Richard

I have found that there is more than one method that produces healthy trees and great harvests. The problem comes when a novice mix-and-matches from different schemes. So pick one that suits your lifestyle, and stick with it -- or end up with sticks!

Here's my take on pruning -- I'm sure other fruit tree sages on this site will also offer great tips and their own methodology.

Any fruit on the tree higher than you can reach is literally for the birds. The height limit for my trees is 8 feet, since I'm 6 foot tall. I keep an 8-foot length of 1" plastic pipe around as a standard for when I top my trees. I do this after harvest and also in the winter after thinning. My white fig is an exception because the fruit-bearing whips are so flexible I only prune at winter time at about the 3 foot level.

Here's a blurb I wrote recently for the horticultural society: http://www.plantsthatproduce.com/col...er_Pruning.htm

Here's an instructive picture for pruning white figs -- assuming you are going to skip the "breba" crop for the better tasting summer crop.

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