Martin, me too. Although it was not suppose to hit freezing point the other night and of course I left a couple out be accident which got frozen. The pot almost too but I saved them both. The leaves got limp and fell off. Ugh. They are all outside now and I decided to put one with a breba crop in my greenhouse which gets bright hot and sunny. They are growing fast!!

Figs has been in the staging area for weeks now, April 15 be here soon enough. Decided to get rid of 50% of my inground figs, to make the yard more orderly for next year’s season.

2 1//2 bushes more to go,,,,,,,,,!,,,,!

Bob. I can’t believe how much your trees are flushing out. Mines are still stuck on the porch. I’m about to get rid of many of my potted ones simply because I can’t get them started early enough to give me ripe fruit in time for fall. Depressing

Mike, all inground figs are history. Come summer I,ll have heavy machinery doing some serious cleaning. Just growing what the two of us need.

Bob yes sir heavy machinery is a great thing .

Last spring i dug out an old Hardy Chicago i planted inground as an experiment it was 10-12 years old when i took out of 30g pot to plant .

Always died near ground but would produce ripe figs late in season it survived that polar vortex unprotected i took some pictures of it that i saved on disk along with outside thermometer showing minus 21F that day.

Found out what killed it early last year when i started digging it out were ants a whole lot of ants as i had to get out of there when i started to feel them on my ankles biting.

After a short while when i went back i flooded area with the hose and days later they were gone when the dirt dried out i dug out what was left of it.

The one pictured in 1st post was an airlayer i had previously made as a spare but it is basically dead now but had made an airlayer of it that grew well last season and will go in that container this season.

Best

Martin

This Friday figs are out for good. This is the second shuffle. Citrus will be out to, ready to be placed for the rest of the season in their favorite spots.

Starting to see figs now in late March! glad you guys have them on their way outside. Spring is coming soon!

Last day in the cold cellar(garage), 5 months of agonizing torture, but they recoup.

Lots of new growth on them, nice !

Bob, that looks like garage to me 🤔

Do you mean they go out and stay there for the season ?

Today with temps in the mid sixties they will go in the yards for the rest of the year. Ten days forecast going in the seventies. Figs are in that garage for the winter, citrus going in my ex/studio/workshop.

Bob that’s awesome. Not here. Lousy temps here for weeks on end once again. I’m about to get rid of mines.

Matt. Congrats buddy !!

Mike, what’s one more week! You be alright, you soon forget about winter. We go through that every year. I am counting all my dead tree’s from that Polar Vortex, it’s just nature way of telling me I am growing way too much. I agree.

Bob. I forgot that you were in that terrible polar vortex. I hope you didn’t loose too much or some of your favorite trees. Thanks for the encouragement. I needs it. Seems like forever for anything I have to stay outside even my annuals. Had to bring them in last night. Low 20’s ground frozen again

Any time, you are an old time diehard. I am scaling down big time. Polar Vortex? These guys know I serving a good buffet.

Did someone mention Polar Vortex. ; )

Looked and found some pictures from 2014 of our inground hardy chicago here is picture of it un protected that cold winter along with thermometer.

Same season a ripe fig but do not think there were many that year.

The pictures are date stamped for the curious.

Martin

I don't see pictures Martin 😢

They should show now and one can click the picture to show it a little better.

I can see it now, wow nice Martin !

My sister is growing
Negronne Brown Turkey and Col de Dame Blanc in zone 5 to 6, I am not exactly sure as I wasnt trying hard enough to find her zone.

Winter temperatures gets as low as minus 13 Degrees Fahrenheit.

Spring gardening starts around second week in April.

At that time I was visiting and took some pictures.

The greenhouse taken down 3 years prior to when this picture was taken.

Fig trees overwinter unprotected.

She started to grow fig tree on this pictures which is Negronne and Brown Turkey 6 years ago in her partily broken glass greehouse.

Negronne breba is abundant and 45 to 65 grams, main crop is way smaller.

Brown Turkey has less breba and more main crop.

Col de Dame Blanc, planted in ground as 2 season old 3 feet tall tree lightly protected it using newspaper then tar paper on top.

This spring she uncovers it just to see if it survived, about 4 inches end branches did freeze, I will keep you posted of any news.

So I am wondering !?

Open question;

Why are we so scared to plant fig trees in ground ?

Anna

Martin, I use to fill mine with leaves, use 4 ‘ wire fencing to hold the leaves, only after November after the tree’s are fully dormant.

Hi Anna ,

lol not scared to plant inground just now a days it would be to much work being the only one to eat the figs.

Its much easier to wheel them into garage for winter.

Short backstory -

in the early 60s my uncles used to bury my grandmothers tree in chicago just several blocks from Midway airport by digging around roots, trim and wrap tree in burlap knocking tree over into a deep enough trench then covered with wood and finally covered with dirt.

When done it looked something like a fresh grave site.

Sometime in spring they would dig tree back up.

I fondly recall eating many figs from that tree and the rest is history.

Best

Martin

Figs final Shuffle, of to summer camp. Hopefully nothing happens.

Martin I didn't mean you are scared to plant fig in ground you know what what does it take to grow fig trees in ground 🙂 I mean in general fig entusies get the worning sign to plant fig in ground.

I get it.

Weather is very unpredictable and the weather men is almost never right.

Coming back to the picture that you posted as first (cracked trunk)

Why did it crack ?

Bob it look that there be no stone turned upside down once you done.

Nice to see your progress 🌱

Bluemoonlight,

perhaps heavy fall rains and then sudden cold going into dormancy.

Did not notice when it happened but it was fine before it went into garage

Its been said the cells somehow turn the liquid inside into some sort of antifreeze for lack of better words as plant transforms to dormancy to help protect it.

Perhaps something happened during that time and once the freeze hit everything expanded to the point of cracking from within

The few other plants much smaller and younger are ok

Over the years growing them it has happened several times in past last one that it happened to was a ronde de bordeaux..

Martin

Martin, are you saying that this can happen when temperature changes to fast and tree can not adjust fast enough ?

Was that tree outside when that happened ?

When did you noticed that crack ?

Do you leave trees outside for a few forests ?

Bluemoonlight it was not cracked beforehand but i recall lots of rain last fall just before they went in garage and i'm pretty sure i let a hard frost in 20s hit them as usual and then put them away for season.

Did not notice any cracking when first put away only when taken out for 1st time this season.

Its container will soon house the younger hardy chicago.

Martin

Now for next 10 days or so nightly lows in high 30s oh well the shuffle continues but was nice for a short while keeping them out at night.

Have a few new small replacements that are pretty small in 4x9 containers and in partial sun inside and looking forward to getting them outdoors when temps are warmer .

Martin

I've had my two potted figs out for the past week, on the south driveway, but they are going back in tonight and probably the next 2. Forecast is for 39-40 but I am not taking a chance after losing one to an April frost 2 years ago. It is supposed to get even colder next week.

My in ground Chicago Hardy always froze to the ground - this past winter I tried a method that I saw in another thread: tied up the branches, wrapped it in several layers of weedblock fabric, then covered all with a box made of 2" foam board insulation. When it got warm approaching 80F a couple of days I took off the box and unwrapped it - it looked good, green buds at the branch tips! But then when the vortex blew in, I didn't fully re-wrap it before putting the box back on (because I needed the wrapping to try to protect the blossoming apricots) - mistake! Nearly all of the branches browned right down to the base. There are still 2 that look to be about half viable.

I think that I might just pot it up and let it join the garage residents next winter. It is in a kind of crowded spot anyway.

Figs will be in garage today and tomorrow its snowing as this is being typed but it melts soon as it hits the ground. Going to hit 37 today then drop, freeze warning tonight with lows in 20s.

Then it looks like warmer weather with each passing day.

Martin

Still in the mid forties. Wonder if this is going to be the new normal? It’s not fun anymore worrying about fruit trees in general. More cold temps, more bugs, more diseases. What else?

I lost all my apricot blossoms with the last freeze despite wrapping ; had wrapped and covered everything that had a bit of pink showing on the swelling buds (pear, apple, and peach) successfully.

Now it is supposed to hit freezing tonight and high 20s tomorrow night with all the apples and cherries in full bloom, and the plums, pears, and peaches just at petal fall. I am in despair! Lost everything in last year's late freeze, looks like it will happen again.

At least the figs can be rolled back into the garage.

That is sad !

Have you thought of latest blooming fruit trees ?

I think that is the only way you can escape the frost.

Hope that helps to outsmart that late frost🤔

Bobs right. Sick of it. It’s 70 today. Everything has flowered out including fruit tees and roses. Now high 20’s tomorrow night. I can kiss it all goodbye except for all the dam trees I can carry inside. Then 70 by Saturday again. Can’t beat this crazy duping plants and insane weather contrasts. It’s crazy. The new norm I guess.

Feel bad for the farmers and bee keepers who can’t take this kind of cold so late in the season. Unheard of until recently. Nothing surprises me anymore. Snow in June. ? Wouldn’t shock me

Anna, if you must grow one apple make it an Melrose. This one was my all time favorite. If you graft one with an M 27 dwarf, you can grow it in a container, might get a small dozen out of it.

Btw, tell that to Mike, he is in exotics plants but live near “Wooster”, prone to crazy weather.

Hey Mike enjoy Howard!

I'll keep my eyes open for a Melrose, Bob. I have an Arkansas Black, but none of the others on that list posted by bluemoonlight (thanks!). I do grow them in pots, but for a few in ground.

I pick up apple trees when on deep discount, and plan to cull them to my 3-4 favorites while grafting some of the rest onto a 5th. (Maybe LOL).

I managed my first successful grafts this year - had 2 dwarf apples that had been girdled by vermin several winters ago - the rootstocks survived. I grafted several of my prunings from my (supposed to be, hasn't fruited yet) Transparent apple, and the Winecrisp, and it looks like they all took!

Besides the freezes I need a better strategy to keep the squirrels from destroying anything that survives the freezes!

Here is the sibling to the dead hardy chicago in 1st pic of thread coming along as i let it grow this season has some figs sprouting it is against south facing garage wall.

Hardy Chicago as common as it is just one of my all time favorites it has a nice rich and a not overly sweet taste .

Have airlayer started on this one just in case as i value this particular strain of hardy chicago.

from long closed nursery called Paradise Nursery .

Best

Martin

Vey very nice Martin)))

Nice indeed !

How is it different from the other strains ?

Martin did you grow and tested other strains ?

Bluemoonlight i have never tasted another hardy chicago but do think there may be other strains perhaps and some mislabled from some reading their comments over the years.

Mt Etna 's like Hardy Hartford for example rings a bell from years back among other names but never bothered to grow it .

Now a days there are so many newer names in the fig world although some may be a known cultivar and some that are old but new here in the states from abroad which is very understandable..

Two fig cultivars i grew that was similar in taste was Sals EL and Dark Portuguese ,Sal's EL came from edible landscaping via Belleclare Nursey in NY.

Fondly recall speaking on phone with Chris one of the owners there asking if they could ship a Sals plant but they did not ship but was told that Edible Landscaping owner Mike obtained one from them which is where mine came from and was similar except it was sweeter and not as rich tasting none the less a very good dependable fig the leaf shape was also similar just somewhat smaller .

Martin