Cold hardy figs

You can go out tomorrow in the late morning/early afternoon and clip leaves that are shading the figs so they get sunlight and warm up sooner.

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Sounds like youā€™re judging it a bit early. Give it another couple years. Iā€™ll bet itā€™ll ripen more figs each year, especially if youā€™re able to protect it a bit more.

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I put a plastic bag over the branch and the figs inside the bag ripen sooner

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I think I may have seen someone tipping over and covering a Chicago Hardy fig, and then uncovering and tipping back up in springā€¦

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thatā€™s pretty traditional.

too much wok tho, for big trees.

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@Susu Give it a couple more years to mature and protect it well this winter. I have 2 very mature bushes that ripened hundreds this past year starting from late August all the way until the frost. I honestly lost my appetite for them having to eat at least a dozen a day. Iā€™d say less than 5% of the fruit formed didnā€™t ripen in time.

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yup. it took 5 years for me to get 600 fruit,
at 4 years only 200
at 3 years, 50.
these things take longer than people say, but itā€™s worth the wait.
thing is, wrapping gets harder every year.

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That is one technique. It probably keeps them from getting as big as well because you damage the root system when you do that. You insulate them from above and let the ground keep them adequately warm. The danger is voles and if you cover with plastic the wood can rot.

I used to make a fence ring for my figs and fill it with leaves. When I left it at that it worked fine but one year I covered it with a tarp and the wood rotted, killing the top of the tree.

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One trick is to plant them on a 45 degree angle so they are easier to bend down in the fall. Hardly any damage at all that way.

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Do you still winter protect your fig trees?
I did again this year. I uncovered it too early last year. Wonā€™t be doing that again.

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Yep. Fig leaves were the most sensitive to frost in early Spring. I wasted a few Breba crops in the past because I was too antsy!

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Yes I donā€™t take chances anymore. I havenā€™t wrapped mine up yet though. The weather hasnā€™t been cooperative whenever Iā€™m free. It takes a while since they are so big.

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I just noticed my strawberry verte in the basement is waking up quicklyā€¦it dropped all of its leaves maybe 2 months agoā€¦ it is about 64F down thereā€¦ Will have to move it under a grow light. I think it has flowers forming.

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Yeahā€¦i would be willing to do it with a tree or two for the novelty of growing figs hereā€¦but I live in a winery area and while most have chosen to plant hardier varietiesā€¦ I have some Marquette grapes that do very well hereā€¦cold to minus 28 Celcius for a few days or maybe even for a week at least once in each winter seasonā€¦anyway back to what I was sayingā€¦some have chosen to push the number of varieties by covering their vines and uncovering in the springā€¦it works but yeah way too much work.

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Yes thereā€™s the rubā€¦I have considered making some microclimates for more tender trees but you run into 2 problems, you canā€™t put a greenhouse type of protection around them because that gets way too warm and wakes them up, making them more susceptible to coldā€¦so whatever you put around them to protect them from extreme cold and drying winds also has to breatheā€¦leaves are a good optionā€¦i havenā€™t tried this but have considered for roses and blackberries or whatever. just plunk a couple straw bales down on either side of the plantā€¦tie them together and then cover to the straw dry ā€¦but again, you donā€™t want to trap any heat, just avoid the cold.

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andrew, my method works down to 0f, but for your temps you would have to add a heating cable.
easy to buy n install.

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I just checked my notes from last year and it looks like I unwrapped my fig tree second week of March last yr but had to wrap it back up until end of March. This year spring is early so Iā€™m wondering if itā€™s ok to unwrap my CH now? Anybody doing it earlier this year?

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I unwrapped mine already. Iā€™m afraid the warmth and moisture will promote mold that will damage the limbs. Some branched I left uncovered look like they are completely undamaged which isnā€™t surprising given how mild this winter has been in the Northeast.

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well, i unwrapped mine.
some buds died.
so, iā€™ve got black plastic over them.
warmest winter ever but still a bit early, i guess.

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Also unwrapping here. Many got zapped hardā€”not because of an unusually cold winter (we only got down to about 10F during the winter proper), but because of an early flash freeze in mid-November, when temperatures plummeted to 7.9F. I suspect that the figs were not fully dormant, then; and, though wrappedā€”and though some of them were planted in micro-climatesā€”, they were unable to cope with the early single-digit drop. Mt. Etna types look as though they lost the least woodā€”just smaller caliper stuff. Of course, wonā€™t know for sure until they start leafing out. Only moldy wood appears to be long dead stuffā€”probably bit it back in November.

Biggest surprises are Unk. Italian Yellow Westfield, which seems to have lost very little despite being a yearling when plantedā€”and may even have done better than some of the Etnas; and Alma, which despite being a little nub of a plant, looks to have a better than 50% survival rate and is starting to swell some buds. I hear mixed reports on that one: itā€™s either cold hardy or itā€™s not; itā€™s late producing or itā€™s mid-season. Who knows? Itā€™ll be interesting to see what it does, anyway. As far as UIYW is concerned, it is reported to be very similar to Brooklyn White, one of the hardier light figs, so that may account for its apparent hardiness.