Citrusnut, i see we are in a similar zone and i do the same as you in regards to late season and letting the 20 degree temps affect it, mine curl the leaves and by the time they go in attached garage the leaves are either gone or fall off shortly as there in the garage. I dont have a basement but i store in garage and its not as warm as basement for waking them up but the garage is attached and warmer than more unattached garages so the air temps are warmer inside than out and helps to wake them up earlier similar to your except yours are awake and mine still sleeping today its 40 in my garage with 30 air temp outside. When i do see buds and its a little warmer out i wheel them onto driveway then back in garage as temps change quickly as you know,and the bed sheets that covered them in winter stay off till next year, if it stays too cold outside they stay in garage as they do get sunlight thru the top part of door which is glass paneled. So its nice to hear someone in a similar zone under similar circumstances somewhat. Great to read your post , please in near future tell us how your tree is doing and when it comes time to finally put it outside for the season as its nice to compare.Mine still have a little ways to go, this season i did buy a gauge for the garage and the coldest week we had the garage temps dipped to 8 above and held between 8 to 12 for about 2 weeks, most times this winter gauge read between 12 and 25 as temps fluctuated outdoors, as one week it was below zero most of the times with 21 below for the coldest, just glad that they dont get hit by any wind to speak off.
Martin

Martin, thank you for sharing your story. It's very educational to learn how others in very cold zones do it.

I have to take mine into the basement cause I do not have an attached garage. However, I keep my blueberries, wisteria, and silver maple (intend to keep it small) in the garage.

How long have you had your figs? I noticed that you grow them in half barrels. They must be very heavy and difficult to move.

Since giving my fig the dolamic lime, it had a nice growth spurt. I will post pictures soon.

Citrusnut,
my oldest is 6 seasons now, i actually used to grow them in half whiskey barrels but i had to use a strap around them to mobe them with a wheel dolly the upright kind similar to what they use to move appliances. I bought these large containers i guess around 25 gallon size and there much easier to move around as they fit better on the lip. When i think of your state i think of the good fishing lakes it has!Also would be great to see when you post pictures of your tree's
Martin

Martin, saw your trees on the fig forum. They are huge and really beautiful! I bet you get some good figs from them.
6 seasons? How big was it when you got? Do they grow that fast? I better pot mine up quickly.

Mine is still small and needs to be repotted. I just got it last Spring. I don't think I can put mine in a very large container even in the future cause there's no way I could manage get it down stars. You are lucky that you have an attached garage. I WILL post a picture soon.

Citrisnut,
the ones on patio were all small about 6 to 8 inches tall, the first couple years they grew fast and i did very little pruning other than to cut a little here and there so they would not look so much like a bush in a pot. Some grow fast and some grow slower it depends on the type of plant and conditions there getting like sun and warmth and fertilizer.
Martin

You're right, they did grow fast. Did you plant them in large pots right away? Or did you do it gradually year by year? Mine is not much bigger than it was last year. I think it has to do with my not re potting it yet. It's still in a small pot.

P.S. I did not forget about the pictures. They're coming soon.

The third season they were in the large pots yes, one looked a little funny as the pot was big for it but i did it anyhow. The soil i used was just miracle grow poting soil that had the slow release fertilizer in it and as they grew i would mix about a quarter strength of the granular miracle grow with water in a 5 gallon bucket weekly for them. In the heat of summer the soil dries out fast so i have to water every other day but luckily i have the time. Your right you would not be able to carry them to the basement so you perhaps could grow in a 5 gallon bucket and just keep them small and manageable along with keeping the root sytem to match the size of plant. I never grew a fig tree in a small container but im sure one can if you keep up wth it and make it manageable for the pot.
I tell you a short story on what my grandmother did with my uncles in Chicago with hers. She had but 1 fig tree not sure what type but it might have come from Sicily where she came from every year they would dig a deep enough trench to fit the tree in , they would bring the branches together and tie and then wrap with burlap. I remember them digging around the base of tree and pushing it over then and throwing dried leaves over it then they put a long pieces of wood on top and throw the dirt on top. It look similar to a fresh buried coffin and they left it till next season. It always worked for her but was a lot to do everyyear i guess why she only had the 1 tree. One of the uncles did the same in his yard as well for a long time till it was just to much. At one point he just used the pot method kept on a homemade dolly so he could just push into his attached garage. Its amazing what we do in the cold area's to get figs but its fun and hope to have the strength to do for long time.

Well here are some pictures. I wanted to wait until I repotted my fig before I posted, but I still haven't found a suitable pot. So here it is in the same pot as I bought it last Spring.

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This Atreano is my first fig ever and I've never even eaten a real fig before last Fall. It gave me one fig and I hope it will improve this year. Is that possible? It was green on the outside and reddish pink on the inside and started to feel soft, so I ate it; but it wasn't sweet and tasted green ( kinda like a cucumber). Is that a bad sign? May it improve with age? Or is this how it will always taste?

I have seen your grandmother's method of fig protection in books. You're right, people in cold areas do go to great lengths to have figs.

Anyway I have heard that all figs are infested with the mosaic virus. Here is evidence that mine is. This leaf is mottled.

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And see all the different leaf sizes and shapes?

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You just picked it to soon thats probably why it was not sweet, im not familiar with your type but it should swell and hang downwards. You can as a lot of folks do transplant that to a 5 gallon bucket that you drill drain holes in or container similar if you choose as its big enough and come time when you put outside give a mild does of fertilizer i use miracle grow at 1/4 strength weekly during season in pots that drain quickly. Oh and when transplanting as i see yours is actively growing dampen soil some and slide the whole plant out so as to not disturb the roots and put into bigger container and fill in and tamp with your fingers. I have done this many times with no ill effects to the plant as long as you dont disturb the rootball.

Thanks Martin, that's encouraging to know that I picked my fig too soon. I'm glad you told me that it should swell and hang downward; I never knew that.

I'm looking forward to re potting it and putting it outside so it can start growing and fruiting.

Thanks for all the tips and valuable info. It is much appreciated.