Do you aerate your soil? My pots are all on a drip system and get water 3 x per week for 45 minutes. If you are hand watering, the water may just be going down the sides of the pots, and not penetrating the inner soil. Get a Soil Sleuth and you can check for moisture and at the same time aerate the soil.

I know you need to grow in containers because of your winters. When mine outgrow their pots, in ground they go.

Get the Soil Sleuth. Google it.

Yes,I had your problem:

Solution:Bury your pot 2 inches in ground and your problem is over.

In November dig it out ,by cutting the roots ,that are outside pot and take plant inside.

In Spring plant it back out same way,just make sure drain holes are open,and not plugged by roots.

That is it!

Hey thanks every one. I like the ground idea !! That's what I have to do for my trumpet flowers. Because figs need hot sun to do well they grow so fast , like tomatoes that they outgrow their pots quickly. The soil is all used up. I have to water in the am and I am not home in time to water before they wilt. They seem to drink a heck of a lot like my banana trees and brugmansia, especially if laden with tons of fruit like mines

The ones in the huge pots do ok. I just made some water emitters too so I will use the sprinkler method besides on timers

Its kind of a catch 22. If you grow them in hot sun and the roots outgrow the pots before next year, its horrible. if they were left in part sun or cooler weather they would stay moist but barely grow ripe sweet fruit. It's as if they were meant to grow in the ground or huge containers. Even the smallest of my trees.

How big are you talking when you say "huge" pots? I bought a Brown Turkey in May in a 1 or 2 gallon, and by the end of July it had roots coming out the bottom of the 5 gallon I had transplanted it to so I may have to end up resorting to that 2 inches idea. I just put an LSU Purple in one that's 10-13 gallons though so I'll see if their roots aren't so monstrous in the bigger ones like you say. And yes bananas are shameless water hogs mine in pots dry out almost daily :)

Mike...what kind of soil are,you growing your figs in??

Hi Jersy..a Very good mix fro Farfad...Nursery mix...The roots grow so fast, that the pots are just roots by the end of July! I have 8 inch cuttings that I thought would do well in one gallon containers, but they out grew those already.

Thanks Mike...where do you purchase this? Even tho i'm in jersey my daughter goes to college in Boston so I'm in Mass. often!

I recently bought a couple of figs from city farm in roslindale and he suggested coast of Maine potting soil, but I'm always looking for something better than what's sold at Home Depot. My smaller figs are in Al's 511, but I would have to make a ton of it for the larger ones. I hope I didn't hijack this thread lol, but I'm a newbie and have so many questions. I appreciate all the help and advice! I was so surprised to see Mike on this fig forum, since I always follow his citrus advice!! Great info for us northeast growers

Hi Jersy! Well look at that, you are also a fig nut..Yes, I have been growing figs for years and finally got it down from all the wonderful people here)

What I can tell you is that I too use the 5.1.1 mix and found it to be very useful for my trees, but needed to much to make so much..So I went to 'Griffin Greenhouse Supllies' in Tewksbury Ma. which is only a 20 minutes drive without traffic from Boston.,to get a huge bag of the top of the line Farad Mix seems to be just as nice as the 5.1.1 mix already made. I love the mix. If you are use to using Repti-Bark and not Pine Bark, it will be a little different for you. It does have finer particles than the 5.1.1 made with Repti Bark, and it does hold moisture much longer, but I like the stuff. Anything else has always eventually killed my trees.

The key to using a bagged mix, like the one suggested to you from that farm is making sure not to over pot, knowing when to water, and repotting frequently before the mix ever breaks down and has a chance to kill the roots.

Griffin's Greenhouse Supplies

1619 Main Street

Tewksbury Ma. 01876...978-851-4346

If you need the exact names of the two mixes I use, let me know. One is the 'Farad Nursery Mix'..It's a heavy weight with mostly bark but you'll need to add perlite which they have there or Mahoney's next door has. The other, I can't think of it, but it already has perlite and is comprised of mostly bark, I think 60 %

Next year before my trees come out of dormancy, I am either going to find places to bury a few pots as suggested, use drip irrigation and keep them in smaller pots, or go HUGE on the pots, even for my little trees...Trust me when I tell you that keeping them in pots just the right size when they awaken is such a pain if they are suppose to be kept in HOT sun and outgrow their pots before summer even ends. Bad combo because for me it's too late to repot and taking them out of the hot sun only slows them down and does not allow enough time for them to ripen.

Hi Mike...I'm heading up to boston next weekend and wanted to pick up the farfard mixes. Do you have the names of the two that you use? Thanks I appreciate all the info!

Mary