Texas Gulf Coast, 9A can be tough!

General Fruit Growing
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Winters are generally mild here but the wide temperature swings we had this winter were pretty brutal. December started off really warm but briefly (and sharply) declined to a low in the mid teens. Most if not all of the unprotected citrus were toast but I was able to protect mine and moved the potted trees in.

DecTemps

I have an unknown fig that didn’t get protected though and it was killed back to the ground. I’d debated digging it up anyway but it was a nice, 7’ bush and made decent fruit a few years ago so I’d left it in for at least one more year hoping to get a nice crop. I think more consistent, gradual cold weather would have pushed it further into dormancy and it would have faired better but lesson learned. Lots of new shoots coming from the base and I already have new figlets forming so I should get fruit this year but I’ll probably dig this one up in the fall and replace with one of my other varieties.

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It’s interesting just how far south those winter storms off the Canadian shield will travel.

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Yes, sometimes, it’s almost as if the cold has a superhighway and a police escort to get here! Luckily, it’s only 1-2 times a year and from the recent historical data, quite a few years don’t get substantially below freezing. With temporary covering and a little supplemental heat a few nights a year for really sensitive trees, I should manage fine and even grow some things that would otherwise not work unprotected.

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