Planting Fig Trees for Success - 75 Planted This Year!
In this long-form, podcast-style tour of his Philadelphia yard, Ross the Fig Boss gives viewers an inside look at his mid-summer orchard operations while detailing the essential care required for newly planted fig trees. Taking a temporary pause from selling trees to manage his workload, Ross highlights recent upgrades to his website—such as new AI-generated video and variety directories—before walking through his hands-on planting process. He demonstrates his technique of planting young trees shallowly and at an angle to simplify winter protection in Zone 7a, followed by heavily soaking the root zone to prevent transplant shock. To improve his dense clay soil, Ross top-dresses the area with mushroom compost, explaining how feeding the soil biology from the surface conserves moisture, inoculates the ground with beneficial microbes, and encourages aggressive growth without burning delicate young roots.
Beyond routine planting, the video delves into the technical aspects of Ross’s decade-long fig research, covering tree hormones, pruning techniques, and his custom breeding experiments. He explains his goal of cross-pollinating elite female varieties with male caprifig pollen to develop superior genetics, noting how pinching terminal buds alters growth hormones to build structural scaffolds faster. After pausing to taste a exceptionally rich, berry-flavored Violette de Bordeaux fig from his greenhouse, Ross addresses his controversial high-density planting strategy. While planting trees just 1 to 3 feet apart creates intense competition for light and nutrients that might not suit the average backyard grower, he explains that it is a deliberate, space-efficient method that allows him to rapidly trial hundreds of varieties for cold hardiness and fruit quality.
Looking for fig trees or cuttings? Check out the Fig Boss storefront: https://www.figboss.com/category/all-products
For more fig growing tips, check out the Fig Boss blog: https://www.figboss.com/
The Fig Tree Timeline: https://shorturl.at/p5u6q
Need help with your fig tree? Contact me: https://www.figboss.com/contact
Follow me!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rossraddi/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rossraddi/
Support My Work!
MERCH! - Posters, Mugs, & Shirts: https://fig-boss.creator-spring.com/
Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/rossraddi
One Time Donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/rossraddi
The Tools, Fertilizers, and Products I Use to Grow Food: https://www.amazon.com/shop/rossraddi
Consulting Services: https://www.figboss.com/consulting
Zone 7A - Greater Philadelphia
00:00 - Introduction & Channel Updates
02:00 - Website Directories & AI Tools
03:44 - Care After Planting & Soil Life
08:14 - Potted Fig Care & Removing Early Fruit
12:24 - Fig Breeding & Seedling Experiments
27:02 - Tasting Violette de Bordeaux (Dhabia)
33:55 - How to Plant Fig Trees & Use Compost
46:40 - High-Density Tree Spacing Strategy