Training a fig tree requires patience, skill, and dedication. By following these steps, you can transform a young cutting into a thriving tree with optimal growth and fruit production.

Read the full companion guide to this video, here: https://www.figboss.com/post/training...

First Year: Selecting and Pruning Shoots

In the first year when starting from a cutting, choose 13 healthy shoots from the base of your fig tree. Avoid selecting more than three when growing fig trees in containers and no more than 57 when growing fig trees that are planted in the ground. Prune out any additional shoots. If your tree does not produce any healthy shoots early in its life, consider rejuvenation pruning to stimulate growth.

First Year: Encouraging Vigor and Pinching

Allow the selected shoots to grow during the first season. By early to midsummer, they should display a strong level of vigor, indicated by larger leaves and fast growth. At this point, perform a technique called pinching, topping, or summer pruning, to encourage branching and potentially fruit formation.

Aim to form most, if not all, permanent scaffolds during this first season. If you already have your shoots selected from a prior growing season, follow the same process of topping your tree, but in the spring to form the scaffolds.

Note: If you decide to grow a bush with 23 shoots from the base, achieving a high level of vigor may be more challenging in the first season.

Creating Scaffolds

In the first growing season, your goal should be to create 36 wellspaced scaffolds. Use stakes to guide the scaffolds to grow outwards at a horizontal angle away from each other. This ensures that each scaffold has ample space for growth.

Introduction (00:00):
Introduces the topic of the talk, which is about training young fig trees to grow into mature shapes as quickly as possible in order to produce tasty fruits.

Technique Description (00:21):
Discusses the use of a technique known as pinching, topping, or summer pruning, which involves removing the apical bud of the fig tree to promote growth and maturity.

Desired Outcome (01:34):
Points out an ideal outcome for a fig tree that has had the pinching technique applied, a tree with a main trunk branching out into three scaffolds.

Showcasing Examples (03:04):
Showcases three different fig trees that had the pinching technique applied at different times, showing the resulting growth and scaffolds.

When to Apply Technique (04:19):
Explains the right timing to apply the pinching technique based on the size of the leaves, the health of the tree, its rate of growth, and the presence of fig mosaic virus.

Technique Application (06:02):
Demonstrates how to remove the apical bud of a fig tree using either one's thumb or a pair of pruning shears, an act referred to as pinching or topping.

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