The fig plants are out on driveway !
Had to move both cars, move the boat over, snow blower and garden tractor went in shed after i moved some patio furniture onto the patio to make room.
Cleaned up all the falling fig leaves on garage floor, pulled off some last season unmature figs and put all the containers on driveway as its 54 out now and soon to rain which the plants will enjoy.
I was looking at the 5 day forcast and will be able to leave them out day and night until friday evening then back in garage as night time lows will be in the mid 30s.
Plants look good some look like there just starting to awaken from a good long sleep.
Last season i first brought them out March 15th then first week of April we got sleet then a few inches of snow.
So everything is right on time so far as i try to get the annual head start here in Illinois.
Another season has begun for me.
Best Health

Whoopie. However its forecast to snow here tonight. We have been having temp at around 50*F(daytime) for over a month. The cherry blossoms were out during the Olympics. I will keep my trees in the garage till month end/early April. Too many to move.

Thats great news Martin! I have been putting some plants out for a few hours at a time when the sun is shining and the temperatures are over 45. The plants I have been putting out haven't been asleep though, they are seedlings and cuttings that I have been keeping growing inside by windows. I will likely start getting my potted dormant ones out within the next week or two at most. I hope yours wake up happy!

Martin , if your figs in the garage survived teens or close to single digit temps. Would 30`s during night will damage them? (before buds start leafing out).

Before the buds start no it wont hurt them just perhaps slow them from getting out of dormancy. As the  root system gets warmer and coupled with some sun and fresh air they seem to respond quicker than if i leave them in the garage.  Thats why ones grown inground in our climate take a little longer because the ground dirt takes a little longer to warm up than in a container.


I like to get them out on days like today as the blacktop driveway with the sun warms everything nice.  At night when its in the 30s the garage is warmer than outside and helps maintain the temps from during the day when they were outdoors.
I look forward to tomorrow as it will be a few degrees warmer and they will get a good natural drink of rain we are suppose to get , today they hardly got any from that little sprinkle we had .
Remis i did bring in a several of the smaller 1 gallon pots as i feel the temp will drop a lot faster in those little pots.
Best Health
Martin

Temp here today was around 75, cloudy, very humid. Supposed to have rain tomorrow, temps in the upper 60's I believe, and upper 50's to low 60's overnight for the next few nights.

I've had my potted figs out all winter, they did fine but then we didn't get any temps colder than 17 here, but plenty of nights in the 20's. No damage, no problems so far. Everything starting to leaf out.

Still working on improving the appearance of my pot ghetto.  I did buy a bunch of 12" concrete paving stones in a pretty light brown color and set them into the ground along one side of my back porch for my potted figs and citrus to sit on. It does look nicer than it did when the pots were just sitting on the ground.

If you start them too early, does it help/hurt fruit production?

Does it strain the tree to start too early?
Any thoughts?
just thinking out loud...Nas

Nass33,
 i can only answer your question for my zone from my experience.
you ask
If you start them too early, does it help/hurt fruit production?
my answer no not at all long as once buds start to break it does not experience cold enough temps to damage the new buds. that will set it back
you ask

Does it strain the tree to start too early?
not for me as mine are dormant in garage for parts of Oct, all of Nov, Dec, Jan ,Feb, and part of March so they have had plenty of rest period.
You ask
Any thoughts?
yes plenty , may everyone have good weather for great fig season and wonderful fig production this season. 
I could put the members here to sleep like a dormant fig plant with all my thoughts on figs so i just give that short answer to "Any thoughts? " ; )
Best Health

Martin,

Glad to hear that your season is beginning. It's awful hard to relate. I shipped some plants yesterday that still had last season's leaves on them, and new growth from this year. One had 3 figs already.

Still, glad to hear the weather is improving. ;-))

Martin,

I've been keeping an eye on the forecast in Sterling Heights, Mi.. It's looking promising. 50 and above lately.

I should be home this weekend, My son is having a minor surgery on Friday so I'd like to be there during or at least after. When that's all done I'll have a little pruning to do and maybe fertilize the lawn.

Hard to find lush green grass in the south, Even with California and all its glory I've yet to witness a nice green lawn! Oh well.

Martin,

I will be home tomorrow afternoon. Do you think it would be too early for me to place the larger pots ( 15gl-25gl ) outside and leave them out there?

I was planning on placing them against the wall of the house in the backyard.
The back of the house faces the south.

Also, I instructed my father to unwrap the plastic that was placed over the burlap on my in-ground trees. But instructed him not to touch the burlap just yet.

Comments welcome from other northern figsters regarding this matter.

Hi rafed,
if your temps dont get to cold around 40 or so but i would not trust them below that . Thats just me as i feel with green buds it could set them back in time somewhat if left out night after night in the 30s i could be wrong but i never let mine at this point see those temps. At least not yet but im tempted 1 year with the several larger ones.
Naw i better not.  ; )

Just checked the forecast and the night time lows will be in the upper 30s and lower 40s for the next week.

I will leave on Monday to Laredo, Tx and I think I should wait too just to be on the safe side. If I were home more often then I would haul them in and out everyday.

I do have a large wagon so I think I will place the small ones in it and have my family wheel it in and out for me.

Similar here, i have to bring mine in tomorrow night and for several nights after that it will dip to mid 30s, by end of next week it looks for now it will be ok for me to leave out but i check when the time comes.
Better safe than sorry right?

Martin,
Per the advice from my family. I will hold off on taking out the pots for at least a couple more weeks or a month.

Went through the cuttings I got from Jon and other members and potted about fifteen of them. The rest looked like they needed a little more time.

Will keep you posted.

Hey Rafed,
better safe than sorry .  ; )
Like you i have a few cuttings potted and gave some away as i just need 1 of each. Hey rafed i think i found room for several more but will have to wait to obtain them.  ; )
The smaller ones will be coming in tonight as night temps will be around 38, the few bigs ones i have left will be left out. Tomorrow night they will all come in as temps will drop to around 34 to 35 . During the day back out they go.
They have seen some nice soft rain last few days and some of the buds are showing green and more are getting there, several plants have breba showing but i dont worry about breba not making it they usually dont as i aim for main crop and early start as possible.
Best Health

Martin,

You have P/M

Martin,

Just glanced outside in the backyard and I noticed one of my ornamental trees ( possibly a dogwood ) was showing signs of new growth. I also noticed some of my roses showing the red swells that they show in early spring just as they begin to start their new growth.

My garage stored figs are also showing some swelling at the tips.

Yes sir, The time is a cometh.

I will be leaving to Laredo, Tx. in the morning and hopefully when I return I will be able to take the large pots out.
I also need to put together my list and P/M it to some of the members. I promised it to some weeks ago but been too lazy.

Yes it has the signs are there for the first time i heard Robins singing this morning very early. Heard a Cardinal doing his call but that was a while back.
Last season though i remember a ice storm followed by several inches of snow first week of April !
Um what list are you putting together?

Here in NJ, it is currently a balmy 50*F.
The ground is still frozen though.
Yesterday we had mucho rain.
Frozen-ground + mucho-rain is a very bad combination!
Last night my basement acted-up like a "reverse" bath-tub;
aka (minor, but signifigant) flooding - water seaping from any tiny crack
[my handy shop-vac sucked up ~100 gallons of water]. 
So far it has been a rare (pain-in-the-neck) occasion...

Gorgi,

Sorry to hear about your basement. A couple of years ago my sump and the back-up pump both went out at the same time and my basement had a minor flood. My basement is finished with carpets, pool table, bar etc. etc.  so you know how I felt.
The insurance guy forgot to include flood damage to my policy so that was a double whammy.

Lucky me it was only several hundred $$$ worth of damage. I have a new policy now with a new company.

Good luck.

Martin,
My list is just a show and tell to a few members of my fig collection.
You'll know about it when I get it done.

I had refused my wife's much earlier request to "finish" the basement,
specifically for that reason (fear of water).

I now also hear from the local weather-man that had our temp
been just ~freezing, right now we would have been buried
under ~3 feet of snow! CRAZY weather! Not sure which is the
better of the 2 evils - the snow or the flooding... 

And yes, my local backyard male Red Cardinal bird is singing, (again...) serenading Spring.