Have you ever done something stupid?

[tinyfish]

Well I just did! I recently read a thread where a member was training his branches with a stick. I noticed a new branch that I thought could use a better angle so I got a clothes pin to use as a spreader and started. In the process of installing the spacer I said wow this branch is moving easily. When I stopped to see the results i separated half the branch off the trunk. I was so mad at myself I rushed to get tape and garden tie to make the repairs.

Now the best part, would you like to guess what the variety was...it was one of my Thermalito's. Of all the figs tree's I go and mess around with its Thermalito...stupid me!!

I know the branch will heal itself which is a good thing but here is the repair.

[jrdewhirst]

A month or so ago, I dropped a cutting during up-potting. Wrecked the central leader.

[tinyfish]

Of all the branches it the center one, I hope you didn't get set back too far

[jrdewhirst]

A new CL is growing. Probably cost me at least 3 weeks.

[RosyPosy]

Well, that’s a loaded question, lol! Short answer: YES.

I’m glad your tree will heal! I hate that feeling of your heart dropping when realization kicks in. 😬

[Halligan-]

I feel ya.
I snapped a 2’ scaffold off my martineca rimada trying to train it this spring. The next day I did the same thing to my CddB. Needless to say I took a break from branch training for a bit

[tinyfish]

Ouch!!

[Avant_gardener]

Snapped a beautiful scaffold off my Zaffiro earlier in the season trying to train it. Now it’s got three cardinal branches and a big empty space. Every time I look at the tree now I shake my head.

[tinyfish]

That sucks...and now you have that constant reminder.

[Halligan-]

Yes! I spun the flat side against the fence....😂

[TNJed]

I was starting cuttings at the same time I was starting a fire for the grill. I use sticks as part of my kindling in the charcoal chimney….I’ll let you fill in the gaps. 😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐

[FloraFig]

Aww my God.

[tinyfish]

Is that fig I smell from the fire.

[Sparky]

That's some expensive kindling!

[WIFigger]

I was rubbing off new growth on my grafts and accidently rubbed off a chip bud graft...

[arachyd]

Ouch!

[tinyfish]

Some of the things that we do.

[arachyd]

We'd had a rare big snowfall. I stood on top of the snow at my brush pile and started cutting all the twigs from the branches poking up through the snow for some quick kindling. I had a nice big armful and was walking away when I remembered the peach tree I had planted near the brush pile. I'll let you imagine the rest.

[tinyfish]

That must have been a bad feeling.

[arachyd]

It was. I can laugh at it now because it survived that drastic pruning but back then I thought I'd killed it.

[Drfig]

I was doing an air layer clipping the bark. Oops severed the brach.

[tinyfish]

Air layer to cutting in a split second

[KDAD]

I figured that since the borax sugar water solution was so effective on getting rid of ants why not just sprinkle the powdered borax around the base of my trees...which included newly rooted family heirlooms...which I don't have any longer.

[tinyfish]

Sounded like a good idea.

[FloraFig]

Oh no!

That's something I would do.

[bullet08]

yupe. used lawn lime instead of other type and killed two trees.

[tinyfish]

Was it a slow death or did they go quick.

[bullet08]

if i remember correctly, reaction was rather quick. i flushed it out, but didn't help much.

[Otis]

No, I've never done anything stupid...for the last hour or so anyway. When I was sinking pots in the ground earlier this year, I decided a Figo Preto should be transferred to a different pot 1st, not remembering I'd only up potted it a few weeks earlier until I turned it over and most of the soil fell away from the root ball.

[tinyfish]

I guess you remembered quick once the pot was turned over.

[Otis]

I did. If only I remembered a little quicker or maybe looked at the tag. Set it back but she's coming.

[FloraFig]

I had a complete list of " stupid things I did throughout my life" ,but then I realized it has to be fig related.

1. Killed numerous cuttings, some might have been easily prevented.
2. Broke several potential ground layers by pushing to hard in to the ground.

[FloraFig]

tinyfish, if I have the option I choose airlayering. It doesn't involve to much work or babying.

[Otis]

Flora, if I kept s list like that, I'd be a regular caller to suicide prevention hotline ☺️

[FloraFig]

Otis, I always use it to show my kids what not to do 😆
Not sure if it worked though.

[eboone]

The dumbest fig - related mistake:
several years ago I had some spider mites on some trees in my ‘nursery area’. I grabbed the bottle of brand name neem oil spray, moved them to the shade and sprayed away. The leaves all looked markedly oily and a few hours later I didn’t like how they looked and tried to rinse it off; but within several days all defoliated. I found that my wife had poured neem oil concentrate into the spray bottle to use on a rose bush, not realizing the difference.

A big healthy Bourjasotte Gris fortunately leafed out and recovered as did 2 of the three younger rooted cuttings, can’t recall what was lost but I was unhappy for a while

[tinyfish]

That must have been a big surprise.

[goodfriendmike]

Dumbest thing so far was to try and root 200 cuttings at once. Not the best idea when your doing it in a bed room and have a day job.

[tinyfish]

Thats a lot of cuttings. I hope you had great success.

[davej]

I have or had a DSJG cutting. I don't know where it is. Perhaps I somehow mislabeled it? Perhaps it rolled off the table and bounced into a good hiding place? I have no idea.

[tinyfish]

Something always happens to the good ones.

[ginamcd]

I've accidentally rubbed off buds that I wanted to keep to grow scaffold branches. After the first season of making the same mistake too many times, I started using a paint pen to mark the nodes I wanted to keep branch buds from.

[tinyfish]

That is a good idea that we can all use.

[mwhight34]

Spent $400 on two cuttings only to never root them

[tinyfish]

Wow. At that price were you not able to get a rooted cutting.

We have a lot of generous members that hopefully can help you get what you were after if we know what the cuttings were.

[figgarooni]

I have cats, and I let them near my figs despite the fact that they chew leaves, break branches and bite branch tips.

[tinyfish]

Do you ever wonder if the cats just do it to show their the boss.

[JT1923]

I set my new Meteorito rooted cutting down to let my dog have a sniff. He liked it. Too much. Fortunately I was able to re-root the remaining bit.

I love this thread.

[tinyfish]

Hopefully he won't acquire the taste for ripe figs.

[acerpictum]

I don’t know, the question is difficult. In general, making mistakes is my inner urge.

[tinyfish]

Mistakes are ok as long as we don't make the same ones over and over.

[TorontoJoe]

I'm too embarrassed to be entirely open and honest on this thread. Here's what I can tell you....

I own several amazing Smith trees....and a very powerful weed trimmer....

[tinyfish]

Say it ain't so Joe.

[TorontoJoe]

Oh... It's so!

I was so rushed trying to keep up during a busy week... my head was elsewhere. Thank goodness I have several of them...

[Sparky]

Yeah, just this summer I weed-whacked my 2 year old apple tree AND my new grape vine. Both took heavy damage but will survive. You can imagine the forehead slapping that took place after especially the second incident.

[It Could use another day]

I was watching the video Lou Monti put out about pinching, I pinched off half of the figs on my white Madeira because they "wouldn't ripen" but he's in a totally different zone.

[arachyd]

Oh, my that's horrible!

[tinyfish]

Another good tip you mention is when your watching videos or reading posts is be aware of that persons growing zone.

[Recklesstown_Chad]

Well I do something stupid quite often but I’ll use yesterday’s blunder here. So I’ve seen a few spotted lantern flys around...not many but here and there. I usually hunt them down with a racket ball racket when I see one. So I see one land in a little patch of hedgerow where I grow beneficials and I take a large swing and a miss with the racket. Those little buggers are fast. Well I see where he lands so I stalk up to him and take an even bigger swing and make contact. Well I got him good but I also made good contact on a young Rainer cherry tree I mixed in and smacked a good size branch off. The young tree had perfect shape and now not so much as about a third of the tree was hanging by a shred of bark. You know what they say.. it happens.

[Realtorbyday]

Oh that is so awful. I feel your pain.

[davej]

I'd like to try one of those salt guns.

[tinyfish]

That is such a shame no chance to make a branch repair.