Winter tips for confused beginner

15 years ago

Hi,

I planted a small fig Spring 07 and it grew to 5 ft so I planted it in a 4 ft garbage can in the fall. In Spring 08 I added 6 more, each in a 4ft can. They are on the north side of my parking pad (like a personal parking space/drive); there is a 6 ft fence just North of them (so they peek over the top in their 4ft 'pots' and my three story row house is to the east. The harbor is about a half-mile to my North and a quarter mile to my East. There is also a 5 ft fence on the south side of my parking pad but no trees are planted on that wall as a neighbor's cherry tree shades that side of my pad.

Last year I let my fig fend for itself in the winter and it did fine but now reading your website I am not sure what to do---do I need to wrap them (I don't want to, I'm lazy). If I do need to protect them more than just huddling them next to eachother, fence, and house, could I just throw a tarp loosely over them? My friend lives in the suburbs (zone 7) and is planning on taking his (in large ceramic pots) off his deck and into an unheated shed...also OK?

We are considering trying the method some have written about, and try to bury cuttings from all our trees in his yard...if I understand correctly, just pull off all leaves and any figs and bury in a trench...but do we wrap them or just toss on the dirt? How deep do we bury them? Could we bury them in window boxes that are placed in his shed (I have about a dozen 6" x 5" x 3' ones we could use)? could I put the window boxes in a sheltered area (between my house and my neighbors house) snow falls and sticks there (a little) but I think the air temp stays above freezing all winter?

I've now read two things about where the new figs grow--is it new or old wood? I don't think any of our trees get breba crops, and even if they did we'd sacrifice those, but would like to get the main crop. So say I cut back a branch, will figs form on the new wood that grows in the spring? Or will they only grow on wood that is a year old? how about older wood, 2 or three year old wood?

Sorry for all the questions, I tried reading other threads but it seemed everyone was far north of me, far south, or not living in a city microclimate.

Thank you for your help.

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Comments (4)

strachan13
15 years ago
Hi small

I'm to the north of you, in zone 3, and I'm in the same boat. I have a Chicago Hardy fig in a pot. I waited until all the leaves fell off my plant. I then stuck it in a cool, dark spot in the basement. I plan to leave it there, unless someone comes up with a better suggestion!

I too have heard that people bury their figs in the ground, but since my ground freezes to at least a foot down in winter, I'm not big on digging a three foot deep trench every year to keep it from freezing!

Chilling out in Manitoba....
dieseler
15 years ago
IM in zone 5 and grow in large pots and then bring in attached garage for winter, some here dig trench tie branches like a fresh bought christmas tree then wrap with burlap and knock over into trench , they put plywood on top covered with dirt as the wood makes it easier in spring to shovel off dirt without harming tree's. Some who keep there tree's at a resonable height in warmer zones i have heard make homemade ring of chicken wire around tree and fill with dry leaves then some wrap some do not. For me its easier to grow in pots but there are several ways mentioned above to protect tree from winters depending on where you live. As for new figs most grow on new growth of tree.
Hope this helps as im not an expert and the things i do might not work for others in different climates.
Martin
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fignut
15 years ago
It seems as if your micro climate is fairly mild if the area between you and your neighbor doesn't get below freezing, and your original fig was fine over the winter. You might get away with doing nothing - but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Younger figs tend to be more susceptible to cold than mature ones. You could push your figs together and throw something over them, but I wouldn't use a plastic tarp. Platic doesn't insulate much, and a darker tarp could heat up during the day causing fluctuating temps under it. Home Depot and Lowes carry rolls of silver bubble wrap that is an excellent insulator - folks on the forum have reported good results with it. They used to have wide rolls that you could measure what you needed, but around here only offer four foot rolls, you might have to staple (or tape) it to make the width you need. It can be reused. Discussion thread on topic: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/fig/msg1115011223117.html
As for your friend in Zone 7, an unheated shed would be good protection for the figs - just watch for rodents. I don't know how his pots will fare, though.
I've never buried cuttings, so I'll let others respond.
Some figs produce fruit on both old and new wood. Brebas are produced on (usually) one-year-old wood. Main crop figs are produced on current year's growth. So if you cut a branch off now or in early spring, you will get main crop figs on the new growth next year.
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small_sparrow
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you one and all! Sorry to be so tardy in my thanks, I work in a clinic and fig leaves aren't the only things dropping these days...I hate winter.
I'll check out the silver wrap this weekend...and I also don't want to kill any of my trees. My friend hates that I am disorganized and don't really know what I have, but the first one (I call my mother fig) has really sweet figs but they are so tiny like a dime or nickel....it will really need to make a lot of them for me to get anywhere with them. The last addition has only in the last 2 weeks looked like it would have ripe figs, three made it but are no where near as sweet (of course, it IS winter, I should not demand much) but the figs are the size of my palm, so I definately don't want to kill this one off. I am also partial to it since it seems to want to grow like prostrate rosemary so I might actually be able to pick these for a while...I'm only 5'5" so even with a kitchen stool it is hard to reach the other figs...luckily they are not so wide yet so I can squeeze my 110 pounds into the trash can with them to try to reach the higher branches...may need to invest in a ladderif the figs or I put on any weight.
I know what you mean about pests and sheds; he decided to put up a small greenhouse and asked why I didn't for my figs. I pointed out that while he might get a mole in his, in my urban island I would be setting up a rat motel.
Thanks again Fignut, Martin, and Strachan13.
Small Sparrow

Winter tips for confused beginner

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strachan13

dieseler

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Winter tips for confused beginner

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strachan13

dieseler

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