My inground figtrees might suffer another P/V accept this one. My no name variety, small fruits but very good tasting, use for my fig/rum sauce with ice cream.
Somewhere in there with 6 4x4 posts and what not to bend down the suckers.
4 Likes
cool, Bob.
I did not cover my Tena fig this winter because it was sold to me as a White Marseilles. I can’t be so sure yet but a lot of the wood is lignified and is very springy as opposed to the branches that instantly snapped off. It has grown so fast the last year while being designed for the west coast. I’m afraid it will be a monster this year. I didn’t cover my Olympian that I planted late spring at at least half of the branches seem alive and well for not being covered either. I know it was a fairly mild winter for Pennsylvania but I’ll be thrilled if I don’t need to protect them.
1 Like
i have a chicago hardy that froze to the ground last winter despite being buried in a 6ft. snowbank. it grew back to a 6fter. last fall i cut half the roots with a shovel. tipped it on its side. covered with insulation, a old winter blanket and another 6 ft. of snow. hopefully it makes it and i get some breba figs. 
1 Like
If you live that far north, I,ll grow the tree in a 15 gl container. I got about 20 growing in containers and they look very happy so am I. This P/V might not be as bad as predicted so my inground might sail through to, I hope.
2 Likes
ive got no place to put them in pots. its either 68f in the house or outside temps in the unheated garage.
1 Like
Unheated garage will do. All of mine are in the garage for 4 months, not heated.
1 Like
it got to -30f this winter in my insulated garage. maybe colder. got to-43f one night. i had z4 hardy potted plants in there 1 winter with the roots wrapped in insulation and lost all 8 of them.
1 Like
The ones I grow in compost socks get laid down sideways and covered for the winter. It has been working out pretty well for me. Growing fig trees in compost socks
1 Like
i was thinking of growing a few in standard pots then covering the top of the pot in fall, tipping it on its side and burying the whole thing but doing that leaves the whole root ball above ground. thats why i cut the roots on one side then laid it down instead. at least 1/2 the roots stay in the ground to get the tree going come spring. got this tip from a Russian fig growing website. This guy does dozens of fig trees this way and they all survive in the same zone im in. obviously dont get as many fruits as you would in more ideal conditions, but id be happy to get a few bowlfuls from this tree.
1 Like
Wait Bob! What is this fig/rum sauce for ice cream of which you speak!?!? You can’t just drop a bomb like that and not tell us the recipe! I actually LOVE to cook figs and honey and pore them over ice cream, so this sauce with run sounds great!
The recipe is for figs or cherries. Because figs are much bigger, I happen to grow a fig variety that’s rather small, just right for this recipe. You to leave it whole and not mushy.
I use Brandy but if you like dark rum, it will be good to me. I do either way. Wife like brandy.
French vanilla ice cream is what I use. When you buy a container of icecream, you have to scoop up 3 or 4,roll it your hands to make a hard ball and put back in the freezer in a nice serving bowl till your sauce is done. If cherries are out of season you can use can cherries, save some of the liquid
If you don’t make a compressed ball it will meld too quick.
THNKS! That really does sound amazing. I have a bunch of cherries already pitted in the freezer- might give this a try on them. But the figs sound better. I have a tree that also makes small figs, so I’ll keep this for that! YUM!
What variety has figs that small?
‘Sweet Diana (unknown)’ has figs that are “up to about 10 grams each fig, which is 66% of the size of a ‘Celeste’ fig”
Alan,I don’t grow a fig that is the size as cherries, a little bigger but it will be good enough. You can cut it in half, but you might get the figs too mushy.
The figtree I use is a older variety,way back from the Encanto forum. Don’t have the tag anymore. It is growing in the ground. The one I am using here.
1 Like