" Fig Trees - In Ground in a Cold Climate !" Cold can be 15deg C as well as -25 deg C in Zone 5. Cold Climate does not tell much here. What is the Cold-hardiness temperature zone of your location.so people can relate to your experience and compare to their zone.
Last year I planted in ground a young RDB next to the house facing East, where the snow melts quicker. Cut it down to about 8 inches above ground. Covered with mulch 10 inches. Now it's waking up nicely. Early varieties ( LSU hollier, LSU tiger etc.) with lots of mulch for the winter worth giving it a try. My two cents.
Looks like a better year for growing figs your way than the last couple. I know you guys had some late frosts to deal with the past couple May’s. We had the same problem down here the last couple April’s. Everything looks good and ahead of schedule this year!
Yes it looks like a great end to Spring for us! I have a few trees beginning to put out figs, which is wonderful. Hopefully your season is off to a great start as well!
@@PAFigs we had a crazy December where it was 80 degrees til Christmas and then got whacked by an ice storm and a 14 degree and 18 degree freeze 2-3 weeks later in January, so none of my figs went into proper dormancy before that. I had 8 or 9 trees die to the ground. My I-258, WM#1, CdD Blanc, CdD Grise, DSJG, and CdD Gegantina, all in-ground with 2-4 inch trunks, all got killed to the ground and are starting back from buds. Rough year. A bunch in containers even got killed to the ground. The rest all have some level of dieback. That's the problem with where I live. We can go entire weeks in December, January and February with 70+ degree temps, and then we can get hit the next week with an annual minimum.
@@TheMillennialGardener I'm sorry to hear that! I guess that challenge may be part of what makes them fun to grow though. If they grew perfectly every year, it might get boring ☺️.
@@PAFigs luckily, I have enough in-ground and in containers that I'll still get plenty of figs. This is why I've put so much effort into diversity: figs, apples, peaches, citrus, pawpaws, persimmons, grapes, blackberries, blueberries...a bad year for figs means it's probably a good year for apples, peaches and berries. There's always something to look forward to.
I had 20+ varieties of figs outside in northeast Ohio this winter between 1-2 years old. I had no die back except green wood and it got down to 10 degrees not counting the wind chill of-3 degrees on Christmas and the plants weren't protected just out in pots. I can't figure out why they didn't die at all. I have 155 varieties of perennial fruits and herbs and been growing for 15 years from hydroponics, aquaponics, in ground, ect. I just can't see why figs would survive completely intact under those conditions in the winter unprotected in pots.
we had a brutal winter and spring here in Victoria with a lot of damage to some of my figs; the in ground figs (actually in large planters) fared much better than the potted figs which were in 8 or 15 gallon pots, It still be low normal temps here and some of my potted figs are just starting to leaf out. Some are not.
Mine go in a semi sheltered dark semi basement under the porch. I can put a little heat in if the winter gets too cold for too long. Though they come from locally in ground mother plant, the guy made a wire cage around it and filled it with leaves all around every fall - too much work for me😁 Now the stupid spotted lantern fly nymphs seem to like my figs though😨
I used to do that in the greenhouse for the winter, but honestly the harder part was filling the container in the winter since the rain barrel was empty and the outside hose winterized.
In the greenhouse scenario how do you make sure they go to sleep? I have an attached sun room. It does get cold at night but pretty warm during the day. I am worried they will cycle in and out of hibernation. I am in Waterloo, Ont so a few zones north of you. I'm surprised they need to be hardened off coming out of the garage. These are all new leaves forming on the plant outside correct?
Figs do not have to go dormant. The issue of growing them inside, including the greenhouse, is they get scraggly and produce weak limbs. Any new leaf formed in a low light/UV scenario has to be hardened off before being introduced to full sun or they burn.
@@PAFigs don’t figs need chill hours? Also i don’t understand why people say dark place. There is no natural place on earth where figs are native where it is dark 24 hours a day. I’m so confused. Anyway thanks. Subscribed
@@great-garden-watch figs do not need chill hours. The reason people say a dark place in the winter in cold zones is because without strong supplemental lighting the figs will grow very leggy and scraggly and then really struggle with weak limbs when moved outside in the Spring. A dark, cool place will keep them dormant through the winter.
Is the greenhouse better than the garage? Or half and half? I only have 3 small figs and just don’t know what to do. Maybe garage until March then greenhouse? I’m in nj 6b
Depends on how cold your area gets. We infrequently get below 20F for long periods of time. If you use a heater, just be careful not to pull your tree out of dormancy.
My fig trees are originally from Italy. I have 3 in pots which, during the winter, I bring indoors. One already has 28 figs.
" Fig Trees - In Ground in a Cold Climate !"
Cold can be 15deg C as well as -25 deg C in Zone 5. Cold Climate does not tell much here.
What is the Cold-hardiness temperature zone of your location.so people can relate to your experience and compare to their zone.
Last year I planted in ground a young RDB next to the house facing East, where the snow melts quicker. Cut it down to about 8 inches above ground. Covered with mulch 10 inches. Now it's waking up nicely. Early varieties ( LSU hollier, LSU tiger etc.) with lots of mulch for the winter worth giving it a try. My two cents.
Looks like a better year for growing figs your way than the last couple. I know you guys had some late frosts to deal with the past couple May’s. We had the same problem down here the last couple April’s. Everything looks good and ahead of schedule this year!
Yes it looks like a great end to Spring for us! I have a few trees beginning to put out figs, which is wonderful. Hopefully your season is off to a great start as well!
@@PAFigs we had a crazy December where it was 80 degrees til Christmas and then got whacked by an ice storm and a 14 degree and 18 degree freeze 2-3 weeks later in January, so none of my figs went into proper dormancy before that. I had 8 or 9 trees die to the ground. My I-258, WM#1, CdD Blanc, CdD Grise, DSJG, and CdD Gegantina, all in-ground with 2-4 inch trunks, all got killed to the ground and are starting back from buds. Rough year. A bunch in containers even got killed to the ground. The rest all have some level of dieback. That's the problem with where I live. We can go entire weeks in December, January and February with 70+ degree temps, and then we can get hit the next week with an annual minimum.
@@TheMillennialGardener I'm sorry to hear that! I guess that challenge may be part of what makes them fun to grow though. If they grew perfectly every year, it might get boring ☺️.
@@PAFigs luckily, I have enough in-ground and in containers that I'll still get plenty of figs. This is why I've put so much effort into diversity: figs, apples, peaches, citrus, pawpaws, persimmons, grapes, blackberries, blueberries...a bad year for figs means it's probably a good year for apples, peaches and berries. There's always something to look forward to.
I had 20+ varieties of figs outside in northeast Ohio this winter between 1-2 years old. I had no die back except green wood and it got down to 10 degrees not counting the wind chill of-3 degrees on Christmas and the plants weren't protected just out in pots. I can't figure out why they didn't die at all. I have 155 varieties of perennial fruits and herbs and been growing for 15 years from hydroponics, aquaponics, in ground, ect. I just can't see why figs would survive completely intact under those conditions in the winter unprotected in pots.
I left two fig trees uncovered this year while others were protected. They are a full month behind the protected trees and look very rough
That's a bummer. They should grow much faster and stronger than the potted though, so maybe they will catch up.
we had a brutal winter and spring here in Victoria with a lot of damage to some of my figs; the in ground figs (actually in large planters) fared much better than the potted figs which were in 8 or 15 gallon pots, It still be low normal temps here and some of my potted figs are just starting to leaf out. Some are not.
Bummer to hear that. The past few years have been like that here in PA, but we've had a great start to the year this year.
Mine go in a semi sheltered dark semi basement under the porch. I can put a little heat in if the winter gets too cold for too long. Though they come from locally in ground mother plant, the guy made a wire cage around it and filled it with leaves all around every fall - too much work for me😁
Now the stupid spotted lantern fly nymphs seem to like my figs though😨
Any type of protection seems to make a huge difference!
I thought Flanders was an early variety? You mentioned it along with BM?
Edit: My fault, i was thinking Florea…
Yeah Flanders was my longest ripening fig, by far.
Do you need to put a fish tank heater in your watering container. It makes a huge difference.
I used to do that in the greenhouse for the winter, but honestly the harder part was filling the container in the winter since the rain barrel was empty and the outside hose winterized.
As soon as my Chicago Hearty got leaves (early), I noticed figs. Should they be removed? Its been outside 3 years so its still really young.
They are probably brebas, growing on last year's wood. Leave them on and enjoy!
In the greenhouse scenario how do you make sure they go to sleep? I have an attached sun room. It does get cold at night but pretty warm during the day. I am worried they will cycle in and out of hibernation. I am in Waterloo, Ont so a few zones north of you. I'm surprised they need to be hardened off coming out of the garage. These are all new leaves forming on the plant outside correct?
Figs do not have to go dormant. The issue of growing them inside, including the greenhouse, is they get scraggly and produce weak limbs. Any new leaf formed in a low light/UV scenario has to be hardened off before being introduced to full sun or they burn.
@@PAFigs don’t figs need chill hours? Also i don’t understand why people say dark place. There is no natural place on earth where figs are native where it is dark 24 hours a day. I’m so confused. Anyway thanks. Subscribed
@@great-garden-watch figs do not need chill hours. The reason people say a dark place in the winter in cold zones is because without strong supplemental lighting the figs will grow very leggy and scraggly and then really struggle with weak limbs when moved outside in the Spring. A dark, cool place will keep them dormant through the winter.
Is the greenhouse better than the garage? Or half and half? I only have 3 small figs and just don’t know what to do. Maybe garage until March then greenhouse? I’m in nj 6b
I would garage until March, then give them an early start in the greenhouse.
@@PAFigs thank you very much. Do i need to prevent all light?
@@great-garden-watch not all, but the more the better.
What about unheated non attached garage?
Depends on how cold your area gets. We infrequently get below 20F for long periods of time. If you use a heater, just be careful not to pull your tree out of dormancy.
@@PAFigs south Jersey 7a