Issues with Burying Fig Plants Deep

General Fruit Growing
21

Roots of forest trees can extend much more than 50’ and I do not know the extent of the average mature 15’ fruit tree in average soil, I do know that the finer the soil the less the root spread under normal conditions (that is, without irrigation).

However, the point isn’t how far the roots can spread so much as how far they need to. With fruit trees the usual quest is for moderate vigor and never maximum growth except during establishment. I’m not nearly satisfied with survival- when I put a plant in the ground I want good yields ASAP, especially when I plant trees for customers.

Recently I created optimum conditions for an early Pink Lady variety in my own orchard that was about a half inch diameter stick when it came from the nursery. I don’t usually water my fruit trees but this one I did- the soil was already good so I simply dressed it with 5 cubic ft of compost and equal wood chips. I fertilized it with my urine. On its second year in my ground it gave me a half bushel of apples on 111 rootstock- the tree was well branched, 2.5" diameter and 12’ tall, which amazed me, although I had experienced similar results with a peach I planted near a grey water outlet. One doesn’t realize how much growth is slowed even by short periods of drought when dry farming.

I know that most members of this forum do not have terribly vigorous trees, even when young, but some do, including Olpea who is a commercial peach grower. The reason I know this is that graft wood that is sent to me is often terribly thin even though I request at least pencil thick wood.

Where I live, the point is to get an established tree above the deer browse line ASAP along with getting as early crops as possible, at least for me.

There is absolutely no danger of limiting a fruit trees root spread when you amend about a 6’ diameter circle for it to grow into in most soils. On some occasions anchorage can be a problem, especially for apples on about their 5th year. If you drive a strong conduit stake into the ground to support apples on windy sites or sites with shallow soil and tie the tree to that, you won’t lose any trees. I am not sure how much amending contributes to this problem because I always at least dress trees with compost when planting and mulch for the first few years. Actually, you probably won’t lose any trees anyway, but you might have to lift some trees back up.

In poor soils I add at least 5 extra sq ft of compost that I blend with the existing soil about 6-10 inches down and 5-6 feet wide. In heavy clays where trees cannot grow I may add as much a a half yard of sand and compost for every tree to create mounds. The roots never leave the amended soil except maybe a few inches for water. This works great because it restricts root growth leading to fairly compact and very productive and healthy trees.

All that said, every gardener should develop their own methods to reach their own goals. If one is satisfied with the establishment of their trees without amending inferior soil- more power to you, but to claim that amending soil is necessarily bad for trees is not accurate, IMO.

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22

The problem is that, it is not practical for me to dig a 6’ diameter hole and amend with compost or manure etc. And I live in cold climate and fig trees are subject to frequent winter damages with trees planted in the open. I expect my fig trees to receive winter damages and grow to no more than 7’-8’ tall.

This spring, I spent $300 and bought 6 cubic yard of bulk compost. But that is for my containers, not for amending the holes to plant in-ground trees. Sure it is probably not very expensive to amend the planting holes. But it is too labor intensive. I looked at the crown of the old fig tree in my neighbor’s yard. It is huge and very hard. I’m sure the roots have extended far more than 15’ on the native soil.

I do see the needs for commercial growers to amend soil and get new orchard established very quickly. I can grow fig trees in containers for the first 2-3 years and plant those older trees. Then they can take on stress much better.

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23

The easiest way to improve the soil is simply to mulch generously. The contacted soil underneath will naturally decompact.

2 Likes
24

I was responding to a comment that was removed, penned by krismoriah, although I see no evidence it was here. I wasn’t talking about small fig trees that are intended to be kept small. I grow my fig trees with in-ground bags that I pop out of the soil before temps get into the low teens and store over winter in my well house. I’m a little colder than you, north of NYC by nearly an hour and not right on the Hudson or the Atlantic, but quite a few miles inland of either body. It isn’t unusual even in our new weather for temps to go below 0 as a winter low.

I have my fig trees growing in a relatively heavy potting mix (that is, heavier than pro-mix) and the bags are the equivalent of about a 20 gallon container- during the growing seasons the roots grow out of the bags into a very loamy soil and they are very healthy and productive. When I dig them up they lose the bulk of their functional root system (that being the finer roots), but whatever comes out with the bags I keep moist over winter.

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25

Merely growing in a pot causes roots to grow in a circle, the more years in a pot the more the roots grow in a circle, that is one of the reasons that I have started to grow plants in grow bags. That is also one of the reasons that I break up the root balls and I make sure that the roots are not tangling up around each other, as well as why I shorten the roots before planting. Tearing the roots shorter also forces the roots to grow longer to repair themselves.

I am wondering if grubs might have eaten the roots of those fig trees, one year I tried burring fig cuttings as a fig cutting rooting experiment, and I discovered that grubs were eating the roots as they grew. I’d imagine that a young fig tree’s roots might be an easy target as well. Oh and the colder the weather the deeper the grubs go.

1 Like
26

I do not have grub problem. The young plants were just buried too deep. No oxygen, no sun, no warmth and little water.

Should have exposed the crown much sooner. Roots are still there.