Dieseler
Are you getting impatient?
Let the young one rest like the other ones. However, having read from experts on these forums, it should not harm if woken up gradually and placed in a sunny location for growth during the winter while you watch the storms outside (and then send it NE our way.
Why were you expecting difference between your fig (7.5" avg) fig coming out of dormancy and the just rooted cuttings placed in sunny location after wilting stage is gone and has good roots to sustain the foliage.

Martin,

From my personal experience figs can be taken out of dormancy early. In my personal opinion you can take a fig out of dormancy too early if you don't have the correct environment in which to grow it.

I think a good question to ask is why you want to pull it out of dormancy early? If I were to guess you are trying to get a jump start on the plant in order to accelerate the maturity of the plant primarily for fruiting. If that is the case my recommendation is to:
1. Try to pull it out of dormancy 8 weeks before the last frost in your area.
2. Maintain enough humidity which is the primary challenge for the average indoor gardener.
3. Fertilize at half strength provided the plant continues to push fresh growth (stop fertilizing if it stops pushing growth).
4. In the spring be sure to harden it off.

I know you are a fan of Dr Tapla's soil mixture as am I. So that is what I would use.

In my opinion Northern gardeners can pull a plant out of dormancy too early and damage or worse yet killing it.

Just my 2 cents worth.
Vinnie

If you bring the plant out of dormancy, you had better have a place with excellent light exposure for the new shoots. If it starts to grow in a poorly illumined space, the new shoots will be sickly and prone to fungus problems.
Why would you want to get the fig started now? This is almost the Winter Solstice and the shortest day of the year.
BTW, the ideal chilling temp to satisfy dormancy for a Fig would be in the low 40's. Colder is not better.
I would check around the garage with a thermometer and find the spot that averages in the low 40's.
That is where I'd keep the figs.

Ottawan.. no no not getting impatient, Except for eating ripe figs! The reason i want to bring out of dormancy is only because its going to get colder in garage as winter moves along so far the coldest in garage was 21f, but outdoor temps the coldest has been about 0 so the worse is yet to come, the plant itself is no thicker than a pencil its called Native de Argentile and i dont want to lose it.
John.......
thanks also for responding , i can keep decent conditions to grow with my grow light so i think i will watch the temperatures and decide when to bring it out of dormancy, i dont expect figs from it next season or the ones growing under grow light except maybe but not sure a Madeira i have under it, the other Madeira in sleeping and older in garage.
Of course as i type this were in for a semi cold spell with the high temp for Sunday at 4f and Monday at 7f .
Today i was removing some of the ice off car in driveway, there is a good solid half inch of ice on vehicle and everywhere else with a thin layer of snow, i saw neighbor trying to scrape and chip and chop it off his driveway and said forget about it to him its near impossible to remove . Had car running for 40 minutes with defroster on high and it did not even start to melt the stuff on windshield although it started to soften it up some which made it easier to use scraper, i should have taken pictures as the tires look like the were put in a deep freeze, the tree's some bent pretty good but should recover sooner or later. So im going to probably bring plant out of dormancy and hope it awakes and its not to late the others i garage will be fine as they are mature.So thanks for the good iformation Ottawan and John.
Martin

Some facts that might help you guys:

The length of dormancy and/or the dormancy requirement for F carica is extremely short and is genetically determined. There are plants that require no dormant period, and those that require up to around 200 chill units (roughly 'hours' at temperatures between 32-42*. These chill units do not cause dormancy, they RELEASE the plant from its dormant condition. Dormancy is brought on by increasing night length & deep dormancy is usually set in place by additional exposure to chill. After plants are exposed to chill time sufficient to release the plant from dormancy, they pass unnoticed into a period of quiescence. During quiescence, they are perfectly capable of resuming normal growth, but are unable to do so as long as temperatures remain low enough to prevent growth (Depriving a tree of dormancy that is genetically programmed to need one, will usually cause it to grow with poor vitality in the next growth cycle, at best. Many deciduous trees deprived of dormancy can enter dormancy at totally unexpected times, in the middle of summer, e.g. This is always fatal to the tree unless it is recognized for what it is and a suitable period of chill releases the tree from its dormant state. This occurrence is unlikely in carica because of its very short period of dormancy, but is still possible.

Though many believe that growing a tree indoors during the winter speeds development - it doesn't - unless there is a sophisticated light/humidity set-up in place, and you're able to keep them pest free - not an easy task when the tree is low on energy reserves, which also lowers its natural defenses. Trees grown indoors that would be perfectly happy resting in a nice cold spot are often using more energy than they are making. Thus, the tree starts the spring with much lower energy reserves than it would have had, had the tree been allowed its preferred cold rest. You can speed development and increase annual biomass of your trees by overwintering trees at temperatures >25* and Al

Al, it's always a pleasure reading your posts. I learn so much.

Break

Martin, I apologize if I hijacked your post.

Vinnie

Tapla,
thanks very much for taking the time to type that, very informative. I always learn from your post.
Vinnie,
no hijack my post is impossible as i enjoy reading other peoples comments thanks for your readings also, you just beat me to what i was going to say. ; )
Martin

Very good info above Al. Following quetsion Al :

To take the info provided, am I right to conclude that it would seem starting any fig cuttings now for my zone(6/7) would be less favourable unless I can create the balance between light, humidity and energy for the newly rooted & leafed cutting. This would mean I am better off waiting for late winter or early spring to start cuttings. Hope you can chime in Al. Thanks.

If I may add another question related to dormancy:
I have a cold store in the basement where temperature stays betwen 8C~10C (46F~49.5F) from December to March with pitch dark in the cold room. Also, the number of fig pots create humidity where the mositure condenses on the cement ceiling and freeze when the ceiling itself gets very cold but may drop when the ceiling gets above freezing. How will this environment affect the dormancy or general health of the plant.
Since there is no air circulation, will a periodic spray of hydrogen peroxide help for providing oxigen to deter mold formation or will it may potentially create some other problems. I did not notice`mold last year using the same room but had just two plants then.
Input will be appreciated.

Paully - If you start with 2 groups of cuttings - one group you start now & nurse through winter - the other, you bundle & bury now. In spring, you can dig them & plant in beds or containers. By mid-summer the bundled/buried cuttings you started in spring will be larger and healthier than those you worked on and babied all winter. Try it. ;o)

Ottowan - is the room truly air tight - no air circulation at all? Dirt floor? What happened last year? Was it cold enough to prevent growth until you moved the plants out? Growth should be visible, though slow, at 46*. If it is, it's not cold enough & the plants would probably be better off in an unheated garage or outbuilding.

Al

Wow. This is great info Al.
When you mentioned bundle & buried -- should I put the cuttings in a zip lock bag or just tie them up & bury them.
I am definitely going to give this a GO. Thanks for the useful info.

Paully

We talked about this before, Paully .... maybe you just forgot. ;o)

Take late fall/early winter dormant cuttings of the same length (6"). Bundle them so all the bottoms are together. (hint: cut bottoms at an angle & the tops square, so there is no confusion. Make a note reminding you which is which. Make a note reminding you where you put the note.) Bury the cuttings vertically, but upside down so the basal part of the cutting is about 2-3 inches under the soil, and the distal part of the cutting is about 8-9 inches deep. When frost is gone, and before trees in the landscape start to leaf out, separate the cuttings & plant with 2 inches of the distal end above the soil. You should have near 100% success.

Burying the plant keeps it moist & allows it to callus all winter. Tipping it upside down keeps the basal end of the cutting exposed to the sun-warmed soil at the surface, which usually stimulates rooting even before you reverse the cuttings. The distal end of the cutting is kept colder because it's deeper, which helps suppress bud movement. This allows roots to form before buds open, or to form simultaneously, which pretty much guarantees that the hydraulic system is in place to support emerging leaves.

Al

Here is a link that might be useful: Previous conversation