i had 2 unwatered figs that really started to droop. so i watered; they looked great 3 hours later

I have started to water my figs. We are having temperatures from 103F to 106F here in Arkansas. Some of my trees were wilting. I put a soaker hose around them and give them a good soking. I have been doing this about every three days. The trees are looking better now than when we were getting all that rain earlier in the summer.

Vern

These appear to be young trees, so better to water them and lose a few fruit this season, than to lose or stress a young tree with affects into coming years.

Please explain further the "lose a few fruit comment". Is that because watering will cause them to split?

I've been told not to water my figs or grapes after Aug 1st so that they will harden off for winter instead of continuing tender fleshy growth. Perhaps that advice is specific to my Pacific NW climate. We certainly aren't experiencing 100 degree weather.

We have a very wet Fall.

Glenn,

My trees don't go dormant until late November sometimes. Even then, we don't always get a hard freeze until later (if at all). Keep them watered and healthy. There is still plenty of growing season left. The two posts above are typical. Usually you see wilt before leaf drop.

The people who were suppose to water my containers while I'm gone, haven't since I left in early July. This past week with the temps up and the rain gone, my trees have suffered tremendously. I spent this morning assessing the damages between the bands of rain. It is not a pretty sight.

~james

James,

A tangent from the original post, related to your containers' lack of water. I have several in containers here that I rooted, airlayered, and one recently purchased and am trying to figure out how I can keep them watered if I'm away for a week or so.
I have about a dozen of these, and all are in a mix of pine bark fines and turface, about 1:1, or maybe a little more pine bark with osmacote. I've found that the mix drains so that I can water very often without them being soggy and it also holds moisture pretty well. I bought a battery powered timer at Lowes yesterday and am going to try to arrange the containers around a sprinkler so that they are all watered when the sprinkler comes on. I'm planning to set the timer to water 2 or three days a week for thirty minutes and watch it while I'm here. If that seems to work I'll have confidence in the setup while I'm away, and if it requires some fine-tuning I can get it right before actually depending on it. Don't know if that would work for you or not... don't even know yet that it will work for me.
I think the timer was about $40.

James, I can not believe that some let you down by not watering your plants. I would be more pissed at that than if someone stole a potted fig tree. At least I know someone cared enough about a fig tree to take one instead of not caring and let them die for lack of watering them.

Vern

Excess water can cause fruit drop or spliting in some varieties (see older posts from this season in Texas). But plant health at this tender age is more important. Better to be a little over watered than under watered.