right now-so forgive me for not remembering-but you will find it. And that tree that they are trying to identify looks just like the last tree you posted. Good Luck Laura! I will be posting more pics as time permits. I am harvesting figs everyday now and they are absolutely delicious. Oh, I asked my neighbor if she would share some of her figs with me-she said sure and of course-and I have eaten one of them already. I will try and send a pic of me and my neighbor up under her flourishing fig tree!

Hey Laura441, I have a black mission that looks exactly like the last pic you posted, it has never fruited for me yet but I only planted it last spring. The leaves and the trunk are identical to my black mission I ordered from an online nursery.

Thank you both! I also suspect that it is a black mission because it is often sold around here and I bought it at a local nursery three years ago. I planted it and forgot the variety! It is probably a close cousin of the Syrian black fig "ahgrower" mentioned. I really hope that it finally decides to grace us with some figs next year!! Happy fig harvest to all of you!!