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Fig tree shock

I dug up my Turkish fig tree to a large pot for winter. Now the leaves are curled, dry and droopy. I've been watering it and keeping it the room with the most light. It had almost full sun all summer. Thoughts, help and suggestions welcome, please!

Brenda,
It happened to my 2 Pastilieres when I decided to up pot them, leaves are all gone but, looks like the buds are waking up again, here in Los Angeles, dormancy comes very late if it ever does...
In your case, the tree is going to dormancy, don't worry :)
Minimize the watering and treat it like all others in your zone would with watering amount and winterizing it.

  • Rob

Are you planning on keeping it inside?  Or in your garage?  If the former, you may need to give it extra light because just ambient indoor light is not enough for a fig tree.  If garage, then go ahead and put it there now, or even better, keep it outside until nighttime lows are consistently below 32 degrees.  It needs to go to sleep.  Keeping it inside will wake it up and prevent it from going dormant.

Hi brendabit,
That is called the transplant shock .
If the tree is to be stored dormant, than store her now - she's dormant :).
If the tree is to be kept growing for the winter, I would let her to sleep for two or four weeks and then bring her back inside .
If you see the tree opening new leaves, put her asap near the windows as planned .
In which zone are you ? Why not let the tree snooze a bit ?
For next year bury the tree inside her pot with bottom removed; that should avoid the transplant shock.

Thanks all!
I don't know if the tree is dormant.

It gets pretty cold here in the winter, definitely below freezing - Zone 6. I wasn't sure how the frost would effect the tree so I dug it up after 2 frosts. I did manage to keep a cover over the tree during the frosts.
My plan was to keep her inside over the winter, in my apartment. It doesn't get full sun, but it does get some sun. Is this ok? How should I proceed?

If I need to let it sleep for, how do I do this? Place it in a closet? Room with low light?

Right now it's also in a self water pot, the soil seems pretty damp. If the tree is in shock will it absorb water? Should I move it to a different style pot?

Thank you for all your help!

  • Rob

If you keep it above 42 degrees, you need to give it plenty of light.  Inside winter light won't really be enough, even if it's a "sunny" room, but if you don't have a garage or something similar, you don't have much choice.  Fig trees do best in direct full sun.  Inside room with low light will slowly starve it to death (light is food for plants). 

Thanks Rob.

I have a fire escape that is outside. Is there a way to keep it outside in a pot but bundled up?

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