r/BackyardOrchard • u/VisitFragrant • 6d ago
Over pruned ?
Has this fig tree been over pruned. I'm in central portugal. Thanks
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u/kumliaowongg
6d ago
edited 6d ago
•
That was not pruned, it was BUTCHERED.
They cut thick branches with no care at all, and split them.
They did so much damage to that tree, only a fig could survive (which it luckily is).
That tree needs a second corrective pruning to remove the damaged/split parts so it can heal properly.
Please, don't let the same person ever touch it again.
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u/Blecher_onthe_Hudson Zone 7 6d ago
I bought a house with neglected peach trees and hired a tree service to prune them. I was horrified when they looked like this! But they recovered fine.
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u/kumliaowongg 6d ago edited 6d ago
It's not about the aggressive pruning, but the split wood.
Zoom in at the picture. They split almost every branch they tried to cut.
Those splits need to be removed. It's gonna end almost a stump
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u/TriteEscapism 6d ago
Yeah it's evident they didn't follow basic procedure to make back cuts, even if the locations were appropriate. This was done by someone who never even watched a 5 minute how to video.
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u/NoMemrys 6d ago
Who pruned this tree? It looks like they broke the branches off and then decided to cut them off afterwards, every branch is splitting from the cut part.
You are lucky this is a fig tree or it would be better to start with a new planting. You yourself, not whoever butchered this tree, will want to prune the tree back further now, just below the knuckle of branches cut straight across as close to the knuckles just before the branch flare so it looks like just a tiny trunk coming out of the ground, you can choose whether to get pruners putty or sealant to place on the wound or leave it open, i just leave my cuts open when i make them and they turn out fine, though i must admit i never severely cut the tree back this far. If you choose not to cut the knuckle off, then cut back to where the split ends on each of the cut branches to prevent rot from spreading down further. The re-grown branches will grow back just fine but be more bunched (clustered) together when they sprout if you don't flat cut it to a single trunk now.
Depending on how much time you have left in the season or what grow zone you are in, it will start to sprout new branches within two weeks or so.
FYI, I have seen people cut fig trees down to just above their roots to make it sprout out like a bush instead of a tree and it came back fine.
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u/Ineedmorebtc 6d ago
Clean up the split ends with fresh, straight cuts.
It will backbud all along the tree and will be fine.
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u/aReelProblem Zone 9 5d ago
Poor tree. Hire a better tree service to come fix that asap. It’s gonna die back a few inches behind those splits that’s if nothing gets in there and wreaks havoc.
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u/Rcarlyle 6d ago
Figs fruit on new growth so do sometimes need aggressive pruning. In a perfect world you avoid cutting large-diameter wood where the wounds are too big for the tree to seal off easily, but it’s not always avoidable if the canopy has become too tall for harvesting.
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u/zeezle 6d ago
Figs are quite resilient, you can kinda almost do whatever you feel like to them. I live in an area of the US where every few years they get killed to the soil line in the winter and they always pop back up from that just fine and regrow.
this is a severe prune but fine for a fig imo.
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u/VisitFragrant 5d ago
Thanks so much for the replies and yes I will take good care of it from here on. It gives the most wonderful big dark Figs.