After our 31 degree night… several were hanging straight down by 1 PM.
Picked 11… I know they are not going to have that heat ripened flavor… but some may be ok.
58 remain on the tree.
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It is your luck and harvest as long as you can no clear answer. I have so many still hanging on my potted figs if I can harvest 10% of those I will be happy. If freezing temperature stays extended period of time these may not be good.
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This will likely be the last fresh fig I eat this year, a Genovese Nero. It’s still very sweet, jammy, and syrupy.
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Wasn’t sure what to do with all the unripe figs that had no chance of ripening, so I tried lacto-fermenting them. (This was before I saw the more intuitive suggestions on this site about preserving them in syrup.) But the pickled figs turned out surprisingly well—a little chewy, lightly sweet, and with some of that pleasant coconut-fig leaf flavor. 
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So… my Chicago Hardy is done for the year… getting ready to protect it for the winter.
Last year I protected 5 stumps around 18" tall… and let each of those stumps send up 2 shoots… total of 10 shoots this year.
This year I thinned those 10 shoots down to these 6 stumps left… most are approx 24" tall or long.
I narrowed it up some eliminating some shoots that would be in front of or behind others (sunshine wise)… and narrowing it up some will make it easier to protect this winter.
You can see what I have started there, have those stumps surrounded by hay bales… that is just one level deep but when I actually fully assemble it there will be two layers of hay bales, so the tops of those stumps will be below the top of the hay bales. That small rectangular center space where the stumps are I plan to fill with pine bark mulch.
I have put hardware cloth around the stump bottoms. I did not do that last year and had no problems but several here recommended doing that (to protect from rodents possibly chewing the bark)… and I have that done.
After I add the 2nd layer of hay bales and fill that center with pine bark mulch… I am going to put a tarp on top and then two more bales of hay on top of that and rope it all down.
Last year our low was +8 and I had it protected (much less) and it worked.
See any serious flaws in this strategy for a zone 7a in ground CH fig tree ?
I will add more pics once I fully protect it… may be a day or two.
Thanks
TNHunter
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Thank you for sharing that. I have being looking into this variety. I read how it’s worth getting but I don’t know anyone that can confirm that statement.
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I was a good season here too in Canada. Nov 28 - the fig is going dormant now. We had our first snowfall here as you can see in the back 
There are some figs still on the tree that I don’t think will ripen. It should be back to life in Feb!
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My tree’s are done for the year, repotting will be February plus heavy pruning.
Right now they are still waiting to go in garage, according the 10day forecast, good till 10 December. Still in the high fifties an mid sixties.
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I am putting these cuttings back to hopefully root them this coming late winter early spring… this is all new to me… been watching YouTube vids… hopefully some success.
PS… those are all in the 1 inch to 3/4 inch diameter range.
Question… your fav rooting medium ?
Something simple or a mix of various components ?
Note… so far I cut those including 4 nodes on each… gave them a wash in light bleach solution… sealed the end cuts with some coconut oil.
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I posted my very simple method in the other thread just started about cuttings. Is it Too Early to Root Fig Cuttings? - #8 by zendog
Basically, I wrap the top 1/3 in parafilm to keep them from drying out and put them in pots with the unwrapped part all below soil, keeping it lightly moist. I use ProMix, since I like a mix without any added ferts. If you just want another tree or two, you can also just put them in ziplock in the fridge until late March, then wrap the tops in parafilm and stick them in the ground then. I’ve done that in some open space in raised beds and had almost all take that way as well. There seem to be a lot of very complicated approaches, but for most common figs that hasn’t been necessary in my experience.
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I have those stored in the garage fridge veggie crisper… in a zip lock Gallon freezer bag. I may try starting the rooting process in February…
I have some parafilm and treekote ordered… should be here soon. I have used promix in the past starting my own tomato seedlings.
The best cuttings are the size of pencil to sharpie. The large ones are slow to root.
I never use tape. It is too slow. I just wax both ends for storage. If root right away, just wax the top. The hot wax dry the fresh cutting and seal it.
Figs are very easy to root , just two most important things temperature 75 to 79F + Moist media ( not wet ) .
There are several methods available on youtube.
Here is a post I did while back when I rooted few hundred cuttings that might help some.
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I use just Turface, nothing else. Have a lot of it on hand. Don’t ruin the roots taking them out.
See me now.
8feet.
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@RedSun …
Mike Kincade… does lots of fig vids… youtube… he experiments a lot with cuttings, methods, cutting size, etc.
He says that pencil size cuttings do root well… and may bud and leaf out ok… but they generally do not thrive after that. They do not have the stored energy (in the cutting mass) required to thrive after that. They often wither and die after making it to that point.
He prefers thicker longer cuttings… and said once they do root and bud and leaf… they thrive and make the best fig trees for him.
He has one rooted in this vid from a cutting that has to be 4-6" diameter… but he said he prefers 3/4 inch diameter cuttings… and that the mass in the cutting… is what makes them really thrive once you do get roots and shoots.
I may try a few smaller ones too… just to see what works better for me.
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Mike Kincade? There are so many personalities at Youtube. We all need to practice and do not take others’ advice for granted.
In order for cuttings to grow, we need the right environment to activate the dormant cells and make them active again. For those thick cuttings with old wood, it takes forever for the 4"-6" thick branches to get going again. I lot of us can’t wait for 6 months or 12 months for them to root and start.
Those thin cuttings are actually semi green or semi hardwood cuttings. The rooting method is different from regular fig cutting method. It is not that those thin cuttings do well, but he is not doing the right way. The green cuttings probably root the fastest. But we need to root them differently.
@Redsun – I am definately seeking advice… brand new newbie to this.
Mike Kincade sure seems to be a fig propigation knowledgable person… he has been doing this for many years… and I have seen other youtubers quoting Mike’s advice…
He did successfully root a huge fig cutting and it is flourishing.
He said he prefers thicker cuttings (in the 3/4 inch range) with some length to them…
(More total mass in the cutting) which he said causes them to have more stored energy… which helps them to survive and thrive better… after they root and develop buds leaves shoots.
Again his opinion after observing that smaller thinner cuttings often root well… and may even develop buds leaves shoots well initially… but then often stall… shrivel… die.
Best I remember he said those 3/4 inch thick cuttings will normally develop roots on 3 to 4 weeks… buds leaves shoots… in another 3 or 4 weeks…
I have no idea… so just gathering ideas and opinions now… and starting my own experiments.
I am going to cut 6 more fig cuttings this eve from my stash… 1/2 inchers… diameter wise… and will see which do better for me.
Thanks for all opinions.
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IMO, this forum is probably the most knowledgeable place for growing fruit trees, fig included. Gardenweb was great, but it died. I guess this is why Smith created this forum. I found people here have more knowledge than the so called “fig king” or “fig boss” etc. And people here are very friendly too.
Also, a lot of us never makes any YouTube videos. Sure we help each other here, but not the publicity we desire. I’m sure if Steve (fruitnut) wants to make YouTube video, he can make a ton. More than anyone else.
Over the weekend, I went to a friend’s house and cut his large trees. Some of the base cuttings are very thick, like 2" diameter. I may dig a hole in the garden today and wait over the winter. The ones I keep are mostly about Sharpie thickness. To me, they are the best to keep.
I do not care those YouTube videos showing people how to root a 4" thick 4’ tall fig branch. I do not really care how they do it as long as I root a new tree.
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In this vid… he roots two huge cuttings…
1… 2 ft long 6 inch diameter
2… 19 inch long 2 inch diameter.
They were started on May 5.
Next shown on July 10 (2 months 5 days later) and both had green growth happening.
Next shown Aug 17… lots of green growth… potts filled with roots and coming out the bottom.
Extreme examples for sure…
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