Content
- The fig - a heart-rooting
- Complex root system
- Figs need large planters
- Stimulate rooting in free-range figs
- Can fig trees break masonry with their roots?
- Tips & Tricks
The fig - a heart-rooting
Wild, awesome fig trees form a flat and broad root system, usually three times the size of the spreading crown. They belong to the Herzwurzlern whose root form reminds of a hemisphere. Several branched and lignified main roots give the woodland stability. The main root below the trunk grows almost vertically into the ground while numerous other roots spread radially around the plant.
Complex root system
As a result, the fig is perfectly adapted to the soil conditions of their home and can make the most of the available water and nutrients. Due to the strong main roots, the fig is stable and despite stronger winds.
Buckthorn figs and fig trees planted in our latitudes should educate you so that the roots reach far into the depths. This makes the tree less prone to frost damage and root rot.
Figs need large planters
Fig trees, which grow in a bucket, you have to repot every two years on average. You need larger planters than other balcony trees, so that the sensitive root ball has enough space. If you pour the fig regularly from below, it will encourage you to form strong main roots. However, avoid waterlogging as the fig reacts to too much water with root rot.
Stimulate rooting in free-range figs
A fig planted in the field thanks the good preparation of the plant hole with strong rooting. Loosen the topsoil with some sand or gravel and add coarse gravel as a drainage layer into the planting hole. Thoroughly wash the fig during periods of drought so that the plant forms deep roots that do not freeze during the winter months.
Can fig trees break masonry with their roots?
The fig is described by a poet of antiquity as a plant whose roots are strong enough to bring walls to collapse. This poet had a flourishing imagination, because even though the roots of the fig can reach enormous proportions, they are hardly able to blow up masonry.
For the roots to penetrate into cracks in the wall, the wall would have to be cracked and riddled with cracks. In addition, free-range figs always freeze in the cold winters of our latitudes and rarely become as tall as wild-awake specimens. Even in the case of fig trees or espalier fruit planted close to the house, there is therefore no danger for the intact masonry of your house.
Tips & Tricks
While you can shorten the root ball a bit when moving many trees, you should avoid this with the fig. Figs are very sensitive to root ball injuries and may even be damaged by root damage.
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