2013-04-04
Ficus carica, or fig tree, is an inhabitant of the subtropics. It is a deciduous shrub or tree up to 12 m high. In the subtropics it is pollinated by blastophages - small nut-bearing wasps that are not found here. Therefore, in our region, self-fertile (parthenocarpic) varieties are grown in apartments, winter gardens and greenhouses. There are many of them bred, for example, Dalmatian, Nikitsky, Abkhazian purple, Crimean black, Kadota, Brunsvik, Shuisky, Gray early, Sary Apsheronsky, Adriatic purple, Sochi No. 7, Randino, Pomorie, July, Lardaro, Gift to the 50th anniversary of October, Brown Turkey. By the way, if you are interested in apartments in installments from the developer, go to the website terrasadom.ru.
Where in Russia can you grow figs?
This seems impossible, but it is quite possible to cultivate a subtropical crop quite successfully in our northern climate and, despite the severe winter frosts, it will produce a good harvest. This requires only the correct agricultural technology.
Where figs grow wild, with an average daily temperature of +10 °C over the entire growing season, the sum of temperatures reaches +4000 °C. With such indicators, the harvest will be abundant and stable. Therefore, when cultivating crops on your own, it is important to provide the same conditions using the trench method.
Under certain conditions, with mandatory shelter for the winter, you can plant a fig tree in central Russia. Although in the Caucasus and Crimea it is found growing wild. In the Krasnodar Territory, in October-November, fig trees require special greenhouse conditions to survive the winter.
In regions with a sharply continental climate, the crop is grown in winter gardens and greenhouses. Figs bloom 2-3 years after planting. It produces high yields from 7-9 years of age. The culture is propagated by seeds, cuttings and layering.
How to choose a place for figs in the garden?
To understand how harmoniously this tree will combine with other plants on your site, preview a photo of an adult fig.
When choosing a specific planting site for this crop, consider the following requirements:
- Well lit space.
- No wind blowing.
- It is advisable to face the south side relative to the house in order to provide the most comfortable conditions for the development of figs in relation to the amount of solar heat.
- The depth of groundwater is no more than 2.5-3 meters.
- Flat surface of the site or gently sloping hill.
Important! Areas located in places where cold air accumulates - lowlands, floodplains, ravines - are absolutely not suitable for growing figs.
Dates for planting figs
Considering that figs love warmth very much, they need to be planted only in the spring so that they have time to take root properly before the first cold weather, otherwise the plant will die. Experienced gardeners identify exact planting dates, namely March 15-30, immediately after the start of warming and snow melting.
Purchase of planting material
When buying fig seedlings, it is better to choose two-year-old specimens with a pair of side shoots. The older the seedling, the more difficult it is for it to take root; the adaptation period is much longer. Seedlings with damaged roots or shoot bark should be discarded. There should be several buds on the shoots.
Reproduction methods
Propagation by cuttings . To obtain seedlings of this exotic fruit plant, you can use:
- green cuttings;
- lignified cuttings.
Green cuttings are cut immediately before planting from a suitable adult fruit-bearing plant. They should be used as ripe lower branches, which have at least 3–4 buds.
The length of the cuttings should be from 10 to 15 cm, the upper cut is made straight, and the lower cut at an angle, and several shallow longitudinal grooves are cut above it - this will help the roots form faster. After cutting, the cuttings are slightly dried until their milky sap hardens, and then placed in a heteroauxin solution for 12 hours.
At the same time, an earthen mixture is prepared in which the cuttings will be planted. It undergoes a steaming procedure for disinfection to eliminate the risk of rotting or mold formation. After this, you can proceed to planting cuttings. This is done as follows:
- Their ends, where roots should form, are dipped in ashes, placed in paper cups and sprinkled with the prepared earthen mixture.
- The planted cuttings are covered with film, periodically watered and sprayed.
- After the buds begin to grow on them, the cuttings will need to be taught to live without shelter.
The optimal air temperature in the room where green fig cuttings are grown will be +22 degrees. If everything was done correctly, in about a month they will form a root system, and the resulting seedlings can be planted in the ground.
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to cut the green stalk of a fruiting fig. Therefore, in order to grow a fig tree in your own garden, you use lignified cuttings. They are harvested in late autumn and sent for storage until spring. You can store them either in damp sand in a warm cellar, or simply bury them in the ground, after wrapping them in cloth and covering the tubercle with film to prevent excess moisture from getting into them.
Propagation by seeds . A more complex and time-consuming way to propagate figs is to grow a tree from seeds. This planting material is taken from ripe fruits. They should be thoroughly washed with water and dried for 24 hours.
Seeds are planted in prepared soil in early spring to a depth of no more than 3 cm and carefully watered with a sprayer. Before the first shoots appear, the container with seeds planted in the ground should be covered with polyethylene. And when the first shoots appear on the surface of the earth, the polyethylene will need to be periodically opened in order to give the young plants the opportunity to breathe and get used to the environment.
After the sprouts are well established, they are transplanted into paper cups. There they continue to grow and develop, and around the beginning of May they can be transplanted into open ground, first under film, to give them the opportunity to adapt to a new place. It will be possible to replant figs from seeds to a permanent place in about 2 years. By this time, a strong and healthy seedling should have formed.
Figs reproduce quite quickly by root shoots, which are abundant in low-growing varieties. It is enough just to carefully dig up the root, separate part of it and transplant it to a previously prepared place. You can also use young shoots, so-called layering. Bend the selected shoot, cover it with soil and water it. And after its root system has formed, dig it up and replant it in a permanent place.
Planting and caring for figs in open ground
Landing . A three-dimensional hole is dug, 80x80x100 cm, where 100 cm is the depth. Figs have a rapidly growing root system; to prevent its growth to the detriment of the above-ground part of the plant, it is recommended to install limiters in the ground. The easiest way is to line the walls of the pit with bricks.
Good drainage is necessary, so crushed bricks, medium-sized expanded clay or small stones are placed at the bottom. The drainage layer should be from 20 to 30 cm, no less. The soil mixture is prepared as follows:
- garden soil - 2 parts,
- bone meal – 1 part,
- rubble stone or crushed stone - 1 part,
- dry fertilizer (mineral complex) – 300–500 g, depending on the manufacturer’s recommendations.
All ingredients are thoroughly mixed, and part of the resulting mixture is placed in the pit.
The tree is planted in a hole in a certain way, tilted 37-40 degrees towards the south, and the rhizome directed towards the north. In the future, it will be easier to bend the branches to the ground and cover the plant for the winter. Also, for convenience, when growing several specimens, it is recommended to dig trenches rather than holes, and plant the plants in a row.
Next, the seedling is sprinkled with earth, the soil is compacted and watered. One fig tree uses about 4 garden buckets of warm water. At the end of the work, it is recommended to immediately cover the ground around the seedling with a layer of mulch, using cut grass, sawdust or wood shavings.
Watering . Watering will depend on the age of the tree. Young growth should be watered weekly, adding 5 to 10 liters of water under the tree. The next season, when the root system is formed, the tree needs to be watered once every two weeks, adding about 10 liters of water under it. When the fruits ripen, you should not water the fig tree. The last watering is carried out after harvesting to increase the wear resistance of the crop. After moistening the soil, it is necessary to loosen it and remove weeds.
Feeding . The tree should be fertilized at least twice a month. At the beginning of the growing season, it is necessary to use nitrogen fertilizers. In mid-summer, phosphates will be required as they promote fruit set. At the end of the growing season, potassium fertilizers should be applied. They will allow the figs to ripen better and faster. Every month the tree must be fed with microelements and fertilizers to help it develop normally.
Twice a month, outside root feeding should be done by spraying the figs with a nutrient solution. Organic feeding is also important for the fig tree, in the form of humic acid, microorganisms and soil. Fertilizing should be done only after watering to avoid burns to the roots.
Preparing for winter
In autumn, when temperatures reach no more than 5 degrees, figs need shelter for the winter. The branches are bent to the ground, covered with polypropylene (sugar bags) and covered with a five-centimeter layer of earth. Fallen leaves should not be allowed to remain under the bush, because... In this case, the plant will rot. Tops and leaves can be poured on top of this structure.
The protective cover should be removed in mid-spring. They do this gradually: first they remove foliage and branches, and then the soil. After a couple of days, the protective cloth is also removed. The bush thus has time to acclimatize and quickly begin to produce fruit buds.
Pruning and crown formation
When caring for figs, special attention should be paid to pruning. In the southern regions, pruning is performed 2 times a year - in autumn and spring. Depending on the shape of the fig bush, the crown is formed. On bush figs, during the first two years, a pair of main branches with a trunk length of about 40 cm are left.
The crown of a standard tree is formed from 3-4 main branches, but the length of the standard must be within 60 cm. The cut areas must be covered with garden varnish to prevent the entry and spread of infection.
In the first year, formative pruning is carried out. From a young tree you need to select the main strong branch, and cut the rest to the base. After a year, cut the branch, located at a height of about 1.3 meters, into a bud. The result will be a semi-standard form, and skeletal branches will form in the spring. In the third year, the branches facing outward are shortened by half.
In the future, after the formation of the tree skeleton, pruning is not required, with the exception of unsuccessfully growing branches. In summer, it is recommended to pinch out growths, this will prevent the tree from growing in height. For the winter, the fruit plant is insulated or covered with earth.
SELF-FRUITING VARIETIES
Of course, the gall wasp is a unique insect, but since it does not live everywhere, breeders got down to business and now a gigantic number of self-fertile varieties of figs have been bred: Dalmatsky, Nikitsky, Abkhazian Violet, Crimean Black, Kadota, Brunswick, Shuisky, Gray Early, Sary Apsheronsky , Adriatic purple, Sochi No. 7, Randino, Pomorie, July, Lardaro, Gift for the 50th anniversary of October, Brown Turkey.
The most delicious of them all is the Dalmatian fig. It tolerates temperatures down to -15° C and bears fruit well only when it has built up a decent supply of wood. The best harvest is produced by 3-4 year old shoots. The weight of the fruits is on average 150-200 g. They are asymmetrical, greenish-yellow in color.
Brown Turkey figs are the most winter-hardy of all varieties. Withstands short-term temperature drops down to -20° C. Very productive, bears regular pear-shaped fruits weighing 100 g, red-brown in color.
Crimean black fig produces oval, ribbed purple fruits. They weigh about 100 g.
