Pruning may be painful, but it leaves behind the open spaces for air, light and room for the strongest branches to grow and fruit.

Pruning may be one of the most difficult skills for the novice to master. Removing large parts of a tree you have worked hard to nuture and grow can be scary and even counter-intuitive. Most people are reluctant to make drastic and irrevocable changes (cuts) without someone experienced to guide them.

Don’t know where to start?

I was nervous about pruning and didn’t know where to start.

Take pruning in small steps and you won’t feel overwhelmed.

Soon you will have a healthier, more beautiful tree.
And you’ll feel more confident and comfortable with the entire pruning process!

The most important thing to remember is that no pruning is perfect and even a less than ideal prune is a lot better than none at all!

A few basic rules will get you most of the way there! Dive in and get your feet wet. It’s easier than you think!

When should I prune?

Pruning when your trees are dormant (in the winter) is considered best practice. This stresses the tree less and it doesn’t lose sap since it is “down” (in the roots). It also allows you to see the structure of the branches more clearly without the leaves “in the way”.

But dead or diseased branches can be removed anytime of the year and we advise you take those out as soon as you find them.

Guidelines for Canopy Pruning Fig Trees

Remove any dead or diseased branches. These are usually obvious. Burn these, don’t add them to your compost.
Remove any touching or crossing branches. These can rub the bark away creating a sore for pests or disease to enter and don’t contribute to a productive or pleasing form.
Remove branches that have branches directly above them that will shade them out. These redundant limbs will only be competing for the same resources and reducing airflow and adding little benefit to the plant.
Remove branching with acute crotch angles that don’t match the angles of other branches. These are branches that are growing more straight up into the sky or toward the ground. In most cases, you want branches that grow more horizontal and out, away from the center of the tree so they spread out to collect plenty of light and air. This will help your tree spread nicely and keep it from growing too tall to reach the fruit.
Remove branches that are the highest up on the tree (once it is head high or taller) to keep it manageable so you can take care of it and reach the fruit.
Step back away from the tree occasionally and look at the form. Remove any branches that you think are “going the wrong direction” and ones that will open up the central portion to sunlight and airflow. This will keep the tree healthy and attractive.
Only remove about a third of the canopy at a time. If you haven’t pruned in while, or ever (maybe you are rehabilitating an old fruit tree that was neglected for a time) you may have to do it over several seasons. Start with the first steps above and stop if you have pruned away more than a third, even if there are more branches/steps left. Heavy pruning is best done when the tree is dormant.
If you are growing in a colder climate and counting on the breba crop, remember breba fruit are produced on established growth, while main crop fruit (later in the summer) is produced only on new growth.

Root Pruning

Most people naturally think of canopy pruning when they think about pruning.

But root pruning can improve the health and reinvigorate the growth of your fig trees.

Root pruning is usually performed when up-potting, repotting or planting inground if the tree has become root bound. You can tell if the tree is rootbound if there is a mass of thick roots touching each other at the edge or bottom of the pot.

Root pruning is especially important if the roots have begun to circle, as this can eventually lead to root strangulation.

Guidelines for Root Pruning Fig Trees

Like canopy pruning, root pruning is stressful for the tree and is best performed when the tree is dormant
Start with anything that looks unhealthy and with circling roots.
Only remove about a third of the root mass at any given time. It might take multiple sessions over several season to achieve your desired result.
Frequent and repeated root pruning can stunt the growth of a tree – this may be what you want in some case (e.g. keeping it long-term in the same pot).
The more soil you knock off the more stressful it will be and the longer the recovery period, but the tree should survive even bare-rooting (removing all the soil) if it’s done during dormancy.
Don’t let the roots dry out when out of the pot, it will kill the tree.
Fabric or porous containers “air prune” the roots, reducing the need for root pruning.
It’s a good time to check for root rot, root knot nematode nodules (RNK) and the general health and appearance of the root system.
There are some pests (voles especially) that can eat the roots of the tree away, killing the tree from the bottom, that you may not detect unless you check the roots.
If your tree is dying or struggling in a pot, root pruning and repotting with fresh, well draining soil could be the otherwise hidden solution to the problem.

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Pruning Tools

Some tools can be used for canopy and root pruning.

Of course there are pruners, which come in two main types – anvil and bypass. We like to use the bypass pruners for a cleaner cut. Battery powered pruners are now commonly available and we recommend these if you have a lot of canopy pruning to do.

For larger roots and limbs loppers are a good choice (and people with limited hand strength).

Even more aggressive options include hand saws and pruning saws. These have many sharp teeth and can be especially helpful for root pruning and branches too large for even the loppers.

Some people even use a reciprocating saw, available as battery powered and cordless, when you have a lot of root pruning to be done. Keep in mind any of these will be dulled quickly by soils with rocks or sand in them.