Karyn,

Siting is critical for these. There's a very large fig tree down the road from us that is on the southern side of a house. It's maybe 15 feet tall and all leafed out! My small tree with trunk diameter of 2 inches froze all the way back. I dug it out and am throwing it away! That said, a friend up near Leesburg said all his are leafing out, so I may get a start from him -- maybe it's a hardier strain.

My calla also does not show any signs of coming back, nor does the agapanthus. :-(

Dave my figs have been in the ground for at least 10 years. I occasionally wrap them in burlap over the winter to get an earlier start on fruit but with everything that was going on late last year I never got around to it. I had Peter Pan agapanthus that I left in the garden last year and I haven't seen any sign of it. My standard agapanthus are in pots and they're growing like crazy. I'm holding onto the slimmest ray of hope that my callas will appear but it's getting slimmer by the day : (

Hello,

I have some calla's in pots. Any I ever put outside did not come back. But I have not had the best luck with them anyway. My calla's had a flush of blooms early. Now some have green leaves and some have died back like dafs or tulips. I have not kept the bulbs before. How long do you need to keep them dormant or when will they start growing again? Is there anything special I need to do for them. I have not read up on these. I haven't took the time of late, I have been busy. I thought about dumping them to see what shape the bulbs are in. Same with amaryllis one of mine bloomed a few big flushes. One did nothing. They both have green and healthy leaves. What should I do with them? I have never tried the fig here. I am also in zone 7 in Northeast Tennessee.

Thanks,
Tammy

Karyn,
I hope yours come back and are just slow. I grow a fig tree in a pot and leave it out in the winter. It does grow in the ground but I decided to keep it in a pot. I was going to toss it this year when my husband saw one leaf so I kept it. It is usually all leafed out by now. I never get figs because the birds eat the figs when they are small. Some calla lilies winter over here and some don't. I am waiting on some canna's to come up, but I think since it has been cooler and rainy for the last two weeks that could be holding them back?? Hope yours show up soon!
Joyce

Tammy your potted callas were likely forced. I'd just plant them in the garden. They should grow all season and either be lifted after the foliage has been hit with a frost or left alone. Put them somewhere like a garage and once the foliage has dried store them like any other tender bulb or they can be left inground over the winter. I used to lift them but then I noticed that the ones I missed were coming back in the spring so I started leaving them out. You can put the amaryllis in the ground and lift it in the fall or you can keep it in a pot. I'm not sure what you do to make them bloom but I'm sure you can find info online. I have Brown Turkey figs in the yard and some tender varieties in containers. The container figs are fully leafed out. I fight the squirrels anhd birds for the fruit but last year I had quite a bit so all were happy. There's several figs that do well in zone 7 though they should be planted in a protected area.

Thanks for the info Karyn!

Karyn,

I just bought and planted another agapanthus (trying one more time). This one is from Monrovia, can't remember the name of it -- it's not 'Storm Cloud', but the label said zone 6 (which I think is an error), anyway, I planted it in a microclimate this time and will cover with mulch and plastic for winter. The bloom heads are already 2 feet high. I really like them.

Karyn hope they will come back! My Fig tree in the front is really producing a lot of fruit this year AND the deer can not get to it this time!

I do not know what fig tree I have...but I am trying to root a lot of them right now :-) the one I could not share last year, is happily growing in a huge pot.

Lucy

My callas come back every year. I have them planted on the north and south sides of the house. I don't mulch them over the winter. I guess the house shelters them.

Hi,

I grow both in Potomac. Callas have been coming back for years - they are about 20 feet from the house and 2 feet from a stone patio on the north side of the house. I put tons of leaves on them in the Fall. Gladiola's are also in this area and are doing well. Both Calla's and Gladiola's are multiplying as well!

I also have a Brown Turkey that got though it's first winter. Planted in the spring and covered with it a tomato wire frame with double sided insulated bubble wrap. Only late summer growth died.

Hope this helps!

Tvalenti I'm also in Montgomery County (Ashton/Cloverly) so we have about the same temps. You might be a few degrees warmer. My callas aren't in a protected area but have been coming back for several years and multiplying well. When did yours start coming up? Everything seems late this year so I'm hoping that they just haven't sprouted. I refuse to grow glads. The original owners had them in the side yard and I spent a couple years getting rid of them.

My figs got hit bad and they are in a protected area. I just cut off almost 8' of growth. Some of the lower branches are leafing out and there's several new shoots coming up from the roots but most of the old growth is gone. If I'd wrapped them last fall they likely would have made it but there was too much going on to get to them. I usually wrap them in burlap in Nov. I'll get fruit from the potted figs but nothing from the Brown Turkey's this year.