I have a small dilemma here.

Houseful of company expected for an annual PGA event next week on OUR golf course, and I need the baby figs out of the house by next Thursday!  Every bedroom is occupied, and we have room for a few in our bathtub, but not all.

Some are in one gallon containers, and most are in cups.  Many are promised to others, and I'm waiting for sufficient roots to show prior to shipping.

Weather outside is sunny and warm during the day, and going into high 30's at night.  No freezes.  I was thinking of covering their trays with plastic sheeting and putting them in partial shade, but the grapevines are no longer as lush as they were because they are going dormant, so the partial shade isn't what it used to be.  Many of my figs are going dormant, and others show no sign of it.

Will it kill them to go dormant?  I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place!  What to do?

Suzi

30s is too cold for babies.  I wouldn't even do anything under 55.  (both for figs and driving)  Do you have a friend who could babysit for a few days?  I'm assuming you have no basement or garage where lights/heaters could be set up.

We do have a garage! And we can leave the fluorescent light on!  It's not a "grow light," but it will only be for the weekend.  JD has a fan on the citrus, but the temps won't go below 38 probably.  He just brought in a floor heater (left from his mom's estate), so we can plug that in, in the garage.

We may be doing the fig shuffle!  Out in the sunny day, In at night.  I DO NOT WANT MY BABIES TO DIE!

Suzi

Kindly tell the guests the party's outside cause your baby fig plants have shoots that are all green and thus not hardened and will wilt and have good chance of dyeing outside.

On a serious note ever start veggies indoors in starter trays ? You basically have to slowly assimilate them to outdoors temps or they wilt and go kaput least here in our climate . Your babies have been used to what 70 plus degree temps and then putting them in 40 degree and below for several days, if they dont die they may be setback until new growth once again develops that is if the stick can supply enough baby food.  ; )

Putting them out at this stage with those temps is a recipe for disaster. In fact when they are that young you don't really want to move them around much at all. Don't know how long your guests are staying btu a couple days away from a window in another part of the room is much more preferable than putting them outside. They can survive a couple days with little or no light much better than cold temps. 

Thanks Barry!  We have decided to put them in the Garage, which is much warmer in the day and night, than it is outside, and we'll also put the floor heater heat on.  It's only for three days max, so none will go outside now.  The ones I have promised will reside in our bathtub.   Outside the day temp is 74 in the shade.  So garage will be higher.  At night, we'll put that heater on.

Crossing fingers!  We have this party every year, but I never had THIS many baby trees! 

Thanks to all of you!

Suzi

It depends.  If you are still in your twenties it's a piece of cake moving the figs back and forth.  When you get into your fifties you start to notice some aches and pains that you didn't have in your twenties. So once they are outside again it might take a couple of days to recover before your up to moving them back inside if you have to.