Has the tree broken dormancy this year? If so, I'm not sure it would be a good idea to give it a serious pruning until next winter - even though it would surely survive. It would just be ideal to prune it while it's dormant.

How often have you repotted the tree with new soil? You should do this probably every other year with a tree this size. When you do re-pot you can do some root pruning also(which will actually stimulate growth).

What about fertilizing?

Others may add some different suggestions. There are past discussions of all these things, and you can search the posts using the key words.

Good luck.

Henry

Angela

After 7-8 years and not a single fig, toss it and get a fig that will make your heart and tummy happy unless the tree has sentimental value.

Herman does it all the time.. He throws out the losers! You could also put it in the ground and use it for shade, but to me that tree just takes the place of a tree that could be ging fruit.

I was wondering if it produces tiny figs that fall off before ripening, or not even that. It might also matter if it is a breba producer (like Desert King) or a main crop producer (like Brown Turkey).

I had a fig tree that did this, and discovered that it was drying out too fast in the summer, resulting in loss of the figs. They can require impressive amounts of water when in containers. This year I have it planted in the ground, so we'll see if that helps. Probably not an option in CT.

What might be an option is to remove about 1/2 of the branches, and shorten the remaining 3 or 4 to about 3 or 4 feet, since 7 feet is too tall to manage easily anyway. Then when new branches grow, pinch off the terminal buds when they reach about 5-6 leaves. Pinching at that point stimulates formation of figs on the new growth. If it is a 'main crop' type fig, it should produce figs on the new growth.

Getting it out of the pot and root pruning may also be helpful. You might be able to search on 'root pruning' in the gardenweb fig forum for details of that process. A 7-year old fig tree in a barrel probably has an impressive rootball that will look like a woven basket when removed from the container. Don't strain your back doing this!

I'm with loslunasfarms: move on to a new tree.

Angela, You said you had "grown cuttings from the same tree and never had these problems". Do you mean that other cuttings from the original tree have produced and ripened fruit for you, but this tree is the only one that hasn't produced?

Yes.
I personally have had clippings (from different years than this one) from the orginal tree that bore fruit (both in CT and GA). Also, several others in the family have too.

The tree was still dormant so I cut off several of the branches and trimmed it back quite a bit. I will try and replant it. I will search the posts for more info about trimming the roots.

Thanks for the prompt suggestions.
It is a sentiment tree (since the original was my grandfather's and he has since passed away), but I do like the idea of keeping it as a shade tree and trying to get figs from another.

Angela, Since other cuttings from your grandfather's tree have fruited, your tree should give fruit. It sounds like some kind of cultural problem. Main crop figs are produced on new wood, and the next year that same wood will give an early crop (if the variety produces an early crop). If the tree gets bigger and bigger without being repotted or pruned, the amount of new wood that is produced will decrease every year. And after a while, the tree only has enough energy to support its framework.
Pruning and replanting should work like a charm.
Best of luck with it.