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> ... while most trees grows with some kind of symmetry between upper limbs and the root system, fig trees don't follow that. Just curious, how then do fig tre

• hosh 4y ago
  The upper limbs of a fig tree seem to grow whichever way to reach the light, and the root system will also grow like that. A fig tree might be trimmed and still have an extensive root system. Hardwoods will try to maintain some kind of symmetry. One root that branches supports a branch above ground. If that root is cut, the above-soil branch it supports dies out. Likewise, cut the branch, and if it does not grow back, the root will die back. This is why for hardwoods and most trees, when you transplant them bareroot, it’s best to spread the roots out.
  • ephbit 4y ago
    > One root that branches supports a branch above ground. If that root is cut, the above-soil branch it supports dies out. Do I get this right? You're implying that specific roots are somehow more or less associated with specific branches in most hardwood species but this association is less strong in fig trees? And the association comes from capillaries running all the way from the roots to the twigs with basically no interconnections in between (that'd be in the stem)?