I am finally seeing spring get in gear here, enough to check out my figs and poms for signs of life.
The figs really are dried out. I see exactly one bud pushing on one fig now and I expect most are going to be dead at or near the ground. The canes are brown on tips, old-wrinkly in the middle, and sort of OK for bottom third, but I don’t see any signs of budding. Its wilt-pruf for me next winter for sure, its getting a little tiring as this is the third year in a row they will be coming back from the roots.
The poms all seem fine, at least the ones I have looked at so far.
There are clearly different hardiness issues going on there. With poms it seems more like the buds dying, and with the figs it seems more drying out is the problem. We had less raw cold the last winter but maybe there was still too much drying wind.
Somewhat northern but this is the first time in three years I don’t have any damage on anything. This is unprotected in the open, even my in ground citrus did fine.
No die back on my figs here, near Washington DC. Pomegranates also are all in good shape – starting to leaf out now. (They’re all Russian varieties, save two I grew from seeds from a supermarket pom just for the hell of it.)
I’ll type up a “full” report once things are growing and I’m sure where everything stands, but on the whole my figs had minimal dieback. All the green, non-lignified growth was toast as to be expected and most 1 year shoots. Variety depending, most of the larger trunks look good but some have cracks in the bark which doesn’t bode well.
I think my trial to see the hardiness of Excel has shown it’s not too hardy, that one looks the worst of all 15 or so in ground trees.
I peeled back the 12" woodchips I mounded up over heavily pruned figs I planted inground last year, and was excited to see some green cambium near the soil line- they survived a z5 (-17F) winter!
I rooted White Triana I bought from Ebay and have a well-rooted Marseilles Black VS as well as Kathleen Black and Bayernfeige Violetta plants. I re-started Danny’s Delight to be rooted as well a couple of days ago in water since they didn’t take root like White Triana did in sphagnum.
My Excel is the only one with a live bud on it, about a foot off the ground. Go figure. Violet de Bordeaux is as usual much more toasted than any other fig.
@Austransplant, we must live in different microclimates. The weather should not have been that different given how close we are.
I’ll have to wait and see before making any real judgements on it, but thus far it looks pretty rough. My biggest plant looks pretty good. Only the top foot or so looks rough, the rest of it (3-4’) looks alive.
MBVS is one I have planted inground, along with Sal’s GS and a few other unknowns.
This season I intend to put a few more varieties inground that are in pots right now in the cellar.
The south side of my home is going to be my zone pushing microclimate, combined with some winter protection measures which will hopefully mean more figs.
Over optomistic? Perhaps.
I realize Bayernfeige Violetta and Kathleen’s Black are potted plants for here. I’m just wondering what the hardiest of the hardiest are that are being tried and are proving hardy (w/protection) / (w/o protection) after 5-8 years in-ground.
I am still not quite sure how the ones that were not protected did. It looks like they will have some 2 yr. wood left. Voles got a bunch of the protected ones, a few had damage all the way down into their roots so are probably toast.
Marseilles Black vs, Ronde de Bordeaux, LaRadek’s English BT, and Florea are reportedly the hardiest of the hardy. I am also rooting some new varieties from zone 5/6 eastern Europe that may be along those lines.
Generally if a variety will survive/thrive zone 6 and below it is because it is able to rebound from the roots and ripen fruit that first season. Few, if any, will be able to fruit unprotected or without a sheltered location below zone 6.
The fruit on RdB is top rate. As good as anything I’ve tasted. Has been a shy bearer for me but I think that’s just circumstances. It also bears early in the summer. A must have for anyone IMO.
LaRadek’s and Florea have not ripened for me yet. If LaRadek’s is similar to other English BT types, that will be a fave of mine (large and sweet). They are all a bit different in flavor.
My Brown Turkey, Chicago Hardy, Celeste and Mission were growing like gang busters until the cold hit them a few days ago. Now I’m back to dead leaves and wood. Apples are doing very well, only exception is the Jonafree, which seems late or maybe it’s supposed to be a late tree.