I have no idea how to help you kill your fig but I was wondering if I could have some cuttings to practice sprouting on.

Actually, I take that back. I've had to kill off Trees of Heaven and the way I did it was to spray the leaves with bramble killer full strength (I think Bayer makes it). The key to this is to not cut off the growth but to leave it so that it can carry the chemicals down to the roots. I tried cutting and painting the stems but that did not work. It will work better if you spray the leaves.

I would like something to practice with before you spray it to death if possible.

I bought some of the poison oak killer spray and gave the leaves a bath yesterday, sorry. I tried the fresh cut and paint in the past with no effect. I hate to use chemicals, but this fig is impossible to dig out because of the location. I also have a few zapote stumps that refuse to die and are getting the same treatment.

This fig sends out root runners that sprout up as trees 10-12 feet away, it probably roots really well, but the figs always split and were not as tasty as the black fig (this one stays greenish on the skin)

Fig trees are spiteful things. We try and try to make them thrive, and the harder we try, it seems the more likely they will perish. But just try and kill a fig tree on purpose, and the darned things can be indestructable.

When somebody finally figures them out, it will be a glorious day for mankind.

You need to make a fresh cut on the stump and spray it with non-diluted Roundup or 2-4D. If you have several stumps try to spray all of them. Cover the entire cut area with spray. You can cover the sprayed area with a plastic bag after spraying. You can buy the 2-4D in the 1 quart size without a pesticide licence.

Bud...figs are something!

The two trees we wanted to keep, one decided to split under the fruit load as I was trying to lighten the load... I think I will end up with a few foot tall stump with one branch. The other we babied and designed the yard around turns out had horrible tasting fruit and the "good" parts had been over run by the root. I have spent days and days digging up the rootrunners from the bad fig. They seemed to prefer to wrap themselves around a fruit tree we were trying to save.

I am down to one fig we want. I might think about adding a different one, half of me says put in a fig tight box and plant, the other says if I do that it will die. But I can attest to the ability of birds on a power line and their fig planting skills.

Thanks for the ideas, I hated to ask on the forum to grow figs...but I figured there was probably more than one person who had no luck keeping them alive or some one that had a fig like mine and knew how to do battle with it!

So just what do all of you do with all those figs? Jelly, dried, syrup..and then what?

Hello Kippy,

My fig trees survived but never thrived until I went organic this summer. Yep, I transplanted all nine of them in June (a major no-no) into a newly created fig orchard. I put in 6 inches of compost and they did pretty good. But when I later put in 4 inches of fresh mulch, they sprang to life and the fruit is very tasty for a change. It was the mulch. Some branches grew 4 feet since June, unheard of in my yard.

Perhaps your terrible trees are really wonderful trees that need a mulch covering. Additionally, most folks pick the figs too early, when they have not sweetened up yet. I wait until they are ready to drop and are mushy. That's the best time IMHO.

I've been ragged in this forum for including the below link a few times too often, but it was my inspiration and guide to better fig tree growning. Here we go...

Here is a link that might be useful: BACK TO EDEN

I have also been using compost and mulch very effectively with my trees. I use straw. A bale costs around 6 bucks. It is cheap and does a wonderful job of maintaining a a moist root zone with a lot less water usage. And it breaks down over time and provides more compost.

Hi Centurion,

My uncle in Bisbee, Arizona has horses, and uses straw on established trees, but uses wood sourced mulch on his veggies, as they have more nutrients in them than straw. As the wood mulch breaks down, the quality of his desert dirt improves, so he has this awesome soil patch in what is otherwise desert sandy waste dirt. His gardens go back for a couple decades.

I get free compost, but have to buy my mulch. Still, pretty awesome results. Compost alone does not do it. Seems like the earth needs a covering to prosper. A little mulch goes a long way, but to do it right, several inches is optimal.

So, how are your fig trees doing, Centurion? And how does that brutal Arizona sun affect your trees?

Kippy-the-Hippy,

I too have a story, but it is with a lilac bush. When my father was moving from his house he didn't want to leave behind the well-rotted horse manure so we brought it to our house. We accidentally dumped a wheelbarrow load under the lilac bush and this bush that we thought should be cut down because it never bloomed all of a sudden was completely covered in blooms the following spring, and it doubled in size then too.

MileHigh, that is neat that it just needed some tlc

We have bought in load after load of horse manure this year, fresh went in our compost bins that hold a yard or two. We picked up loads of composted horse manure that went under all the fruit trees, at least a trash can full each. More in the garden...

BUT, we also have chickens, so the manure may not end up where it starts out.

My dad left a lot of trees that planted themselves grow to see if they would be any good. Decades later, if they still are not good, I am okay with saying they have had a fair chance at it.

The "good" fig we took out was all growth from the root stock, not sure if it was on its own root or grafted. But the older and very dead main trunk might have been the good part.

In the end, we are going for a nice variety of fruit trees that ripen different times of the year rather than like in the old days when we needed a lot of fruit for market.

I still have 3 and 4 of things like persimmons in several varieties, but we have a hard time picking all of them let alone selling or giving it all away.