Can you simply move them out, take a chance on temps remaining at or above ~ 30 degrees, and if in case there's a forecast for below freezing, cover them with some extra-large contractor-size plastic trash bags to protect the leaves from frost damage? (I'd think it would be the moisture condensation settling on them and freezing that would be the problem, rather than temperatures a few degrees below freezing itself - ??) Others weigh in?

Sherry

Hi Sherry, Thanks for the lightning quick response. My fear is not so much now, but in about two weeks I have to leave town for a week and once I am gone, there will be no one to cover/uncover them. Although our last official frost date is April 12, we do get those oddball cold nights for another couple of weeks. These trees are my babies, the fruit last year was AWESOME and I dont want to lose them now.

In My Opinion it would have been better to slow them down by lowering the temp.,Instead of puting them in green house to hury them.
Now you have to acomodate them best you can.Regards

What Herman said.

The worst freeze damage occurs when water bound within cell walls freezes and ruptures the cell. Cold injury can occur at several degrees warmer than freezing. It damages cell membranes, causing phenolic compounds to leak out of the cell. The phenolic compounds oxidize when exposed to air, causing the necrotic tissue to turn black or brown. Slight cold-injury might cause plants to cup their leaves downward and/or wilt.

I think the plastic sheeting would only be helpful if it was situated so that it helped trap heat from the ground, thus raising air temps surrounding foliage.

You will find that trees kept cold and quiescent after dormancy and until they can be safely sited outdoors will show better vitality and development than those we "help" by moving them to warmer conditions.

Al

My vote goes for leaving the figs in the greenhouse until all danger of frost is past. The green leaves and new green growth can and probably will be damaged by temperatures at 32F and below. The mature wood from which the the new growth emerged will probably survive unless the temperature is well below freezing, but the growth of the figs will be set back considerably. About 5 days ago, we had two unusual late frosts here in Zone 8B Texas. The first night, the air temperature was about 33F. There was a light frost on the ground. The second night, the air temperature was about 33F or 34F, but the air was still and there was a fairly heavy frost on the ground. We have 14 in-ground fig trees and many more in pots. The figs in the large pots were just breaking dormancy and survived relatively unscathed. The first night, we covered 13 of the in-ground fig trees. (One is too big to cover.) After we removed the covers the next day and assessed the status of the new growth, it was pretty much a wash. I think that the covers did offer some protection, but the weight of the covers moved by the wind on the tender new growth did significant damage. The second night, when there was a heavy frost, I did not cover the in-ground figs. New growth at ground level was killed outright, but most of the leaves that were higher from the ground survived, although some of the youngest terminal leaves were damaged. Several weeks ago, after an unusually mild winter, my in-ground Mission fig tree broke dormancy and leafed out. A 29F night killed all emerged leaves on the Mission tree. However, it has rebounded, more growth has emerged, and the tree has young, healthy leaves over most of the tree. It would have been better to leave your fig trees dormant as long as possible, but as they say, "hindsight is 20-20"! If the roof of your greenhouse is sturdy and won't be damaged by the fig branches pushing against it a little, I would let the fig trees be. If you think that the greenhouse would be damaged, I would prune the trees back a bit. I suspect that they will endure that indignity better than a freeze. Many of my small potted figs leafed out 1 1/2 mo. ago. I got them through the few frosts since then by trundling them in and out of a storeroom. If potted figs are dormant or even have a few leaves, you can give them a degree of protection in temperatures hovering at the freezing point by keeping them close to a dwelling under a covered deck with open sides or by keeping them under the canopy of a large tree. If the temperature falls much below freezing, though, those measures will not suffice for figs that are not dormant.

these mare questions more than answers -

First, is there a role for Wilt-Pruf here? Spray on the leaves before taking the plants outside?

Second, since they have grown quite a bit, maybe pruning new growth back slightly, before they are taken outside will actually help them. Or, pinch out just the growing tips now; that would slow active growth & stimulate fig formation along the new branches?

Thank to everybody for their advice. I think what I'll do based on what everyone is saying, is drop the temperature in the greenhouse considerably. I can squeak out another 12 days or so in the greenhouse. That will put us til the last official frost date for Long Island. After that, I need to put them outside. Unfortunately I have to leave town for a week and I cant count on anyone to cover them. But if the last week has been an indicator, our temps havent gone below 35, maybe I'll get lucky. Plus the plants will be on the dry side once they are outside, which should allow for some room on a cellualar level for expansion in the event of a light frost. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Thanks again to every one for the advice.