I have a Preto that's in a 5 gallon pot with several figs on it.  I know they're going to start swelling any day now.....well, maybe.  I know they require a lot of heat, and since the temps have been cooler, I was thinking of placing a large clear bag over the tree to speed up the process.  Has anyone tried this?  What were the results?

Frank this is what I did late may early June to bring some of my dead looking figs back to life at my dads house and boy did it work.

I also did this 2 years ago on a few figs to get a longer season and It does work, just try and make sure none of the plastic is touching the figs or it will start to rott with the condensation inside the bag.

That's great, Nelson.  Thank you so much for that info.  I'll let you know if they ripen.

watch out for leaves also that are touching the plastic if left in full sun try to create a barrier between the plastic and the plant as a whole, also removing the smaller figglets and figs on the plant will put more power into the ones almost ripe. Good luck :)

Thanks for the tip.  I will certainly keep that in mind.

I did that with a few of mine that had nearly ripe figs just before it started raining.  I'll let you know what I find  :)

Frank,

I tried a plastic bag for a slightly different purpose. A damn squirrel has bitten off the top of a cutting leaving only one tiny old leaf at the base. To speed up the recovery, I covered the pot with a plastic bag over the wire cage I created. The cutting recovered nicely pushing out a lot of new growth. The other cuttings that were ahead at the time of the accident were in the rear view mirror now.

Frank,
I'm currently trialing a Fig Cloche, like a Tomato Cloche. It was discussed in an earlier topic, http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=1283989148&postcount=4 ...
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Pete, I am curious if it will work as a protection against the squirrels for potted figs.
Is the Cloche made out of plastic or mesh and breathable?

Great idea, Pete!  I was planning to go to Lowe's today anyway.  I'll browse around and see what they have.

Hi Figgyfrank,
I tried it here in my Zone 7, but due to lack of sun and constant humidity, it did not help.
I had just thrown a clear soft plastic sheet over the tree. A problem was then that the humidity was building up at the contact of the sheet.
I'm no black crow but:
One thing I would fear is that the tree will start to grow again just before the winter because of the greenhouse effect.
So my advise : Don't do it or be prepared for possibly loosing the softy tree in the Winter. Consider loosing those figs as an investment for possible future crops.
Experimenting new ways is always good, so the choice is yours.

I have figs that can as well ripen anywhere from yesterday to Christmas ... Just don't ask me when they will ... It is like magic to me ...
Some figs should already be ripe - their sisters that appeared/popped up some 3 days before did ripen one month ago ... Where is the logic ?

JDSfrance,
Tomato cloches usually have an opening on top and sometimes on the bottom to allow the humidity and moisture to escape but capture the heat for earlier in ground planting in the spring. The wire fence material will keep the plastic off the leaves. They can be used to advantage if needed, if the fig emergence was observed and noted. as referenced in the above linked topic... 

Quote:

Also keep in mind that figs usually ripen on their schedule, 30-60 / 90 -120.
~30 days to grow from embryo to stagnant stage.
~60 days in stagnant stage.
~90 - 120 days total from embryo to ripe, for Early to Late cultivars.
 

I tried a similar thing with my Stella.   The Stella was ready to ripen and it swelled fast with the covering but the humidity caused the fig to split badly.  I took the cover off and the stella's are ripening normally with no splitting and should be ripe in a couple of days.

Also to Pete's point the cold weather will come with a vegeneance and without much notice.  So the plant may not have time to harden off enough for the winter.