Hey all,

Just wondering.  How big of a pot do you need to use to keep your figs from freezing?  Anyone with experience?  I've got a pot that's about 30" across and 30" deep, though it tapers all the way towards the bottom.  If I leave it out all winter (in GA...it is supposed to get down to 20 this weekend though), do I risk losing it, or at least the outer roots?  I can move it to the garage if I have to, but I didn't know if anyone has tested mother nature before.  My blueberries in pots take the cold in stride, for sure.  Don't know if figs are as hardy.  In ground I know they are, but in pots?

Thanks in advance.

Hey Bret, what variety is it?

If it's Hardy Chicago or MVS or Florea, you can leave it alone and it will be fine.

If it's Smith, Peter's Honey, Beall, Black Maderia, Sicilian Black or a few others, you'd better get ready to truck it inside.

That is a very large pot.  Where in GA are you?  Does it get well below freezing and stay there for an extended period?  Just a few hours at night would be no threat, as long as it warms up in the daytime.  The outer part might freeze a bit but I can't imagine the whole pot would freeze solid in most parts of GA.  So your fig would probably survive.

But if you have an unheated garage, that might be safer. 

Got an LSU purple in the big pot.  In a smaller pot (24" wide, 20" deep) I have a CH.  Both are under 5 years old.

Last year I wrestled with the same issue for my potted figs as I don't have a good storage area.  I solved it by buying 2 bales of straw and constructing a cocoon or straw house around the 8 figlets I wanted to protect.  I grouped my pots tightly with the hardiest out and the most tender in the middle about 12" away from a sheltering wall.  I then put a wall of straw 2 flakes of straw thick (about 10-12" thick) around the perimeter of the pots as insulation.  Next I worked a layer of hand compacted straw around the base of the plants and the spaces between the pots to finish insulating the pots. The rest of the remaining bale was fluffed up and forked over the plants until I had a nice insulating mound and all the branches had been well covered. I lost no trees and only one plant showed any tip damage at all and it was very minor. Pot sizes ranged from 1 gal. to 3 gal. with most in 2 gal. pots. I did not water as we have rains during the winter. Compacted straw works pretty well as insulation,  to retain moisture and to keep the wind from drying out branches.  Since it worked well last year, I plan on doing the same this year. Straw is not an expensive building material and is convenient for building a temporary insulated storage area.  In spring it can be pulled back and used to mulch between rows in a garden or tilled into the soil to add organic material. Unlike hay, you don't get a lot of weeds from using straw. I am just over the border from GA in SC at the foot of the mountains and we get winters ranging from zone 8 conditions to zone 6 conditions.