Do you mean "pleating"?

Here is the short video i was talking about

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL1aCkKR0h4

Here is a link that might be useful: Pleach A fig Tree

..... plaiting - as in 'braiding'.

Al

I once stopped and talked to some people who had a beautiful fig tree. They had wanted to tidy up the tree but couldn't cut it on account of sap flow. Their solution was to braid up the smaller branches around the main trunk and it was just lovely. It would work with our fruiting fig as well as the benjaminas you see in house plants. Figs noodle and bend very well especially if they are just a touch dry.

Tapla,
I googled Plaiting. That's about what I wish to do with my fig trees . Although I have to wait until they grow roots first. All 6 varieties except Hardy Chicago have white nodes so far , with the paper towel/Zip-lock bag method.

thanx guy'z for your responses.

Hi Al!

Perhaps if you plait a peach tree, it's pleaching. :)

I wanted to do that to some crape myrtles, but never got the chance to do so.

noss

Cody...

I have tried this with some fig trees, and it might work if the stems are green and not too lignified and woody. If the stems are too stiff, they will snap. My attempt at pleaching caused the stems to snap, and I invented Triple-XXX curse words that will never make it into any slang-dictionary! The stems that I tried to braid/pleach/plait, were too woody, and stiff. Young, bendable wood is the way to go with this kind of training.

The video shows only the end results of that three-in-one pleaching, and you can bet that those trees were braided when they were still young, green stems. It can be done. Just start with green, juicy, new stems, and gently braid them together. I would tie them off every few inches so the braiding remains tight. I would then braid all the newer green growth as it forms. It will be a work in progress, and it may take a few seasons to get the "composite-tree trunk" as tall as needed, and the cambium layers to fuse. I would also use varieties that ripen around the same time.

Try it. Maybe you'll increase your cursing vocabulary, but hopefully, you will have more luck than I did.

Pleaching is more popular in Europe than in The States, and there are web-sites devoted to "Arbor-sculpture"...you will not believe your eyes when you see what can be done with living trees.

Good luck, and let us know if you try it out.

Frank/BronxFigs