A wise man once said, “An optimist is an 80 year old who plants a nut tree that will never bear in his lifetime.
I am an 85 year old who planted a fig tree 10 years ago, another one 3 years ago, and a short bushy one five years ago that my partner in ignorance mowed the first year. It fortunately revived and I put a short fence around it. In April they all had a few fig buds. I kept looking for blossoms, but figs don’t seem to do that. Just little round buds coming out of the joint between new main stem growth and the leaf stems. A month later the buds were gone. There had been a brief freeze, I think. In early June there were some new buds, and by the end of the month all three were developing figs for sure. I drove into the yard one night and a deer was nibbling my little fig bush. I found a 2 foot wide left over strip of metal roofing and laid it in front of the bushy fig. I don’t think the deer has bothered it again. This was in the mid Atlantic area, probably areas 7 inland, or maybe six near the ocean. Two properties 150 miles apart.
Has this happened to anyone else, also are other plants or trees similarly affected by a brief chill in spring?
Re: Post #43
Help me remember who among us are fig growers?
I had 4 in ground fig trees that I Planted 3 years ago. I decided last year that I was not going to spend any more time bundling them up for winter and just let them go and see what would happen. I am in zone 6B and it does get cold.
In this last year the temperatures dropped to -17 F for several days. That pretty much killed off the buds on my Plum trees resulting in only about 7 or 8 plums on the trees. (And protected by origami bags until they ripen!)
The Chicago Hardy (Bensonhurst purple) survived and put out a bush worth of sprouts. So did the Olympia. The Valle Negra lives, but is not particularly vigorous. I do not know if it will survive the next winter.
My Violette de Bordeaux, a primo fig, was planted next to the chimney on the south side of the house and was the one you would expect to survive, but did not come back. I have a total of 20 figs in 5 gallon pots that I bring in for the winter (kept in a dark place, watered every 3 weeks or so.) Ironically, figs contain Purines, which can contribute to gout, which in the last year I began to experience. (In addition to that, Mrs. Pete does not care for them, and I have been giving them away.)
Anyway, yes, a frost will damage your fig and can affect its production. If really hungry deer will eat a fig tree, although I understand they do not like it because they are allergic to the latex.
Clear the grass out from around the base. Give a higher nitrogen fertilizer blend (9-4-2) in late March or early April as they wake up (maybe a cup worked in to the soil.) Fertilize again in mid April with a lower nitrogen higher Phosphorous/Potassium (4-10-5) and again at the end of April with (4-10-7). Do not fertilize after that.
You can grow figs as a tree or as a shrub, but they they will get really bushy quickly. Figs exibit apical dominance. they will grow very tall. prune them back to a central leader with 4 or 5 scaffold branches and remove the leader at about 5-6 feet. This will direct the energy back into the lower branches.
More info on figs at:
**Florea, Chicago Hardy, Olympia, and Brown Turkey are hardy varieties. In the warmer south Celeste and Improved Celeste are good choices. (Zone 8 and above I would say.)