In my yard, those bags tell the squirrels which figs are ready to eat. Lol

And yeah, they know my owls are fake too…..

Those are organza bags. I put them on any fig that I notice is starting to swell. They help a lot with the birds, but they’re not full proof

Thanks for sharing. What are your observations so far? I just purchased my first fig tree and appreciate you and all the others sharing info. 

What are the bags protecting the fruit? 

TIA

In the early spring I pinched the tip off of the central leader. It lead to bigger side lateral branches, which are used as the “scaffolding” for your final form.

If you are at your desired height, definitely pinch the tip off of your main stem. It will push all of the energy/hormones into fruit ripening and side branching.

Can you explain what you mean by "topped and scaffolded" to someone to has never heard that term? 

My VdB has just gotten to my ideal height for her (I think), so I'd love to help her branch out a little

On the topped tree, how tall was the central leader when you topped it. I'm just wondering how short is too short to do this.

I do not let my trees in pots sucker at the base of the tree. In ground, I absolutely let them

I like the central (not necessarily more though) but most varieties want to bush out or produce loads of branches from the base. My English Brown Turkey has produced a central leader by itself, mine has done that and i haven't had to prune any side branches etc.

Case Study : Central Leader vs. Topped and Scaffolded.

Here are 2 Celeste fig trees, rooted at the same time in identical conditions. At the beginning of Spring, I topped one of them and left the central apical bud on the other. 

The topped and scaffolded tree produced nice long branches and was capable of ripening its fruit (24 figs)  a week before the one with the central leader (14 figs).

As you can see, the central leader’s branches are much shorter and less developed. This is due to less sunlight being able to penetrate the tree’s canopy.

My conclusion : if you would like to grow a tall, single trunk tree, you can with a central leader. Your fruit production won’t be ideal, but after you get it to your desired height, TOP IT! Lateral side branches create a much wider and spaced out canopy, increasing light penetration and fruit production.