Everything you NEED to KNOW About Fig Trees & Winter: Zones 4-8
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- čas přidán 21. 08. 2024
- A lot of people have been asking about the Northeastern United States upcoming November lows. Should you be worried about your fig trees?
Personally I think these temperatures are IDEAL because that will quickly send our fig trees into full dormancy. Especially when combined with a hard freeze. It's not until you get below 17 that you should even consider worrying. I'm expecting after these lows that I'll be able to prune, root prune and put them away for good. If you prune or root prune before the sap flow completely returns back to the roots, you're in a sense hurting your tree and losing some benefits of the dormancy process, which by cause and effect should get you off to a weaker start in the spring due to less carbohydrates stored in the roots (at least that is my theory and I'm sure it could be debated, but I don't think we'll ever really know for sure). People can talk all about figs not needing a dormancy period (which they don't), but we are lucky to have such a process. Putting them away early is likely not going to hurt anything, but I feel like you're babying your trees. Let them get stressed and withstand the elements. They adapt, become stronger and the fruits taste better that way. At least not in this sense, but the fruits will taste better when your tree is deficit irrigated and slightly stressed.
My pruned Smith and 20+ other pruned potted trees survived Thanksgiving night last year with absolutely no damage. It was 14 that night. I even had thermometers out there to document. Aaron Delmanto and Mario have experimented with these lows quite a bit. I know Aaron has killed quite a few trees pushing the limits and came to the conclusion that 17 was the safe point. The roots around 12-15 start to take damage and well... if the roots die, the top follows. The roots of fig trees are a lot hardier than we think. Another example... last winter I planted two trees with their root balls above grade in a 1 ft high raised bed. I think we reached somewhere around 0-2F last winter at the lowest. Both of these trees took some top damage, but are now back in full swing. I don't imagine that the root zones of these trees got too low because I had insulated them the best I could, but it does add to the argument.
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This is probably one of the most useful fig winterizing videos I have watched (out of many). I really liked the longer length and the many details added. Great service for the whole fig community. Thank you, Ross!
Thanks Ross this was a excellent collection of information about over wintering fig trees 🙏🔥🔥🔥”it’s was worth lots of money”
Mid-Missouri Zone 6A I have 1 Chicago Hardy and 2 Imp. Celeste figs in ground going into their third (3) Winter. I put a plywood box over the trees and cover with a tarp to help keep out wind. Last winter, temp got down to -10 F for two days; very unusual to get below 0 F. However, mice ate every bit of the bark above the ground, so the trees had to put up shoots from their roots which they did. We still got one or two ripe figs every other day during September and Oct.
Yesterday, I put the boxes over them; temps have been down to 25 F twice and below freezing 6 or more times. Had I seen this video before install, I would have waited longer.
The main problem this past spring was the weather stayed cool (cold), rainy and cloudy until late into the spring.
I'm also in mid MO looking to try growing some figs in ground and in pots. Glad to hear Imp Celeste still worked for you!
Nice job Ross. Good guidelines for that area and north I would think. I'm just tickled it's not nearly so complicated down here in 8B. Just throw a little pine straw or leaves around the bases and maybe further up IF the temps do get tougher and you're good to go. We do see those teens and below on occasion but not enough to create a problem - usually. Thanks for sharing your views.
Ross, lots of useful info. In my zone 7A/NJ I put all my potted fig trees in a Raised Bed Hinged Hoop house and I have Christmas Incandescent C9 String Lights inside for when the temperatures dip below 20°.
Ross, I really appreciate this post. Good Job!
It's funny how people perceive things. I live in zone 4 in ND so with only 3 months of dependable growing season so it's unlikely I can grow figs even if I were to drag them in and out constantly. Still I enjoy these videos in their longer maybe unedited versions (of course I can see there is some editing). I do feel like you are taking us all through your journey of your kind of gardening in your way. Keep up the detail!!!
It’s certainly possible you could grow figs if you are willing to baby them, start them indoors with a grow light. I’m attempting Chicago hardy figs in zone 4 for the first time. They were super cheap cuttings so not too much of a loss if it doesn’t work out but they were easy to root and did well over the summer. Now comes the tricky part
You can use greenhouse and grow fig like Florea for main crop.
Great job
I do appreciate it
I do have 500 plant of figs
I'm not so sure about the carbohydrates being stored in the roots . Often touted on many CZcams Channels
An acquaintance who manages a commercial wholesale Vineyard in the Shenandoah valley told me "don't do that" when I said I was going to severely prune my hobby fruit trees last winter .
He said , cutting the top growth severely, removes the carbohydrates needed to produce the spring growth
And on this channel there is talk of the abundance of the carbohydrates in cuttings that propel root growth in cuttings
But primarily it doesn't make a lot of sense that the energy / Carbohydrates descends to the roots in dormancy since there is such small root mass in the roots compared to the top growth
It would make sense that sap doesn't flow down but stops flowing and remains in place till leaves are formed to produce a pressure difference by evaporation of water from the leaves in the spring
Thanks man. Just getting into this for the first time this year. You’re not wrong that this knowledge is worth a lot of money. Look forward to spending some on your cuttings next season!
I have a few in the ground, Italian honey,Riverside,Ronde de Bordeaux and I’m in Maryland, I never wrap them and they do great believe it or not.
Thank you for sharing.
Just a friendly criticism and comment.
I think your channel popularity and effectiveness will be better served if your videos are made or edited to be no more than 10 minutes, 5-7 minutes is ideal. You give out very valuable information. Your subscriber base is not proportional to that. Almost every word should be thought through (a plan / write up helps). /cheers.
5 to 7 minutes ! Yep that's for me its rare to find that on CZcams I'm surprised to see your comment mention that five to seven minutes is ideal.
That makes two of us out of ten million viewers so there might be more of us out there .
Not his style! I rather enjoy the casual conversational approach to fig growing and care. Also, his subject knowledge on this topic is extensive and among the best on CZcams.
@@JeannetteShoreland Same. I personally can't stand heavily edited videos that follow set formulas. Ross's informal style is perfect!
I couldn’t agree more. Ross I love the videos but man you have to focus a little bit more. I have an outdoor Italian white fig about 6 foot tall with six or seven stems and I don’t know what to do. Should I prune or not, if so, how and when. should I wrap it if so how do I wrap it. I have about eight figs in pots should I bring them in not really covered in vid should I prune it not really covered. Where do I store them inside in a garage or shed unheated. That will go below 15 degrees I am in 6A. Maybe the title of the CZcams was a little bit too ambitious.
I have fig trees under lights in my house they won't stop growing waiting for fruit
I hear the wood is good for smoking meat. I also have heard you need to eat them in moderation because it can cause retinal bleeding and rectal.I also have heard they can live 200 years.
Great video. Maybe an idea for the next video could be....pruning for winter storage...ie single stem Japanese form for tree shape next growing season. Ty
Japanese training for me is cordon training The way grape vines are grown . What do you mean single stem '
He’s talking about a single-stem, goblet-shaped tree, rather than a bush. It is often referred to as a japanese style. Ross has videos on this.
@@raybailey thanks Ray . I remember the Ross video on pruning the Goblet shape . Ii didn't really realize it was called Japanese style
Thanks for filling me in
@@raybailey this is the Japanese pruning and training I like but I would have mine cordon or horizontal laterals inches from the ground so I could insulate and cover during the winter. Possible have it in a low tunnel as well since I would have to protect from groundhogs with fencing .
This style would be ideal for those that grow figs for cutting sales
czcams.com/video/wNUSxLsWuoo/video.html
Nice! I’m hoping to grow in a similar style once I have my own land.
I’ve noticed that, when it comes to general fruit free pruning techniques, people often use “Japanese” to refer to the goblet-shaped style (distinguishing from the “central leader” style). When it comes to figs specifically, people often use “Japanese” to refer to espalier/low cordons.
Has anyone tested the effectiveness of “wilt proof”? Ross has mentioned it a few times, but I haven’t seen anything on a comparison between plants that have been treated and ones that haven’t.
So I have 2 tiny figs I got in September. Probably 3 to 6 inches tall. Should they be left out to get zapped? I've been bringing them in every night and putting them in the window. We've been in the high 20's at night. Do you suggest I put them in the ground now and put a pot over it only when I get down to about 15? I'm also in 7a.
Also, I have a tarp/leaves/straw/wood chips already over a fig planted in May and others in August all in the same area. Do you suggest I take all that off, let them get zapped, and wait to protect them at around 15? Thx!
Im in 8b zone and my potted figs look damage by 30 degree nights should i plant and mulch them late to save them or cover them with straw
This is my first year growing figs in pots going into my first winter.
Great tips there but how do you deal with figs in zone 9b in arid southwest Texas? The average lows are 48° and average highs of 68° in winter. But then we get a polar vortex and get few days plummet to the 20s & 30s - how do you manage the fig trees for that?
Here we can get into -5 F.
My fig trees ... in May....has leaves being eaten up from top down. Leaves filled with tiny holes from top headed down leaf by leaf. Never had in 3 years?????
Set them upstraight.?
You mean you would (lay them down) then cover them with leaves and a tarp.?
In in Wayne NJ. I’d love to buy some fig trees (think 6) that mature at different times. Should I buy now? Or wait til Spring? I’d drive down to you and give $ directly to you thus avoiding fees and such. Hit me back
Research the varieties you want and find cuttings of them on figbid. Ross sells cuttings on there so you can buy them directly from him that way. You can search for zone 6 variety discussions on ourfigs to help you figure out which figs would do best for you. I have Chicago Hardy, Olympian and Violet de bordeaux in ground (covered in the winter) give figs in northern Kentucky zone 6. Improved celeste, Longue d'Aout and Ronde de bordeaux are early figs.
Here is a video on the Japanese tree training
czcams.com/video/Gjfh8PvZJ28/video.html
These 10-15 degree temps WILL harm younger trees. What he is talking about is mature trees being able to handle those temps.
I would bring the trees
In if temps go below 23 personally, why risk damage?
Weather report from the last four years of winter temp. Manassas Va area
2021 mild winter temp to about Mid April in to May where we had the coldest temp. Nov to mid April pretty much 28 ° Fahrenheit
2020 starting in January Temps in the low 20s
2019 ten degrees in November before Thankgiving but just for one day the remainder of the 2019 to 2020 winter season was low twenties and high teens until March 2020 warmed up too warm in to the 30s
The big one was 2018 or it might of been 2017 2 weeks before Thanksgiving and lasting for two weeks daily temp of 10° Fahrenheit day time temp. . Never experienced that in my life . The remainder of the winter season Nov 2018 to 2019 low twenties till mid March with a warm spring in the 30s
I have been in a drought the pass 3 or 4 years pretty much all year particularly noticeable in March to August where I depend on rain water storage for . And my rain barrels are way down
@@XoroksComment o
I like the fact that. I think he said , Tilt over the potted trees and cover for insulation and water proofing
@@robertbrawley5048 your trees will still require water though so don't forget.