Looking for Zone 7b Fig Advice

[CyntheB]

Those fig trees are looking great. If they loose some height in the winter do not let that upset you, they get more cold hardy with age, and they recover/regrow fast.

So now that the trees are so tall, what is your advice for winter protection? Shall I protect them with a pine needle mulch? I could create a large 4' tall chicken wire cage around them after the leaves have dropped and fill it loosely with pine needles... OR should I just cover the root zone? I have a tall arch trellis for vining vegetables / melons that I could use, covered with frost cloth, too.

[alanmercieca]

So now that the trees are so tall, what is your advice for winter protection? Shall I protect them with a pine needle mulch? I could create a large 4' tall chicken wire cage around them after the leaves have dropped and fill it loosely with pine needles... OR should I just cover the root zone? I have a tall arch trellis for vining vegetables / melons that I could use, covered with frost cloth, too.

Do you think that the arch trellis can handle the weight of the snow fall in your area? Since I do not know your areas weather well, and since I have no idea how strong that trellis is it would be helpful to know. That seems like the best option to me if it is strong enough, with frost cloth, it would be only one thing around the fig trees with less babying, You could even walk in there before last chance of frost if you'd like. Would you need to weigh it down because of the wind? I'd put a layer of hardwood mulch over the root zone as an added little bit of protection, and it's good to add such mulch for non frost protection reasons as well. No matter what you use for winter protection chances are that mice or rats might take shelter in it and chew on the trees, another reason to make it easy to enter and check out.

[CyntheB]

Do you think that the arch trellis can handle the weight of the snow fall in your area? Since I do not know your areas weather well, and since I have no idea how strong that trellis is it would be helpful to know. That seems like the best option to me if it is strong enough, with frost cloth, it would be only one thing around the fig trees with less babying, You could even walk in there before last chance of frost if you'd like. Would you need to weigh it down because of the wind? I'd put a layer of hardwood mulch over the root zone as an added little bit of protection, and it's good to add such mulch for non frost protection reasons as well. No matter what you use for winter protection chances are that mice or rats might take shelter in it and chew on the trees, another reason to make it easy to enter and check out.

The trellis is very strong. Yes, the legs have to be pushed into the soil to keep it steady with the wind. And we could weight it in some manner, too. (We had trouble with those shrub covers last winter getting blown off the baby trees on occasion.) Snow could easily be brushed off with a broom. The deepest snowfall we've had in the past three winters has accumulated to @ 12".

Here are the official stats: Prescott, Arizona gets 19 inches of rain, on average, per year and averages 12 inches of snow per year.

Snow melts very quickly here...rarely lasting more than a few days, because once the storm is over, the sun comes out and melts it off everything. Also, the fig bed is protected on the east by a large oak tree, on the north by the house, and on the west by the greenhouse.

[alanmercieca]

The trellis is very strong. Yes, the legs have to be pushed into the soil to keep it steady with the wind. And we could weight it in some manner, too. (We had trouble with those shrub covers last winter getting blown off the baby trees on occasion.) Snow could easily be brushed off with a broom. The deepest snowfall we've had in the past three winters has accumulated to @ 12".

Here are the official stats: Prescott, Arizona gets 19 inches of rain, on average, per year and averages 12 inches of snow per year.

Snow melts very quickly here...rarely lasting more than a few days, because once the storm is over, the sun comes out and melts it off everything. Also, the fig bed is protected on the east by a large oak tree, on the north by the house, and on the west by the greenhouse.

Okay great, I think that all will be okay, the only thing that might be a problem besides what I already mentioned is can the frost cloth handle the weight of the snow, I think that you should keep that wire on to help support the frost cloth from sinking, as well as brushing off the snow would help too of course.

I doubt that you'd need to protect it every year, the only thing that sounds worst than here is when you get a heavy snow fall, we never got that much snow in one snow fall here before, and snow like that can break some fig branches, especially when it's the heavy wet kind of snow.

[CyntheB]

Okay great, I think that all will be okay, the only thing that might be a problem besides what I already mentioned is can the frost cloth handle the weight of the snow, I think that you should keep that wire on to help support the frost cloth from sinking, as well as brushing off the snow would help too of course.

I doubt that you'd need to protect it every year, the only thing that sounds worst than here is when you get a heavy snow fall, we never got that much snow in one snow fall here before, and snow like that can break some fig branches, especially when it's the heavy wet kind of snow.

Okay. We'll use the trellis+frost cloth combination for this winter with wood bark to insulate the figs' root zone. And see what sort of winter weather this year has to offer!

[CyntheB]

Okay. We'll use the trellis+frost cloth combination for this winter with wood bark to insulate the figs' root zone. And see what sort of winter weather this year has to offer!

Well...so much for my fig protection plans. With a sudden turn in the weather, we've had a dry, very cold week ~ early morning temperatures in the high teens / low 20s F. A number of fruit trees, including the figs, had not yet entered full dormancy. The cold has destroyed all the leaves (of course) and caused some bark damage - reddish color and some withering - on the figs, especially near the top growth. I've cleaned all the crisped leaves off, along with 2 dozen immature 'Dominick's' figs. Put a layer of compost over the root zone, but can change it to bark over the weekend.

The tall arched trellis fits over the figs, but will need to be weighed down with sandbags. We'll get those this weekend. Then I will add some pole extensions and cover everything with the frost cloth in case the weather gets even colder this winter. Wish I had taken heed of my plans and not delayed. Oh, well.

[alanmercieca]

Well...so much for my fig protection plans. With a sudden turn in the weather, we've had a dry, very cold week ~ early morning temperatures in the high teens / low 20s F. A number of fruit trees, including the figs, had not yet entered full dormancy. The cold has destroyed all the leaves (of course) and caused some bark damage - reddish color and some withering - on the figs, especially near the top growth. I've cleaned all the crisped leaves off, along with 2 dozen immature 'Dominick's' figs. Put a layer of compost over the root zone, but can change it to bark over the weekend.

The tall arched trellis fits over the figs, but will need to be weighed down with sandbags. We'll get those this weekend. Then I will add some pole extensions and cover everything with the frost cloth in case the weather gets even colder this winter. Wish I had taken heed of my plans and not delayed. Oh, well.

Prune off the damaged part of the fig trees right before you put the protection up. So far they are showing the best cold resistance that they can at that age, and at that temperature. Yes certainly protect them, if you did not protect them before noticeably colder weather then you'd see the real damage, especially if they exited dormancy and then got hit by colder temps unprotected. As they age the bark, the wood and the roots get more cold hardy to some extent. They should be fine.

[CyntheB]

Alan ~ The reddish areas on the brown bark are the cold damage. The very tender tips are showing some withering. How much should I prune? OR is it okay to wait 'til spring? ~ Cynthe

eFigDominick's-BarkDamage-v1051.jpg (282.75 KiB) Viewed 1824 times

eFigDominick's-BarkDamage-v1050.jpg (227.67 KiB) Viewed 1824 times

[alanmercieca]

Alan ~ The reddish areas on the brown bark are the cold damage. The very tender tips are showing some withering. How much should I prune? OR is it okay to wait 'til spring? ~ Cynthe

Cut down to one node under the red part on each. You should not wait until spring the fig tree would have more damage because you did not prune, maybe even die to the ground. Only one of the fig trees had damage?

[CyntheB]

Cut down to one node under the red part on each. You should not wait until spring the fig tree would have more damage because you did not prune, maybe even die to the ground. Only one of the fig trees had damage?

Dominick's, which has more damage, is planted in front. The low angle, early morning, winter sun (which is damaging to frozen tissues) hits it first. Aldo in back (closer to the house) seems less injured. I will prune them today then. Temps are due to get quite cold again this week.

Attempted to set up the trellis with sandbags yesterday. The sandbags are too heavy for the trellis, so gave up on that idea.

Instead, I constructed a large tent of heavy-weight, white garden frost cloth, which will transmit sunlight. The cloth does not touch the branches. And when I prune off the freeze damage, will not touch the tops of the trees either. I'm hoping it will act a bit like a greenhouse, gathering solar warmth to help them through the cold nights. If the days seem too warm, I can vent the top easily to release extra heat. I'll take a photo today and post it later. Piled pine needles generously over the figs' root zones for extra protection.

The tent top will collapse in snow though. But snow isn't as devastatingly cold and creates it's own root zone blanket. What's your experience with how figs hold up with snow? Also am not sure how the tent will hold up on very windy days? Will need to secure the cloth better to the stakes I'm using for structure.

Some friends of mine that have grown figs both in OR and FL, said they've wrapped their figs' trunks and branches with 4-5in strips of wool cloth sewn on loosely as insulation. They never had any problems with rotting. Seems like an interesting, labor intensive, idea.