Has anyone had any success getting an undormant fig tree to go dormant in the middle of winter?
Thanks,
Timothy

Tim, I had one tree this year that refused to go dormant after numerous freeze and frosts. This is what I did

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/hard-head-6655194

Looks like it had some good company. Did it work?

Small greenhouse full of dry ice?

Timmy, yes it did work. Took about 5 days and the leaves drooped and fell off.

Or...you could bring it inside and let it be a house plant this winter.

That's the problem, it's already inside.  I had a potted plant at work and had a very small twig from one of my trees so I just stuck it in this pot at work for fun and sure enough it grew but it gets very little light (indirect only).  It got to 3 little leaves and never grew another cm for months.  So i'm thinking it would make sense at this point to just have it go dormant with the rest, but the problem is that it never got acclimated to cooler temps so the sap can slow like happens outside so I wanted to see if there was a way to do so.  Not sure how going from contant 70s to 30s will work out.  Either I'll try that as an experiment and just stick it in my garage or I'll bring it home and put it in a room with windows for the winter.
Timothy

This was an old topic I started last winter and I just wanted to follow-up on it since the info may be useful.  I ultimately decided to just put the potted tree in the unheated attached garage with the rest of my dormant trees and see what happened. 

The result:
It dropped its leaves and went dormant.  In the spring it leafed out again and I had a happy, healthy fig tree!  I know this was only a 1 time test, and I wouldn't do this with a newly rooted cutting, but I thought I'd pass along the info in case others find themselves in a similar situation.

Thanks, Timmy.  I had one similar and it dropped its leaves just a couple weeks ago.  Good to hear it should come back when the others do.

You're welcome Frank.  If you happen to think of it, if it leafs out nicely in the spring, update this post.  The more evidence there is that this works, the better informed we can be for those caught it this situation.  Given that we have such different seasons from location to location, I'm sure there are times where people up north acquire a tree from down south and it's too late to put outside but the tree is fully "awake".  In those cases this would be useful info too.

Also not a pro, but I do have a couple of observations you may find interesting.

The one potted newly rooted  tree that I have left outdoors here in zone 8a (I took it into my garage near a window for 5 or 6 days during our hard freeze last week), has retained all of it's leaves to date, and is putting out new ones.

The 7 newly rooted and  potted  trees that remain in my dining room against a south facing sliding glass door are still growing and putting out leaves.  No leaf drop.

All my in ground trees are dormant of course.

When I lived in Havasu, (zone 10), the year we got no freezing temps, my in ground  fig trees did not go dormant.  Leaves would yellow and drop one or two at a time throughout the winter while  putting out new ones.  Fruit trees requiring hundreds of hours of chill obviously do not fruit there, but figs, if babied a little, do real well.

He Lives!  (Hi, Dave!)  Glad to see you again.  How did this year treat you?

Great Bob.  And you?

Battling gopher(s) at the moment.  I have tried gassing them with three different products, drowning them (poured over 200 gallons down a hole and it never backed up), and, today, poison bait.  I HATE to poison anything, but it's them or my trees.   So poison it is.

Have found varieties that I like and do well here.  The rest (about ten trees) are coming out this winter.   The hedge idea didn't work out all that well.  These trees grow too fast and want to get big.  So 8 or even 10 feet apart...too much work pruning.

Anyone with gopher killing ideas please contact me with them.   A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

(Sorry for the thread hijack.   You may now return to your original programing...).

Chuck,
Thanks for the input.  You're right with the info.  Unfortunately I think you may have missed the details in the thread, hehe.  This was an old post from last winter.  I ended up putting the potted tree in the cold, dark garage with my other dormant trees and it successfully went dormant.

Dave,
I've noticed temps, exposure to light and fertilization schedule all play a part in dormancy.  The one you put in the garage may have been in warm enough temps and enough light to break dormancy.  The light in the window may have also increased the temps on the tree vs. the ambient temps.  The reason I mention fert. is because a few times I've added espoma tree fert (high nitrogen) late in the growing season which caused a growth flush that didn't slow when the cold temps came on because of the fertilizer.  Those trees survived and I had to clip the leaves off when I moved them to the garage.  But it was clear the nitrogen late in the fall was causing growth rather than dormancy.
Also, the 7 indoor trees won't go dormant if they're in warmer temps.  The keys are cold, dark and, I'm adding, limited nitrogen.
PS. No worries on the hijack, I found it funny given how random it was :)

Well you obviously did the right thing with your fig plants and I'm glad they woke up well.  Just to tie up the loose random ends, Dave, what made the cut and what are you tossing and why?  We have a new guy from AZ and he'll want to know.  Maybe you could answer in this thread to keep the randomness below acceptable thresholds  :)

figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/new-to-forum-7246508

The ones in pots didn't wake up Bob.  They never went dormant in the first place.

In ground trees remain dormant.  I have several  varieties that are either not producing up to expectations, or that are producing but the figs just aren't doing it for me taste wise.  I am keeping Desert King, Black Mission, VDB, Col de Dam,  a couple Havasu trees, and a couple unknowns.  Still deciding on my Atreano and Celeste trees.   VDB, Black Mission,  and a couple others could go next year, depending on how they do.

I was referring to the OP on the figs coming back  :)

No worries Chuck, we've all done it.

Dave,
You were pretty clear in what happened, the 1 plant never went dormant even after going in the garage.  I guess what I was thinking was maybe that was due to one of those 3 factors I mentioned.  Also, maybe how cold it is impact how quickly the tree goes dormant.  I noticed something else interesting this year...
I had most of my trees growing on the driveway in pots but I put many of my newly potted young trees underneath a couple giant pine trees nearby.  I noticed the trees on the driveway dropped their leaves on schedule while the ones under the pines, in the landscape, stayed green much longer and were slow to drop.  I wonder if other factors come into play like temp of the root zone or exposure to cold winds (the pines are relatively sheltered, next to a hedge).  Just something to chew on.

I have 3 trees of the same variety.  Two went dormant as normal.  It was the one tree that decided to be stubborn.  All factors were the same for the 3 trees.  I know it doesn't help answer 'why' it didn't go dormant at the same time as the others but thought it should be mentioned.