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Fickle fig tree?

SantySanty East Anglia, UKPosts: 24
in Problem solving
Please can someone help me work out what's wrong with my fig tree?  It lives in a pot with good drainage on my patio and gets plenty of sunlight.  However, the last couple of weeks the leaves have begun turning yellow and brown before dropping off; the fruits are falling off too.  This is a fairly new addition to the patio and I'm not very experienced in how to care for these. 

I've read that they are affected by both over and under watering so is anybody able to tell from the pictures or give me any tips as to whether this is the cause of the problem?



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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Central Norfolk UKPosts: 56,219
    Mine’s in a similar situation and it gets a large watering can full of water most days in the summer otherwise it behaves just as you describe.  
    They need lots of water and at the same time they need very good drainage. 
    “I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh







  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge South LondonPosts: 470
    That's quite a mature tree too...don't worry too much about dropping fruit, they tend to when unhappy and they will grow some more in the spring. Can you show us the size of the pot? A tree this size needs a biggish pot to remain moist enough and to be stable if it gets moderately windy. Always worry when people buy mature specimens grown in very different conditions than a UK garden, the plants will suffer some shock and a larger tree will protest a bit louder than a small specimen. My unfortunate fig story is that squirrels tend to eat the maturing figs...the little blighters  ;)
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • SantySanty East Anglia, UKPosts: 24
    It's in quite a large pot. Much larger than the one it came in and this, on its own, was so heavy I struggled to lift it. It's about 50cm tall and 60cm wide
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Central Norfolk UKPosts: 56,219
    My fig is smaller than yours and it’s in a pot 60cm x 60cm x 60 cm and I’m looking for something bigger and considering the alternative of putting it in a lined pit in the veg patch 


    “I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh







  • SantySanty East Anglia, UKPosts: 24
    edited 24 August
    Oh blimey, it would be a nightmare getting a bigger one for it!  I only bought it this spring and it seemed quite happy in the little pot it was in to begin with, which was much smaller than this one.  Yours does look very healthy though; I'm very jealous
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Central Norfolk UKPosts: 56,219
    Its been a bit of trial and error over the past five years or so ... it was very small when I bought it from Homebase of B&Q or somesuch in Norwich ... what compost is yours in?
    mine’s in JI No 3 loam based with added coarse horticultural grit at a ratio of approx 4:1 
    “I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh







  • SantySanty East Anglia, UKPosts: 24
    Exactly the same as you.  JI No 3 but I didn't add the additional coarse grit.  
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Central Norfolk UKPosts: 56,219
    When you pot it on 😉 add some grit ... it helps with the drainage while the loam hangs on to some moisture. 

    You'll have to be out there with me most mornings with a watering can full of water 💦 

    Whereabouts in East Anglia (roughly) are you ... if you don’t mind me asking?
    “I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh







  • SantySanty East Anglia, UKPosts: 24
    No, not at all.  I'm over in Lowestoft.  The tree came from Urban Jungle :) 

    I think I'll battle it tomorrow and add some grit to the mixture to see if that helps
  • B3B3 Posts: 10,366
    edited 24 August
    Mine was in full sun and needed constant watering. The leaves would droop twice a day. I managed to find an east facing spot where the container is in the shade most of the time but the leaves get the sun for a good few hours. It's doing much better now.

    There's a few yellow leaves, but they don't bother me too much
    In London. Keen but lazy.
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