Last night, the main trunk of our beautiful fig tree crashed down. It split right above the roots. It wasn't even that windy. Any suggestions about possibilities to save it would be highly appreciated.
I was thinking of cutting the main branches off, and then trying to put it back with some heavy braces to keep it in place for a few months or till next year. They sell this product Tree Wound Pruning Sealer and Grafting Compound, not sure if anyone has any experience with that? Especially not sure if it would work with such a large trunk.
But still baffled to how it could have happened. Has been doing beautifully, no signs of pests or anything. It was growing lots and lots of figs, so perhaps the load just got too heavy?
So any ideas what might have caused it will also be highly appreciated.
We had lots of rains recently, so perhaps too much moisture? (We're in Southern California, so normally we're in drought, but had unusual amounts of rain the past three months or so.)

Hard to tell exactly what you have going ion at grade level there. Looks to be some serious wounding during a pruning session that ended up compromising the tree structurally - there's a lot of rot at grade.

If it was my tree and you like the figs, I'd get right on building an air layer from one or more of the trunks that appear to be as yet unaffected by wounding/rot. If you decide to go the layering route and need guidance, just ask. I do a lot of air layering and F carica is an easy subject. You could probably have the layer separated by Aug, maybe sooner in SoCal. I'm afraid that after you clean up the debris, it'll be just a matter of time until you see a repeat, so I'd be thinking about eliminating the damaged tree unless you keep it around long enough to layer.

Al

Thanks so much Al, I'd love to learn more about air layering.

I'm hoping to save as much as I can from the tree – after looking into this more, I probably will have to heavily cut back the other parts of it too to avoid a repeat. Not sure if now is a good time though.

But I'd love to make it a bit more even on the side that broke. Any advice would be much appreciated!

genie49 said: Thanks so much Al, I'd love to learn more about air layering.

I'm hoping to save as much as I can from the tree – after looking into this more, I probably will have to heavily cut back the other parts of it too to avoid a repeat. Not sure if now is a good time though.
But I'd love to make it a bit more even on the side that broke. Any advice would be much appreciated!

Some advice from the" Fignut"

I usually prefer layering fig by tossing some soil over the limb(s)... They root easily... And soil layering is certainly easy.

Now... your gravel landscaping may need to relax a bit... while the fig is rooting...
Where the top is resting on the concrete? Maybe a flat tray of soil under the branches and cover limbs with a bit of mulch...

It might even be possible to get ripe fruit from the limb if you aren't over hasty about cleanup.

I certainly wouldn't be attempting to "balance" the bush until after I got to pick the fruit...

Figs are kind of prone to these small disasters... they don't like being tree formed.

Thanks for your advice.
Yes, major pruning of the healthy part of the tree will have to wait till next dormant period.
I won't be able to keep it lying there on the gravel for long enough for it to root as we're hoping to convert that into more garden space. So I'm thinking about moving the limbs to a different section of the garden that has actual soil for it to root. How long will that take?
Or would it perhaps even make sense to simply dig a few holes in a different area of the garden and stick some of the trunks in there with some rooting hormone?

@genie49 You'll want to start your layer well above where the rot issue has compromised the trees structural stability. While you can definitely use a potting medium for the layering medium, the layer should be above grade level to prevent your layer from being compromised by the rot that caused the failure.

This is a hackberry with a layer underway:

It was established in May and separated from the mother plant, on its own roots, in August. Here, you see it fully established in it's new pot:

The tree was prepared for layering same as this Japanese maple:

You can use a closed layering system that usually utilizes sphagnum moss as the layering medium, or an open system. An open system is one like the pot used in the first image above. It requires regular watering but allows for quick diffusion of soil waste gasses. The closed system is nearly airtight, requires only an occasional check on moisture levels, but doesn't root as quickly.
For layering more horizontal branches, I typically use a set-up like this:

For more vertical branches, there only needs to be a single hole through the bottom. The container used should be secured such that it can't move in relation to the branch/stem being layered. Tying it off with string and/or zip ties very well.

You can predispose your plant to form root primordia by blanching the area where you want rooting to appear. My typical blanching set-up, used for 2 weeks before the layer is established, is to treat the area where I want roots to grow with rooting gel, then covering the gel with electrical tape - sticky side out. The darkness + the increase in moisture levels will cause primordia (the first inconspicuous indication rooting is underway) to form, followed by root initials (the first conspicuous indicator).

Al

There's nothing to be done with the piece that broke off as its no longer attached to the roots. Its wilting. But another option is to grow new trees from cuttings.

Figs root easily from cuttings just about any time of the year. The longer the cutting the better (In Europe, the cuttings are 3 or 4 ft long). Bury the entire stem with just the tip out of the ground (Cut all the leaves off). If you take the cuttings and let them callous for a week or so and treat them with 1000 or 2000 ppm IBA your chances will improve.

I've never bothered with the rooting hormone so my rooting success in warm months is less than 50% (in winter, almost 100%). I usually make my cuttings about a foot long if I'm starting them in 5 gallon pots and longer if directly in the ground. Put several in each pot.

Hardwood cuttings of hardy fig should be taken and prepared while dormant or success declines dramatically. Also, 2-3" thick branches of F carica can be air layered, providing a significant decrease in the time it takes for the tree to develop.

FWIW, the best method I've ever used for hardwood cuttings is: after leaves fall, take 6" cuttings, butt cut the top of the cutting and cut the basal end at an angle so one can't lose track of the cutting's polarity, soak in a KLN solution for an hour, bury the cuttings basal side up in a sunny spot in a garden or bed, and mark the spot. When whatever tree you're propagating first starts to leaf out in the landscape, uncover the cuttings and stick them with the basal end down.

Because the spring sun warms the earth top down, the warmer temperatures at the root end promotes rooting while the chill deeper in the soil keeps buds dormant. Rooting will already be well underway by the time the cuttings are flipped. Success rate is probably 90% or better. It works for all deciduous hardwoods I've ever propagated by cuttings and is pretty much the only method I use other than the occasional summerwood cutting I might start.

It probably makes good sense, if you don't mind the effort it takes, to try both methods, cuttings and layering. That way, if the summer cuttings don't pan out, you can take dormant cuttings this winter.

Al

genie49 said:
I won't be able to keep it lying there on the gravel for long enough for it to root
I'm thinking about moving the limbs to a different section of the garden that has actual soil for it to root. How long will that take?

We're all talking about different methods.
My method of layering, (just tossing some soil over the limb) requires that the limb remain attached to the bush. Usually takes a while... like months... If your limb has detached from the bush... My method isn't going to work.

Rooting cuttings requires cutting off most of the leaves and all of the fruit.

I haven't tried rooting fig cuttings... Or the method that tapla is advocating... I always go for the simplest method that I can get to work.

I was suggesting using the detached branch as the cutting material. There's really nothing else you can do with it. Fig trees do root on branches touching soil so Stone's suggestion would work if you could pull down a branch still attached to the tree until it had contact with the soil.

I think Tapla was suggesting a different kind of cutting care? I've haven't heard that one before so it would be interesting to try.

Wow, this is a great discussion!
Thank you all for your input. Since I have a lot of material to work with, I'll try each of these methods out.
One question, should I generally let all of the cuttings callous first or use directly?

Using the method I described, let them callous first.

I wouldn't bother. It seems to be planted far too deep/pruned too close to soil level and bad selection of regrowth after. Multistems are notorious for causing bark inclusions which are always a hazard down the line.

On the flip side: figs easily take from cuttings and they grow quite rapidly. You can take that route.