Advice on figs again

[Borlotti]

My fig tree is covered with figs, green ones and some brown, that come off when touched.  My allotment adviser said the brown ones had the frost and no good.  I thought they went brown when ripe.  Is it too late, or can I roast them, some are soft but only a little pink inside.  Another allotment adviser said to chop it down and figs never ripen.  I had it for my 60th birthday and can't believe that 13 years have gone by and must admit not many figs and it has got too big.  Should have keep it in a pot.

[Borlotti]

[Mikeakabigman]

Figs do turn brown when they are ripe, I regularly forage for the wild ones when in the south of France, they are delicious eaten straight from the tree. I recently watched an episode of Gardeners world, where Monty recommended keeping them pot bound.
I believe they need a sheltered sunny spot and a good long summer for them to produce successful fruits in UK.

[realfood]

I have an outdoor fig against a sunny wall in Glasgow and have picked ripe figs for the last 10 years. Have just picked my last fig this year. It is in a pot sunk into the ground. I do not protect in the Winter. Figs are hardy in the UK.
See http://www.growyourown.info/page141.html

[chriscross1966]

It does need its roots restraining to crop well and a sunny position too.... thinking of putting one in the new greenhouse on the plot.... bit ho-hum about it though.... if only there was soemthing like a dwarf rootstock for them...

[Silverleaf]

How big a pot?

[kGarden]

My allotment adviser said the brown ones had the frost and no good.

Seems unlikely that you have had a frost as yet, in London? unless I have misunderstood?

[Vinlander]

It does need its roots restraining to crop well and a sunny position too.... thinking of putting one in the new greenhouse on the plot.... bit ho-hum about it though.... if only there was soemthing like a dwarf rootstock for them...

I left a 1m fig in a 25cm pot on top of my compost heap one year and it rooted through before I moved it - it seemed really happy and producing good baby figs so I left it and I got a good crop - the next year wasn't as spectacular and it was in the way so I pruned the roaming roots off and repotted it up - it does OK but nothing like as good as that "compost bin" year.

I'm thinking of making a raised grid to put the pot on - like a garden barbecue but filling underneath with 1/2 ton of compost for it to root into. Then I can easily remove the compost to prune the roots every year - maybe replace the compost - either every time or certainly on a 2 year cycle.

I may have time to do it next year but it's certainly worth a try since root pruning is a classic fig technique which has lapsed - really only because you need a team of gardeners if the tree is in the ground - it became impractical even for stately homes after WW1.

Cheers.

[Nigel B]

My fig went into a hole in the ground against a south-facing wall of the house. The hole was about 2-feet square and I lined it with three or four layers of old tiles I needed to get rid of. Effectively restricting the roots for a few years, but it must have gone way past them now. I'm having to cut it back regularly just to control it.
The figs though, are gorgeous. Every year without fail.... So far.