What growing zone are you ?

You mentioned it's more like a bush, how many branches are coming from ground ?

A picture would help a lot.

Are there any figs on branches now ?

What kind of fig tree? And we need geographic location, not just your zone. Different varieties of edible figs produce at different times and some are better suited for certain climates than others.

Am in hardiness zone 7a or 7 b. Long Island. Winters are cold, summers are warm and humid. Fig tree gets cut back and wrapped every winter. So it takes a while for the foliage to grow back. Late May.......foliage is just beginning to appear. The first year we were here, 5 years ago, we had quite a few edible figs. Less and less since then. I do not have any photos of this fig tree.

Here is what the fig tree typically looks like by late July. It grows taller by September.

Peter its concentrating on growing the foliage (vegetative stage) and not the figs (flowering stage).

Having less main branches out of ground and then nipping the ends after 5 to 6 pairs of leaves will have it produce the figs as it did years back as you mentioned.

There is a balance that your zone will support for the fig tree which is less branches.

What is very important though after you nip the end off more growth will come out in that area and you must pinch that new growth that appears off as well to help force it into the flowering stage otherwise the new growth will keep extending .

The tree may support more branches but too many and you will less ripe figs by season end.

Here is my zone 5 near Chicago the one we had in ground would ripen figs by seasons end using the method above that was until the ants destroyed it - long story.

Martin