Hi Everyone,

I'm so glad I found this forum--it's been very helpful so far, but I think I need some more direct help. 

I inherited five fig trees, brown turkey I believe, when I rented my new apartment in Brooklyn, NY. I moved in last July when the trees were in full leaf, bright, and beautiful. They had just been trimmed back to avoid the power lines and I ended up with two gigantic harvests of delicious figs. I'm not sure how to age fig trees, but the neighborhood is very old Italian, the building is old as well, so I think they could be 20+ years old. 

Brooklyn had a terrible winter this year--very cold with a lot of snow. Spring has also been cold, so I believed the trees might just be late bloomers this year. I did nothing for the trees over the winter because they were so well established. It is May 7th today and so far there is not a single sprout or leaf on any of the trees. I went around testing the trunks by taking a little bark off and there was green underneath, so I think the trees are alive. As I go around testing twigs and branches to see if they can bend but not break, most break. 

I haven't done anything too drastic to the area, turning up the topsoil and planting a little grass, which I have never had in the area. I've been watering the grass and therefore the trees as well. The weather recently has been getting warmer, but I can still be around 40 degrees in the morning some days. 

I attached a picture of the trees from last June and will take more pictures of the current trees if I need to when I get back from work. 

 


Should I prune the trees, keep watering them like normal, and hope for the best come June/July? Should I just leave them alone? I haven't cut them back at all since last year, but I'm afraid of killing the trees if they're alive. I'd hate for the one year I've had these fig trees to be the one where all of them die!

-Adam

They'll be fine.  There may be some die-back but where there's green, there's life.  My in-ground tree doesn't usually bud until late May and that's with an ordinary winter.  I wont know if this horrible winter has killed it for a while.

A lot of us are seeing green shoots come up from the base of the trunk.  Have you check for new growth there?  There's a good chance the the trunks (i.e. the thickest stems) and the root system still have some life in them but sometimes it takes a while for new growth to appear from these areas of the plant.

Pour some water on the trunks and branches. Whatever parts look greenish, they are alive. The parts that stay the same brown/grey color as when dry, they are probably toast. But even if the trunks are dead, you may have growth emerge from the roots. I would not cut for at least another month. Maybe even mid June. Older fig trees are tough.

I know I am a lot further south (zone 7b), but most of the figs here broke bud later than normal because of the hard winter and cold spring. So I would guess that will be the case in  your area too.

Thanks for all the great information! 

I'll assume all fig trees are smarter than I am--I don't doubt that. I'll feed them and be patient and see what happens. I'll post updates on how it goes!

Hi Coolmule01,
Fertilizer and water. And I would wait until beginning of July.
You want to keep the thick trunks as they store more energy . So before cutting, think about it four times ...
The stems even if dead can be left in place and be used as stakes for the new stems that might show up at some point .
But remember: you're the boss at your home :)

A lot of my potted trees are late in breaking buds, several have so far and others are sprouting from trunks.  My in ground have all died to the ground and are starting to push up growth from the roots.  Some of the trees I cut earlier have dried out at the top of the cut.  I would cut later on to see where the growth comes from and avoid the cracking.

Hello! I am here in NYC, I have yet to see an in-ground tree break bud here so you are not alone. Both my in ground trees had major die back, even with protection.

As others have said, don't cut yet. If there are parts that are still alive, you wouldn't want to accidentally cut any of that that is. You can always cut out the dead stuff later. No need to rush - pruning now won't help.

I'm glad someone started this post because I was thinking the same thing. I'm also in NYC and my trees haven't leafed out either! There are 3 that I suspect are goners, but I am hopeful and keeping my fingers crossed.

A lot of us are in the same boat.  Look at this recent thread.

Same boat. Most of my potted plants are still dormant here in 6a. I'm patiently waiting.... And I got a nice distraction yesterday, my UC Davis package....woohoo. Great birthday present!!

In the we-are-in-the-same-boat catagory, my young pomagranate has yet to begin leafing out, here in a Zone 7b in Georgia. Best I can tell, it is either dead or just in a deep sleep. Maybe dead, but the branches seem pliant for the most part, so we shall see. The nursery that I bought it from says to give it a few more weeks to wake up, a wonderful comment from them.

What a winter it was! I live in eastern NC and my fig tree is about 4-5 weeks behind with leaving out.  It normally does so by the beginning to mid April, now it is mid May, and I only see several leaves starting to unfurl.  I guess the best thing to do is watch and wait.  By summer you'll have a better picture of what the damage (if any) truly is and you can prune back the dead wood.  Look for signs of "weeping" sap along the the trunks as this will tell you if the sap is rising up. At least this is what I noticed on my tree.  Good luck!

Had 9 in-ground since last summer to be impacted by the low temps here in 7b. All but 3 have new growth. Some had very brown branches that eventually turned green and life returned slowly from the ground up. 

Hi,
It is May 26, 2014 and i am also concerned about my fig tree not sprouting leaves because of the extremely cold winter. Every other tree in Virginia has full leaves and my fig tree is without leaves. I checked today and it has some very small sprouts on a 2 of the main trunks that are about 5" in diameter. The tree is 7 years old and is about 15' tall with 4-5 5" diameter trunks. It is south facing and is protected by the brick front of my house.
I can not tell if some of the smaller branches off the main trunks are dead. I can snap off some of the very small branches and they are white, brittle, and soft on the inside. Here are some pictures i took this morning:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ianspivack/sets/72157644445178170/
I will probably wait till November before I trim back the tree. I am a bit disappointing as i do not think i will be getting figs this year. The last 3 years i have gotten more figs than i can deal with.

Your tree looks identical to mine.  I hate to say it, but it appears that the tree has died back to the ground.  I have a 4 year old tree that didn't make it either.  Starting back just like your picture.  I didn't protect mine though.

thanks for your reply. There are some small buds on the large branches that are about 1 ft off the ground. I do think that the tree has mostly died unfortunately and will be growing back this year.
I did nothing to protect it over the winter. I assumed that the brick/house would be enough protection, but I guess not.

Can you guys help me out on my fig tree issue. What to excpect. There would be leafs or my tree is dead. I need you people.