Advice for overwintering fig trees
Hi - I'm new here and new to growing figs. I planted two Chicago Hardy fig trees in spring and want to protect mine. I’m hoping for some advice on a few things:
No Fruit - My barber’s tree was planted at about 12” tall, the same that mine was when I planted it this past spring. In his case the tree bore fruit in its first year. Almost 20 figs. In my case, while the tree grew to well over 3 feet tall, I didn’t get a single fruit or see a hint of a bud. Would anyone know why neither of my trees would show any sign of fruit?
Pruning before winter – I’ve received different advice on pruning from “cut back half of the tree” to “don’t cut anything, just tie it up and cover it.” We had a couple of cold nights recently and the leaves are now curled up and wilted, yet they’ve not fallen off. They’re even still pretty green. So, should I be cutting these leaves off before they fall naturally? And should I be cutting some of these branches off? Or just the little suckers?
We’re getting to the point here where nights are dipping to freezing temperatures so I’m thinking I need to act sooner than later....BTW - My plan to over-winter is to build up the soil around it to effectively raise the frost line under the tree and then to tie up in burlap and cover with large black garbage bags, Hoping the black will gather a bit of heat.
I welcome all thoughts.
Comments (17)
Joe F
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Overwintering a fig tree in a fridge?
Comments (3)I live in Tampa Bay, Florida. I am reading posts about overwintering in cold places. We of course grow our figs in the ground here. We get maybe 10 days of freezing temps here each winter, and I make no effort to protect them from heat or cold. They are just fine. Oddly, this winter has been so warm that the leaves are still on all 7 of my fig trees, and I ate the last good fig this afternoon. Were I to live up north at all, and if I had my trees in buckets, I'd simply move them into the garage or other snow/ice protected areas for the coldest nights, then leave them out during reasonable days. I used to live in Spartanburg, SC, and fig trees grow to towering heights there, and they are never protected. If left out on a balcony in Virginia, I might suggest wrapping the tree loosely with a blanket, but especially important, don't let the roots freeze!...See MoreAnyone moved a fig tree with a 20 inch diameter trunk? Advice?
Comments (14)Here is what my 81 year old uncle does to his tree every winter in a suburb of chicago. Its an italian dark variety i would say looks just like mine a Sal's fig and its been in the family for at least 50 years or more.Uncle Louie and my 2 cousins dig a long trench about 17 ft long and several feet deep.They then dig around the bottom of the trunk and knock over the tree about 15 foot tall,all the roots break as you can hear them cracking when they knock it over along with some branches.They wrap burlap completley around the branches and tie it with twine,kinda looks like a live christmas tree when you see them on top of cars being transported.Then several pieces of long plywood is placed on top of tree in the trench and covered with dirt,looks like a fresh grave when three done. In the spring they just dig down to the wood and remove it then prop tree up.Its amazing the size of this tree and the hundreds of figs it gives out each year.Its exactly like mine in all ways but i grow mine in a whiskey barrel.So i suppose one could actually remove a good size fig tree at the right time and if stored properly it would grow back at least in 1 years time if it went into some shock because of all the stored food within its trunk. I have had my Celeste and a italian variety from Bari that were 5 to 6 feet tall in containers die back where i had to cut them down to a foot tall finally leaf outin Mid june they were in the garage not protected but i figured the food stored in the trunk would make them have a chance and i was right,i won't get figs off them this year but they will do great next year,my hardy chicago and Sal's will give me several hundred like last year so i'll be ok was just hoping though to make some jam this year but oh well. Martin...See MoreHoping to overwinter potted fig tree in VT...
Comments (13)How cold is your garage in the Winter? (Attached are warmer thus the above question.) In the GROUND, they are cold hardy to about 7a (without protection), so, coldest MINIMUM of about 0 F (which in my area, seems to amount to average ANNUAL lows in the 20's/minimum teens). but containers are much colder than the ground, so I would be concerned if garage temps remained below freezing for prolonged periods (day and night). Occasional tips below freezing into the 20's should be okay. Figs are subtropical and deciduous, and would resent the constant warmth of your living room and would drop their leaves as well and eventually lose their vigor....See MoreStill learning and looking for advice on this fig tree
Comments (5)Esmeralda, You have a lot of new green growth starting on your parent fig tree. This is good. Prune back all the dead stems on it to its crown. Don't mess with any of the new shoots at this time. Picture #1. Pot up that severed, separate stem you show, and see if it takes. Don't bury the green growth....plant the stem with them just poking up from the soil surface. Water sparingly, but no drying out, please. Push a thin stake into the soil, right next to the stem. Tie the stem to it in two places to keep the stem stable, not wobbling in place. When all the green shoots of the parent fig tree are new, green stems, and they are about 10" tall, choose the best, straightest 6 of them, spaced evenly apart. These are your new multi trunks of your rejuvenated fig tree. Remove the rest. Don't worry about all the gnarly crown wood left. Let it alone. It's not hurting the tree what so ever. Just continue to remove any additional fresh green growth that comes from it after you select the 6 new trunks. You will see new green shoots emerge from that crown for years. Keep removing them when they first emerge. They will get fewer and fewer in number in time. Keep after them. Moses...See MoreJoe F
8 years agoJoe F
8 years agomejam16
8 years agodrew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agomejam16
8 years agoJoe F
8 years agoJoe F
8 years agoMuch appreciated. This picture is what I ended up doing. Sorry for the dark night picture. I just stuck my phone out the window.
I did the thing I mentioned above where they're tied up and surrounded by about 16" of leaves all around with sticks and burlap holding it all in. What I changed is that I took off the black bags I had on before and replaced it with some Tyvek that I had left over from building my shed. This way it's insulated and has I white protective cover that's water and wind resistant - yet breathes.
What I didn't do is bend them down at all. I admit I don't understand the reason for doing this if your not bending them right underground. (That's what my father used to do). Do you just bend them to the ground?
Seriously - I'm starting to think these will just be easier to grow in pots with wheels that I can just roll into the garage for the winter.....The things we do for fresh figs....They're just so good though..
Joe F
8 years agoscott_ga
8 years agodrew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
8 years ago
drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a