additional photo

photo of the full tree

are u fertalizing? looks like it could be missing some nutrients. when u over water usually the tree sags and droops as well and looks the same as if u wernt watering at all. watering every day isnt so bad if the ground is drying out quickly and your not watering too much at one time.
that said if your not fertalizing id start with that. and see what happens. if the leaves have been yellow for a while dont be suprised if the tree drops them as well.

hope that helps
chris

I've been using fish emulsion oil, but nothing else.

I have a second fig (a hardy chicago) that was planted in the same mix, only using fish emulsion oil, that does not have this problem

I have a soil testing kit, so maybe I'll do that after work today and see what's missing. Thanks for the advice!

This post was edited by dechanique on Thu, Jul 18, 13 at 13:58

Add some composted chicken manure 1/2 gal, worm castings 1 cup, Azomite 1/2 cup, bone meal 1/2 cup, blood meal 1/2 cup. Mix with a equal amount of peat moss. Spread on top of ground, water in lightly. Mulch with pine bark nuggets. Stand back. Leaves may drop from previous damage. It will be ok.

let us no how it turns out :)

Thanks Sand18F! There is a nursery a few blocks away, i will go and see if they have these items!

my soil test samples pretty much show that it's nutrient deficient

pH: 6.5
N - depleted
K - adequate (K2)
P - depleted

the yellow leaves are still clinging but will probably fall off soon. Will update once i get the fertilizer in

it's too late to be adding organic nitrogen if you live in zone 7a it will push too much new growth before the wood can harden off for winter. get through this season and fertilize in spring. it's perfectly fine to be a little depleted on N if growing figs outside of zone 8. in ground. organic fertilizer takes weeks to be taken up by the plant and thus feeding the plant over a longer period ie 3--6 months so use manures and meals about 2 weeks before the first leaf pushes out and use compost tea for a boost throughout the season if you feel the need. but again give your tree time to stop growing before the first frost. the dark color wood is what you want to see on over 90%of the tree by te 1st of october. or it could die to the ground or die all the way. mulch around your tree and only water once a week. next year if you keep it mulched you may not need to water it at all. inground figs trees take neglect well and clay holds tons of water so the trees will be fine going 5-7 days between watering just be sure to use at least 4 inches of mulch or better and keep the mulch off trunk of the tree. also only water the soil not the leaves or you'll get rust or other fungal diseases on the foliage. good luck, and don't go broke buying all that expensive crap at organic stores a little lime and compost go a long way my friend. growing organic is supposed to be cheep but big business has stuck there greedy hands in the mix and now it's just stupid at what they try to tell you need to grow things properly. I'd never use fish emulsion because raccoons are attracted to i fish and they will eat your ripe figs if there happen to be any at the time of his visit. I'd never buy rock dust, seaweed powder and all that other crap. people have been growing things for thousands of years without the need for such things. I'm all for feeding the soil but again compost goes a long way and the more diverse the compost the better. if you don't have a compost pile , bin or tumbler start or invest in one instead of wasting your money on nutes at the garden center.

WELP it's too late because I already fertilized it, remulched it and it rained before i saw your post. Thanks for the insight though! Well.. we'll see what happens! Maybe climate change will lend a hand on a later frost, or I could wrap the trees for the winter?? I hear that is a thing people do with figs (first time fig grower)

We don't have a compost bin, but have plans to put one together

The Celeste fig stopped changing colors after the application of the fertilizer. The yellow leaves and some immature figs have dropped, and the tree appears to have stopped growing. The stems are all dark brown now. There appears to be one fig that is almost ripe, which surprised me as the leaf it was sitting on yellowed and fell off. It's soft and started to crack, but hasn't fully drooped - so perhaps tomorrow it will be ready!

Meanwhile, my hardy chicago exploded these past couple weeks- it's twice as tall as it was and we got our first ripe fig from it - which was quite tasty!

Thanks for the assistance! Even if the celeste stops growing this year, hopefully it will come back next year with vigor! :D