SEEDLINGS
Seedling figs are easily grown from seeds of imported Smyrna figs. These Smyrna figs always possess germinable seeds, as they have been pollinated. It is quite safe to say that any seedling fig so far recorded in this country has originated from seeds of Smyrna figs imported from Asia Minor. The seeds of our common figs are mere shells without germs, and will of course fail to grow. The percentage of trees producing fruit of high quality among seedlings grown from Smyrna figs is very small, however, and a commercial orchard planted with such seedlings would be a failure. The grower may now and then produce a variety which will repay his efforts, and such variety can be propagated for general planting.
BUDDING AND GRAFTING
The fig may be propagated by shield budding, provided the work is done at the proper time. That time is winter, when the tree is as near dormant as it can be found. Budding is rarely resorted to, however, as it is an uncertain method when done by persons without skill. Grafting the fig is successfully practiced in California by a method invented by Mr. John Rock. It is the only method of fig grafting that has proved reliable, practical, and of real value there. By means of it, new varieties are brought into heavy bearing within three years after grafting on old trees. In addition to this saving of time, the usual advantages resulting from grafting, such as better and stronger stock, more vigorous growth, etc., may also be attained.
The best time for grafting the fig is autumn or winter, when the sap is most sluggish. Late spring grafting is less successful. The best scions are made of 2-year-old wood. The sloping end of the scion must be wedge-shape, tapering from front to back as well as from the top of the cut to the bottom. But one surface of the wedge should show the pith, and this surface should face toward the center of the stock when the scion is set. Incipient fruit buds should be cut away without injuring the scion. The scion should be so placed that the broad side of the wedge will be outside and the narrow edge toward the center of the stock.
For the stock, any limb from 2 to 4 inches in diameter may be used. This should be cut off squarely at the point to be grafted. A downward cut should then be made with a chisel, in such a way that it shall be tangential to the circular stub. It must not pass through the pith of the stub. The cut should run somewhat obliquely downward and outward, in order that the stock may not be split. The scion, which is about 3 or 4 inches long, must, when inserted, form an angle with the long diameter of the stock branch on which it is grafted.
It is best to place two scions on each branch grafted. These should be on opposite sides of the stub and they should lean slightly toward each other. The exposed surfaces of the stock and scion should then be heavily waxed and the scions should be held in place by binding with cord or other material. It is best to place a large number of scions on one tree. Four or five branches may be cut off and grafted, but one or two should be left uncut for a year to draw the sap. A large stake should be driven into the ground near each branch grafted, and when the scions have started the new growth should be secured to the stakes to prevent them from breaking off. The trunk and main limbs of the fig tree should be covered with bundles of straw to prevent sunburn. The after-treatment of the new growth is similar to that required in the grafting of other fruit trees. The new growth is strong and rapid and the connection with the stock perfect. Ninety per cent of the grafts may be readily made to grow.
PLANTING
The proper distance to be given fig trees in the orchard depends upon the size and habit of the variety to be planted. The smaller kinds require 25 feet; the larger ones should be 50 feet apart in every direction. Sometimes other fruit trees are planted between the figs and allowed to remain until the latter become so large that they require the entire space. The fig tree requires an abundance of air and sunshine to mature its fruit, and it is therefore absolutely necessary that the trees be so arranged that they shall not shade one another. After the distance is decided, the laying out and planting require the same general skill, labor, and methods used in planting other permanent orchards. A few points in planting are peculiar to the fig, however, and require special consideration.
DOUBLE TREES
Trees may be set singly, as standards, in the way commonly practiced with other fruit trees, or they may be set “double” – that is, two trees planted together in one hole and allowed to remain. The latter method has not heretofore been advocated in this country but is worthy of thorough trial. The method consists in planting two long cuttings, about 12 inches apart, in the same hole, allowing them to protrude from the ground a few inches. Both are allowed to grow and the two are treated as a single tree with two stems or standards. The object sought is to produce two distinct stems or trunks, in order that the splitting down of branches may be prevented. In this way trees with low, sloping branches, having their main trunks leaning outward, will be formed and it will be impossible for the trunks, the main branches, or the smaller ones to split down. Branches split only when they point upward or stand straight out – never when they slope downward from the trunk.
STANDARD TREES
These may be planted in the usual way, but great care must be taken in shading the roots while the trees are being planted. After they are set, the trunks should be shaded by wrapping them with paper bags or other material, as a sun-burnt tree will never regain its health or bear profitably. Standard trees should only be set for ornament or shade, and even for these purposes the double trees are preferable. The fig tree naturally branches near the ground, and the only way to successfully imitate this habit in cultivation is to plant by the double-tree method.
PRUNING
The pruning of the fig varies according to the age of the trees and the purpose for which pruning is done. While other fruit trees require yearly, and generally heavy, pruning to insure fruit of good quality, the object in pruning the fig is simply, or at least principally, to keep the tree healthy and give air and light to the fruit. The most important rule to be observed in pruning the fig is that no branch shall be cut off squarely or be cut back so as to leave a stump. This is almost surely fatal to the future welfare of the tree and to the quality and quantity of its fruit. When it becomes necessary to remove a 1-year-old limb the cut should be made at least as far down as the next fork below, and it should be close to a joint in the fork. There should be nothing left but a scar to show that a limb has been cut away. There must be no stump left. The fig tree may require to have its branches thinned out, but it must not be headed back except to correct unsymmetrical growth. In dense trees branches which cross should be removed entirely and in such a way as to give the tree a rounded, dome-like outline, with the lower branches nearly touching the ground. In pruning recently planted trees the object in view is, of course, entirely different, as fruit can not be expected for several years to come. The object of this early pruning is to shape the tree. When two cuttings are set together little pruning is