The First Training | Project Banyan Fig (Ep 4)

The three Smith fig cuttings planted in Episode 3 have established. The canopy is filling in, the roots are settled, and the branches are still young enough to move without snapping. That window doesn’t stay open indefinitely. This is Episode 4 — the first training session. The goal isn’t dramatic intervention. It’s introducing an intention — nudging each branch toward a 45-degree angle from vertical, beginning the crosshatch weave pattern that will eventually make this look like a strangler fig consuming a host tree. Early training matters more than late training because wood hardens and branches remember the direction they chose on their own. Some branches were ready. One wasn’t — and knowing what not to touch is as important as knowing what to train. Project Banyan Fig is a long-term series documenting the training of Smith fig cuttings — a Louisiana heirloom variety — into a living sculptural form inspired by the strangler figs and banyans of the tropics. The goal is a fig tree that doesn’t look like a fig tree. 📺 Watch the engire Project Banyan Fig series from the beginning: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbi0smb9pwYTeTLQIN61Yz_zvAKp1ufgq&si=WCm7_Il9hiKRm9bK 📘 The Hidden Harvest Handbook: A Guide to Gardening for Quiet Abundance — the philosophy behind building an edible landscape with purpose and beauty. Available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0greAhVK GM Grovescape | Project Banyan Fig | fig tree training | living sculpture | Smith fig Louisiana | food forest | edible landscaping | Zone 9b | strangler fig | banyan fig