My yard guy came to do my yard yesterday & for some reason totally butchered my fig tree. Will it be ok?

Answer #1 · Maple Tree's Answer · Hi Linda-Unfortunately I see this a lot in my community. Many gardeners could use some training when it comes to learning proper pruning techniques. Many times an older fig may need to be rejuvenated by pruning them back hard. In colder climates some figs may be winter damaged back almost to the ground. In both cases the fig will normally recover with new growth quickly. Your over pruned fig will most likely be fine but this could set back its fruiting for a year. Fig trees normally recover quickly if radical pruning is done to control size or to rejuvenate an older tree. Like I said, the over pruning may cause the tree to have very little or no fruit next year early but may produce a main crop later in the year. If the tree had a lot of foliage that had protected the trunk from direct hot sunlight I would whitewash the trunk up to the first limbs. This will help protect the trunk from hot sunlight that can blister the bark. Any damaged bark is an easy entry wound that boring insects can enter. I noted a link below to an article on how to properly prune a fig tree. You might want to give this to your gardener.

http://www.gardenality.com/Articles/360/How-To-Info/Pruning/How-To-Prune-A-Fig-Tree/default.html

Please ask if you have any other questions.

John)