Does my fig tree look ok?

Hi all

Recently bought a fig tree... I'm new to all of this and accepted that the tree was just as it should be. Until I went to Lidl the other day and saw fig trees for sale there which looked far more ... err ... substantial and alive!

Mine is a 'Brown Turkey'.

Here are a couple of photos:



Many thanks

Max

 

Looks ok to me Max

 

Yep looks ok, just a bit leggy, depends on how you intend growing it?

 

Hi

Sorry to come back to this so late. Thanks for the replies

I'm glad it's looking ok. Nothing has changed much since I posted. I must admit that I thought it would have a bit more going on than four leaves! Is this likely to change this summer and if so how much growth should I expect this summer?

I'm not sure to be honest.... In whatever way results in the most fruit! I've heard that they need to be well protected and covered in winter and so am thinking that I'll grow in a large pot and move it indoors (or into a greenhouse) during the colder months.

One more question.... I need to pot it up.... Should I pot it into it's final pot now or an "inbetween" size, and what size pot would be best (OK, that was two questions... !).

Many thanks

Max

 

I must admit I'm not keen on the legginess, it needs a few shoots lower down.

I'd be inclined to put it into a pot a couple of inches bigger, not too big, in a soil based compost, like JI no 3, mixed with a 25% sharp sand.

Then I'd try bending the shoot down, be careful not to snap it, but if you can get it horizontal all well and good.
Hopefully this might encourage it to shoot lower down the stem, without having to do some drastic pruning.

Brown turkey is pretty hardy, never ever protected mine, but in a pot best to err on the side of safety and put under cover if we were to get severe frost.

 

Thanks pete, that's all very helpful. It's the first fig I've had and I'm a novice gardener so wasn't sure what to expect really. I'm left wondering why the nursery sold it/"pruned" it (?) like this. I hoped that they might have done it to for some unknown reason to help the plant further down the line. But maybe not....

So is your Brown Turkey in the ground? And you leave it unprotected throughout winters?

Cheers

 

Yes mine are in the ground and basically small trees.
Once established it will take minus 12C for short periods, normal lows of minus 5c doesn't bother it at all.

I got a feeling it just grew like that, rather than it was pruned that way.
They grow pretty fast when happy.