u/Pep1ta

Moved into this house in June, Providence RI (zone 7a). This fig has been here for a very long time, but neighbors said it never bore fruit from what they can recall. No idea what variety it is but clearly it survives winters here just fine. It grew HUGE in the last 90 days, dog for scale, it’s about 7 ft tall and at least 8ft wide. I tried cutting back low branches and had a bad reaction to the sap so I’m kind of wary of it now.

I’m not worried about fruit, but how do I get it under control without hurting it? I’ve read about wintering on this sub and will do so when it’s time but my concern is how to deal with its rapid growth now, it’s infested with lantern flies and it’s just so big! Totally out of my depth here. Thank you in advance!