OK to shorten a fig tree? - Ask Extension
I started this fig tree in a pot 2 years ago. After all the leaves fell, I brought it inside for the winter. Now as you can see it is leafing out. I d...
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OK to shorten a fig tree? #923732
Asked January 17, 2026, 6:43 PM EST
I started this fig tree in a pot 2 years ago. After all the leaves fell, I brought it inside for the winter. Now as you can see it is leafing out. I do not want it to be tall and lanky. Can I just prune it about 1/3 up from the bottom hoping to encourage lateral branches? maybe also remove the suckers? I plan to keep it in a ever-growing pot size for the time being, but plan to put it into the ground to replace its parent tree that I allowed to go too wild.
Montgomery County Maryland
Expert Response
The fig might struggle with not having a winter dormancy period by keeping it inside all winter (ideally, it should be outdoors year-round), but since you can't put it outside at this point, wait to prune until it's older. Fig plants develop into large shrubs in our area, and typically have multiple main stems and a height and width of around 8 feet or more. While a container might stifle growth enough to keep a specimen a bit smaller than that, they grow and fruit best when their roots are unencumbered and growing in the ground. Our Growing Figs in Maryland page has tips for cultivation to reduce the risk of winter branch dieback during cold winters.
In the meantime, now that the fig is leafing-out, it needs bright light to do well, either placed directly in front of a sunny window or supplemented with grow lights. Do not prune it now, but when it's eventually planted in the ground and a bit more mature, you can tip-prune the branches so that secondary branches form that will be able to fruit more. If too much wood is cut back, fruits won't necessarily form on that first-year shoot regrowth because the wood is too young.
Suckers should be retained unless they become too numerous and crowded, since suckers are future main stems that will have more mature wood in time that fruits well. Usually, you'd want to wait for an outdoor-grown fig to begin new growth for the year to see if any winter branch dieback occurred before deciding what to cut back, since dead wood needs to be removed first, and any winter damage might have already "pruned" the plant enough without needing to trim live wood as well.
Miri
In the meantime, now that the fig is leafing-out, it needs bright light to do well, either placed directly in front of a sunny window or supplemented with grow lights. Do not prune it now, but when it's eventually planted in the ground and a bit more mature, you can tip-prune the branches so that secondary branches form that will be able to fruit more. If too much wood is cut back, fruits won't necessarily form on that first-year shoot regrowth because the wood is too young.
Suckers should be retained unless they become too numerous and crowded, since suckers are future main stems that will have more mature wood in time that fruits well. Usually, you'd want to wait for an outdoor-grown fig to begin new growth for the year to see if any winter branch dieback occurred before deciding what to cut back, since dead wood needs to be removed first, and any winter damage might have already "pruned" the plant enough without needing to trim live wood as well.
Miri
