I have bought a couple of figlings in pots that are supposed to be suitable for growing in pots their entire lives. Since figs are supposed to do well with having their roots restricted, I thought that I would give it a try, since I really like fresh figs, and they are non-existant in markets around here, to exorbitantly expensive.

Has anyone else tried this? I have had them in the sun/plant room all winter in small pots (one in 4x4, the other in a quart pot), and will put them outside in the sun once the weather warms up. The sun room stays pretty temperate all winter, altho it does get a little chillier at night in the frigid months, and I also have a semi-heated garage that I could store them in over winter if they should go dormant instead.

Any advice?

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001

Answers

I'm curious about figs, too. I have seen them available bare-root at our local nurseries. I just can't imagine them growing well in our wet, northerly climate. I would appreciate any general fig talk, too. My mom loves them and is always hinting that I should grow some!

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001

Hi there Sheepish! What zone are you in? I know you're up there somewhere in the rainy NW as I seem to recall, hardly the hot weather one would associate with figs, but this isn't exactly Mediterranean in climate in northern Wisconsin either.

I saw a recommendation for planting figs in heat sink areas that were backed with brick or masonry walls that would absorb heat, and advocating putting down concrete tiling around it to warm the soil. I saw one grown in England this way and it was setting fruit. That is a warmer climate in the winter than we have here (it looked like it was permanently planted out in the ground -- yup, I went poking around the dirt to check!), but English summers aren't very hot either.

So I was thinking that perhaps a black pot to increase the heat would be helpful, and try locating it for the summer on the west side of my house by the garage, where it gets the warmest. Except that they would be vulnerable to deer there...

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001

Well, I had a Fig for years, a friend was throwing the dear thing away as it looked awfull, I took it home and nursed it back to health, it was so beautiful, then I left it in my unheated green house one cold night and the lovely gave up the ghost. So my advice is not to let them get too cold. The semi heated garage doesn"t sound like too good of an idea. good luck! Tren

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001

Sheepish, I don't think my climate's all that different than yours, other than maybe hotter summers. I also can't remember where exactly you are; aren't you near Seattle?

Anyhow, I put in a little fig a few years ago. It grew from 12" to five feet in one year, and was beginning to bear fruit. Then we had the killer freeze of Dec 1996, and AMF to the fig.

I just got another one going, which came from a cutting from a friend's tree; it was doing well until a few days ago; we had a bad frost/freeze, and it got damaged, but not too badly. My friends say they've had tons of fruit.

Assuming I get this one to grow up, I'll try to remember to put Remay (?) over it if the weather gets too cold next time.

JOJ

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001

JOJ! Dude! Hey, with you and Renee here now, it's almost like old times!

Yeah, I live too close to Seattle...about 50 miles away. Fortunately, we're still country but becoming exurbia in the, who knows? future...

I guess if I think roses are a hassle, figs probably wouldn't be anything I would want to mess around with. Unless I have a huge conservatory-style greenhouse (yeah, right.) Anyway, the quest for figs can take us down to Napa Valley, and while we're there, might as well enjoy some wine.......

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001

Well, my quest for figs has taken me to some interesting places!! I have discovered that I can tote my potted figs into my semi-heated garage at about 35 degrees F. for a month or so coming on winter to let them go dormant and start fruit set, then move them on into the green house room and get a jump on the fruiting season. I've read things by people up in the Seattle area, people in NYC, people in Chicago, and even England and Australia now....

For Sheepish, and anyone else interested in learning more about growing this delightful fruit under less than optimal (Mediterranean) conditions, here are some useful resources;

http://www.nafex.org/fig.html

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/fruit/figs/figs.html

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/perennials/14339

http://www.eat-it.com/plants/figs.htm

http://www.raintreenursery.com/how_to/FIGS.html

http://home.earthlink.net/~raygivan/index.html

-- Anonymous, April 28, 2001

I came across this discussion while looking for more information on figs. I live about 150 miles north of New York City. Nighttime winter temperatures can get down to -18F. I have managed to nurse 3 potted figs through 3 winters. The first 2 winters, I wrapped them in burlap and several loose layers of "bubble-wrap" and stored them in the barn. Last winter, I built an unheated make-shift "sunroom on the southwest side of the house. By mid-March, they were already leafing out even though nighttime temperatures dipped below freezing. My biggest problem has been getting pots that are large enough to accommodate them but light enough that I can reposition them without hiring a crane or forklift!

-- Anonymous, July 03, 2001