Looking for Zone 7b Fig Advice

[CyntheB]

You have learned your lesson, you were not properly prepared, I have very little idea what your climate is like compared to here. I am shocked that they were sill growing so much this time of the year. When that happens part of the trees will die, part will go dormant. As long as the roots are well enough developed they should survive and take off growing after last chance of frost in the spring. The first winter is often the worst one for the fig trees, especially if they are small and still growing aggressively, especially if the roots are not well enough grown. The best thing would to be bury them with pine needles each day, and remove them before it gets too warm out. Yet if you do that then it would be lots of work, and if you forget to take them away each day the trees would rot.

It's frustrating when weather predictions are so far wrong. I certainly attempted to 'be prepared,' but 30F vs 22F is a radical difference when it comes to plant hardiness.

Also regarding winter hardiness, plants that are properly watered withstand cold damage easier. Only made it down to 40f with that last front here. Anecdotally, the figs around here look pretty bad and are starting to shut down for winter, aside from my trees, which are on drip irrigation.

I'm aware of hydration helping with hardiness and I watered both figs very well the evening before those cold temps hit. And I did cover them...but w/o proper insulation for the unexpected hard frost.


Dig ~ Do you mulch your fig trees heavily in your climate? What climate zone are you in? We have drip irrigation, too. How often / long do you water your figs at this time of year?

Alan ~ I, too, was surprised by the figs still being in full lush growth at this time of year. They were looking so beautiful and happy. But I was also concerned...knowing winter cold was just 'around the corner.'

I'm going to assume their root systems are good (enough to support that top growth) and focus on protecting the roots this winter. Which of your experimental mulching systems is working best? You've said your figs often die back to the ground in winter....yet still grow to 6' during the summer. I will hold on to that hope for these two baby figs.

Thanks, too, for the links. Will go check them out and get something in place that doesn't have to be taken on-an-off for the 10-12 days we will be gone over the holidays. At what temperature should the figs remain covered for winter protection (even in the daylight hours)?

[Dig]

Cyn(thia?) I only have one winter under my belt with one plant, my least productive and poorly placed. I do not really subscribe to any type of standard mulch. I apply about .5" of my garden compost about twice a year. The compost quickly combines in my sandy/loam soil, so no real mulch effect happens aside from slight moisture retention. Last winter our low, from what I noticed, was 28f, but maybe down to 25f.

Re: water schedule
Grow season is every other day for one hour per zone. None of my drip heads put out more then 4 ga per hour. Many are less, maybe 2-4 average. Now I have cut down to every 3 days, but I am about to cut down to every 5-7 days.

I suspect that wind will be your real issue. Once your tree turns brown from green, lignifying, it should be able to withstand our winter. I am in zone 7b, but past few seasons were 8a.

[alanmercieca]

It's frustrating when weather predictions are so far wrong. I certainly attempted to 'be prepared,' but 30F vs 22F is a radical difference when it comes to plant hardiness.

Yes always expect 6 to 8 degrees colder than the prediction, what happened to you happens here often. Never fully trust the forecast especially in advance. I learned that the hard way too.

Alan ~ I, too, was surprised by the figs still being in full lush growth at this time of year. They were looking so beautiful and happy. But I was also concerned...knowing winter cold was just 'around the corner.'

I'm going to assume their root systems are good (enough to support that top growth) and focus on protecting the roots this winter. Which of your experimental mulching systems is working best? You've said your figs often die back to the ground in winter....yet still grow to 6' during the summer. I will hold on to that hope for these two baby figs.

Thanks, too, for the links. Will go check them out and get something in place that doesn't have to be taken on-an-off for the 10-12 days we will be gone over the holidays. At what temperature should the figs remain covered for winter protection (even in the daylight hours)?

I do not think any of them work any better here, then again we almost never have any real ground freezes here, if we did the stones graveling method would work best. It works the same way as concrete over the roots of a tree growing in Vermont that should not be surviving the cold winters there yet it is.

Water would be best way to protect the trees like your 'Tomato Teepee.' idea, yet not only do those leak, they are not designed for real cold, they'd have to be much thicker walled to protect well in real cold, and they do not protect as well after days without long hours of strong sun, another reason why you'd need something with thicker walls. Ideally a thick disk filled with water on the ground would work well. Another thing that would work very well is those shrub covers I gave you links for with something releasing a lot of steam inside of them, I am not sure how much steam would be enough.

I am guessing that the roots were growing up a storm because when they are in the ground the vegetation grows as the roots do. Eventually fig trees in your climate should not die to the ground any more. We had two fig trees in ground when 3 degrees Fahrenheit or colder hit then and they survived it, as well as nasty beetle attacks on them right after. Dominick's is way more cold hardy than those two, Aldo has a reputation for being cold hardy, yet since I never grew it in the ground myself I can not say how cold hardy it is. They both grow back very fast from die back yet I am not sure how fast for the Aldo. Now that I think about it the Aldo I gave you was left out all winter in 8a in a pot unprotected in a warmer part of North Carolina, the tree was weaker and smaller then than it was when you planted it. Also in a pot they die and get damaged easier so it should survive the winter fine for you, yet if you protect it the better start it will have in the spring after last chance of frost. I gave you two fig trees that are known for surviving winter damage very well, and that grow back very fast.

The shrub covers I suggested breath very well so they can be left on night and day, I would get some ceder or cypress bark, as well as use a shrub cover like the ones I gave you links for. Use the bark thick enough to be higher than the bottom of the inside and the outside of the shrub covers, yet not too high, you do not want to rot the trees.

[CyntheB]

Cyn(thia?) ~ Yes. My formal name IS Cynthia.

I only have one winter under my belt with one plant, my least productive and poorly placed. I do not really subscribe to any type of standard mulch. I apply about .5" of my garden compost about twice a year. The compost quickly combines in my sandy/loam soil, so no real mulch effect happens aside from slight moisture retention. Last winter our low, from what I noticed, was 28f, but maybe down to 25f.

Re: water schedule
Grow season is every other day for one hour per zone. None of my drip heads put out more then 4 ga per hour. Many are less, maybe 2-4 average. Now I have cut down to every 3 days, but I am about to cut down to every 5-7 days.

I suspect that wind will be your real issue. Once your tree turns brown from green, lignifying, it should be able to withstand our winter. I am in zone 7b, but past few seasons were 8a.

We have a completely different type of soil: a mix of clay, sand, lots of DG (decomposed granite), amazingly full of stones from small pebbles to fairly hefty rocks. The standard gardening joke is that it's 'not dirt' (ie. has few nutrients). I've made raised beds with @ a 50/50 mix of good river bottom dirt and compost from a local fellow, who uses stable sweepings from local horse properties. I add some alfalfa pellets around the base of plantings for more organic matter and the alcohol created from decomposition that many plants thrive on.

Our lowest 2017 temp (thus far), which occurred in March, was 20F. So this hard frost came close to that mark.

Need to make notes on my drip irrigation system emitters. I've been told the rate by our installer, but am not retaining the info...so will write it down to refer to. And need to make records of how many emitters are on each tree to calculate the amount of water they are receiving. Figs aren't hooked up yet; I've been hand watering deeply every few days.

RE: Wind ~ Can be intense at times. Not so much during the winter, but in late spring (May-June) and autumn, when seasons are transitioning. Of course, this is only our 3rd autumn here, so I'm still an newbie AZ gardener. The figs have been planted where they are protected on three sides (on the east by a large oak, on the west by the new greenhouse, on the north by our house).

[CyntheB]

Yes always expect 6 to 8 degrees colder than the prediction, what happened to you happens here often. Never fully trust the forecast especially in advance. I learned that the hard way too.

That's what I will do from now on. Sad to have shocked the little figs so badly.

I do not think any of them work any better here, then again we almost never have any real ground freezes here, if we did the stones graveling method would work best. It works the same way as concrete over the roots of a tree growing in Vermont that should not be surviving the cold winters there yet it is.

Amazing to learn there's a fig tree surviving Vermont winters!

The ground DOES freeze in low areas on our property, but generally not very deep. (An experienced local garden center where classes are taught says rarely deeper than an inch.) I was taking soil samples last FEB for testing from various areas of the property where I wanted to plant fruit trees. The ground was hard as a rock in the shade. I was fussing to myself, 'til I realized it was frozen. haha

I will order the shrub covers you have recommended. And do the wood bark mulch as suggested - have a pile at the end of the driveway.

I am guessing that the roots were growing up a storm because when they are in the ground the vegetation grows as the roots do. Eventually fig trees in your climate should not die to the ground any more. We had two fig trees in ground when 3 degrees Fahrenheit or colder hit then and they survived it, as well as nasty beetle attacks on them right after. Dominick's is way more cold hardy than those two, Aldo has a reputation for being cold hardy, yet since I never grew it in the ground myself I can not say how cold hardy it is. They both grow back very fast from die back yet I am not sure how fast for the Aldo. Now that I think about it the Aldo I gave you was left out all winter in 8a in a pot unprotected in a warmer part of North Carolina, the tree was weaker and smaller then than it was when you planted it. Also in a pot they die and get damaged easier so it should survive the winter fine for you, yet if you protect it the better start it will have in the spring after last chance of frost. I gave you two fig trees that are known for surviving winter damage very well, and that grow back very fast.

Thank-you, thank-you Alan for all the careful research you have done for me on fig variety hardiness. My goal is to grow wonderful specimens you will be proud of! Just have to get them through these first several winters.

Sooooo....for the damaged tip growth. When should I prune it off? Shall I let it wither and prune in early June once all frost danger is passed? OR is there the same danger of the withering spreading that we talked about this past summer?

[Dig]

You can prune dead tissue anytime. I would prune when it is done withering. Also figs are one of the few plants where it is okay to prune in winter, spring, and summer. Just dont prune it now (aside from dead stuff). Most plants should be pruned in the winter.

Also morning light is also a help re overwintering.

On a sidenote, I am very familiar with your zone. I lived in Lubbock (same zone) for many years and I think the weather would be fairly similar.

[alanmercieca]

Amazing to learn there's a fig tree surviving Vermont winters!

The ground DOES freeze in low areas on our property, but generally not very deep. (An experienced local garden center where classes are taught says rarely deeper than an inch.) I was taking soil samples last FEB for testing from various areas of the property where I wanted to plant fruit trees. The ground was hard as a rock in the shade. I was fussing to myself, 'til I realized it was frozen. haha

I will order the shrub covers you have recommended. And do the wood bark mulch as suggested - have a pile at the end of the driveway.

You misunderstand not fig trees in Vermont, I am talking about other kinds of fruit trees that are living one zone colder than they normally do in a micro-climate and concrete over the roots.

There are people growing fig trees in a greenhouse in Vermont, they claim that they will experiment growing them in the ground, If they manage then they will spend a lot of money on it Vermont is 3 to 4 1/2 zones colder than NYC, to grow them in the ground they either need a huge greenhouse around and over the trees or a huge awesome micro system with lots of steam releasing 24/7 unless it's too warm to release steam

Thank-you, thank-you Alan for all the careful research you have done for me on fig variety hardiness. My goal is to grow wonderful specimens you will be proud of! Just have to get them through these first several winters.

Sooooo....for the damaged tip growth. When should I prune it off? Shall I let it wither and prune in early June once all frost danger is passed? OR is there the same danger of the withering spreading that we talked about this past summer?

You are welcome.

The first winters are scary, my first two fig trees I was a total amateur. Frost touching the fig tree makes it way more sensitive at a way less cold temperature that is why I suggested the shrub covers, as great as frost blankets are they are much harder to manage and they are made from the same kind of material, also one thing I learned my first few years not to put any material too close to the fig trees, it can act like a refrigerator, that is why I suggested you get one size bigger shrub covers than you actually need to fit around the plant.

There is no need for you to prune it until early June unless something else unexpected happens, which then you'd come on here and tell me.

There is no way that you will get shrub covers by Wednesday, it's almost Wednesday already. Do you have pine needles that you can use for the night, and then of course un-bury them before it gets too hot.

[CyntheB]

Alan ~ I'm using pine needles for now in a large chicken wire ring to enclose each fig tree and its root zone. Wish I had done it BEFORE the hard frost to see how they would have done.

Dig ~ The fig bed faces south, so it gets morning sun moderated by the native oak (and its leaves) on the east. The thing I want to avoid is that early sun hitting almost frozen branches.

To both of you ~ I will wait on the pruning of damaged branch tips to see how the trees react. I'm not a novice with regards to fruit tree pruning, just a novice growing figs in this climate and elevation. I've grown various fruit trees in the ground and in large containers for over two decades in zone 8b-9.

[CyntheB]

Alan & Dig ~ Figs' Winter Protection Update

The shrub covers arrived several days ago. Just put them over the baby figs yesterday. Ordered the largest size. Hopefully they will last for several seasons...though looking at the quality of the plastic, I have my doubts. The Arizona sun at this elevation is brutal on plastic and paint. Tarps and plastic garbage bags for leaf / pine needle storage disintegrate in a few months.

The covers totally enclose the figs' generous watering basins. Tucked pine needles around the inside perimeter to insulate the root systems and then watered the figs well. Probably should add pine needles around the outside perimeter too, to protect any roots that may have grown beyond the watering basin edges.

The tops of the covers are a nylon mesh to let excess heat and moisture escape. On very cold nights, I'll put something over the mesh, since cold air sinks and the trees themselves are not covered in pine needles.

The trees have lost all their leaves at this point. The damaged stem tips have desiccated and shriveled. But it appears there are green buds on the healthy stems under the damage area!! And the woodier stems seem intact and firm.

Will take photos of the shrub covers and the trees inside the covers, later today to share.

[alanmercieca]

Alan & Dig ~ Figs' Winter Protection Update

The shrub covers arrived several days ago. Just put them over the baby figs yesterday. Ordered the largest size. Hopefully they will last for several seasons...though looking at the quality of the plastic, I have my doubts. The Arizona sun at this elevation is brutal on plastic and paint. Tarps and plastic garbage bags for leaf / pine needle storage disintegrate in a few months.

The covers totally enclose the figs' generous watering basins. Tucked pine needles around the inside perimeter to insulate the root systems and then watered the figs well. Probably should add pine needles around the outside perimeter too, to protect any roots that may have grown beyond the watering basin edges.

The tops of the covers are a nylon mesh to let excess heat and moisture escape. On very cold nights, I'll put something over the mesh, since cold air sinks and the trees themselves are not covered in pine needles.

The trees have lost all their leaves at this point. The damaged stem tips have desiccated and shriveled. But it appears there are green buds on the healthy stems under the damage area!! And the woodier stems seem intact and firm.

Will take photos of the shrub covers and the trees inside the covers, later today to share.

I got one of the 54 inch x 52 inch x 52 inch shrub covers made by the same company for plants that are for now in our garage. I will get it mid December. Reviews speak highly of them, not sure if you noticed in reviews yet you need better stakes than they come with or the covers will blow away.

You could always put a frost cloth over them on colder nights, they keep plants about 6 degrees warmer and they breath too, these shrub covers do not keep much warmth, also an added layer of frost protection. Cold air does sink yet frost would not go through. Someone said that it froze inside theirs at 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside. I plan to cover mine with frost cloth at night if it could get 24 degrees or colder outside. Be careful whatever you use you do not want to steam them during the day. They normally last at least 2 winters, anything that lasts longer than 2 winters would be very expensive. Things are often not as bad as they seem with winter damage like you had. If you can keep the temperature inside the shrub covers at least 18 degrees Fahrenheit then nothing should go wrong. Even colder temperatures they should survive their first year.

I look forward to seeing the photos.