Last winter was a bad winter. Temperatures in Pittsburgh went down to -9F.

Although I applied the same moderate winter protection that worked just fine in previous years, my four year-old LSU Tiger (my only in-ground tree) died to the soil this past winter. I cut the tree down over four months ago, and I haven't seen any signs of life since.

So I was surprised and happy to see a few new shoots poking up through the mulch this morning. Sort of miraculous.

 

Matt, that's awesome that the tree is alive and shooting. Likewise, I had 4 fig trees that died to the ground last January and all of them came back with multiple shoots and they're now about 5 feet tall and bearing fruit.

Alright I know that happy feeling

Congratulations!  They have some growing to do in one month before the freeze sets in again.  Put them in a pot and move them to a warm place for winter.

Suzi

Congrats Matt.  I'm glad it's still kickin'!

Mike

amazing :)

Congrats Matt. Looks like mother nature really wanted you to have that tree. :)

Good luck with it coming back next year.  Feed it potassium and phosphate and mulch it heavily if you leave it in the ground.

So do you plan to now pot it? Or, let it in-ground? It is pretty amazint that it took this long to put up new shoots. Maybe it was storing energy and waiting for the proper amount of heat, water and nutrients. Good luck!

It isn't going to have much time to make energy for the winter.  It will probably still be still be soft green wood when you get a frost.  If it were mine I think I would pot it and keep it green over the winter or until it decided to go dormant. 

That is amazing! It took until the end of August to break dormancy? What a tease.  Makes me think I should keep watering my fig graveyard for a little while longer.

Thanks for this picture and story, very interesting.

I'm a rookie, no idea how big a 4y old tree's roots are. I would be afraid to dig it up and pot it, afraid that I would harm the already-damaged roots. I think the roots had to have been damaged for it to take this long to push out leaves. If you have some creative better way to insulate it this winter and keep the roots from freezing, would it do OK? Of course, the question is 'do you plan to keep it in the ground long term' ?

Good luck with this one, Matt, I'd like to hear what you do with it and how it does in the future.

Edit:
Sorry, double posted somehow.
You have this year's record so far for the latest comeback!

Matt, as there is and will be very little growth, I'd try putting a mound of dirt, mulch or whatever over the plant and roots. Just remember to clear the dirt in early spring back to the original level. Tossing some snow on top wouldn't hurt either! :)