step over pruning with winterization

[cjmach1973]

With the low to the ground training of the branches, what kind of production do people get from the verticals in zone 5 or 6?

[eboone]

This method of fig growing for northern climates is relatively new, I have not seen anyone post on successfully growing this way with production reports other than AscPete. I did put 2 plants in ground this spring and am training them along a low cordon for easy covering. Next year I hope to report on how they have done.

[Erick]

I put a few trees in ground like this last year but i had to dig them back up and replant them this spring. Because of some dozer work we done to the yard. So i really dont know about fruit production yet. The amount of wood that was remaining after winter is a good sign tho. The trees done this way is doing better than the ones by far.. So as the main truck gets bigger and comes back stronger every year i would think that this method would be best..

[AscPete]

First season it was ~ 6 ripened figs per vertical with ~ 9 ft horizontal cordon the 2nd season it was ~ 3 ripened figs per vertical due to colder winter and later bud break.

I've abandoned in-ground long horizontal cordon stepover espaliers in zone 6, I'm now trialing a more compact (shorter cordons) bush / stepover form with ~ 4 linear ft of low horizontal scaffold branches.

[GregMartin]

Thanks for the update Pete. You're ahead of a lot of us and we appreciate all you share.

[AscPete]

Thanks ...
My main problem is actually the winterization... getting them to wake up earlier after colder than expected temperatures during dormancy.

[jrdewhirst]

I'm in Z6B in RI. I have 5 in-ground plants that I pruned / trained last fall to a low cordon. Two had been planted 3 years ago, one 2 years ago, two last year. They are all planted against a west-facing rock wall in full sun; it's a good microclimate. Last year as small trees, the 3 older plants gave me 110-120 ripe figs; the 2 newer plants gave me roughly 50 and 20 respectively.

This year, these 5 plants are each roughly (I'm simplifying here) 3' wide and 8' long (i.e., 4' horizontals on each side). The horizontals are roughly 6-12" off the ground. I'm letting verticals grow roughly to 3' above the horizontals before pinching.

All 5 of these plants now have figlets at nearly every leaf node. Based on last year's performance, I'm still 3-4 weeks away from any harvest of the early varieties (mid/late August), 5-6 weeks away from any significant harvest on the midseason varieties (end August/early Sept), and maybe 7-8 weeks from any significant harvest on the late variety (late Sept). For the early varieties (Florea and Ronde de Bordeaux), I am highly confident that I will harvest >100 figs per plant. For the mid-season varieties (Hardy Chicago and Marseilles Black vs), I am at least moderately confident that I will harvest >100 figs per plant, as well. For the late variety (Paradiso), it's a crap shoot related to weather; but that tree proved an ability last year to ripen figs into early November on any sunny day that was much over 60F. So fingers crossed. FWIW, the plants are spaced roughly 16-18' apart. If I can eventually extend the horizontals to 6-8' on both sides and continue to minimize winter damage, I believe that 150-200 figs per plant is very possible. But I can't argue against a strategy using more plants and shorter horizontals.

[GregMartin]

Does the 3' width equal 2 horizontals per side? Thanks!

[AscPete]

Thanks for sharing your info... Good Luck.

In my somewhat exposed location the trees take longer to break dormancy and produce less with the vegetative growth of too many vertical fruiting branches, which is my reason for reducing the cordon lengths concentrating the plants energy into a smaller footprint and fewer fruiting branches.

[jrdewhirst]

Pete -- Makes sense. At this point I'm hoping longer works. Time will tell.

Greg -- Yes, that's the goal. On the average, it describes the general pattern now. But transforming tree-form plants into low cordons is a process; not all plants are quite there yet. For example, I've got an air layer working on one of them, designed to reduce the height.

[cjmach1973]

I'm hoping to try a black bark mulch under 1 in the spring- to try and warm the soil quicker, and a black plastic mulch under another- to see which method works better.

[AscPete]

I'll be trialing tomato type cloches next spring, made from garden fence cylinders covered with 6 mil plastic.