The weatherman said temps will go to 37 overnight in a few days. He also said there may be patchy frost. I figured 37 was safe to keep the potted figs out. But can’t afford to lose the leaves if frost hits. That is a wide range of temps from 37 to frost.
What is your cutoff temp for shuffling potted figs? Are you safe at 38 - 39 and shuffle when it hits 37?
I just took my thermometer gun and checked all around- some spots were as low as 32F while others were 40F, and this is after sunrise. The weatherman reported 40F, so I guess I really should have shuffled them inside this time!
I have a bunch of frost sensitive plants in pots. I’d be surprised if they died at these temperatures, but I’d also be surprised if they’re happy with me too!
I think there are two strategies.
If your trees are still dormant, you don’t want them to endure killing cold, which is probably 15 F or lower. So Strategy 1 is to take them out early – when risk of severe cold has passed but frosts will still occur.
If your trees are growing, you don’t want them to experience any hard frost, which will cause leaf damage. You especially don’t want them to experience any severe cold that would freeze tissues full of sap, which is probably any sustained period 25-28 F or lower. Frozen branches means permanently damaged vascular tissue. So strategy 2 is to take them out when risk of frost has passed.
Growing figs will not be killed by a brief frost, though they will experience leaf damage.
Brief overnight temps <40 F will not send trees back into dormancy, but sustained temps below 40 F will. Leaves will drop and trees will not resume growth for a month.
This is growth from 5 weeks or so. My figs have been nursed since going outside when Spring hit. I can’t afford to lose the leaves. I also have some figs in pots out back. It is just a pain dragging them back and forth into the garage. But Drew51 has it worse! I hope to limit my potted figs to around 30. If I was younger, I could handle more. And I don’t carry them much; I got a flatbed cart to wheel around. If I had to do it again, I’d buy a longer cart. It can handle 2 pots at a time…just.
Would you consider having a dolly or a flat bed kind of rolling cart? It may make it easier to shuffle the figs in and out if everything is paved
a dolly is a huge help. just slide them on instead of lifting
