Hello,
I used to be active on the fig forums, but don't have as much time as I used to (too much work).  Here's what I need help with:

I have dozens of potted figs that were somewhat neglected over the last 3 years or so.  Then we had a really bad freeze this past winter (Mississippi) that added more damage.  So...I have repotted all the survivors in Miracle Grow, but I'd like to give them a shot of something that would spur them along in their recoveries.  Suggestions?

Thanks.

Henry

If they are already leafing out, but still not strong looking, give them a quarter or half dose of something soluble like miracle grow.

High Nitrogen, low Phosphate fertilizer in small dose, good luck

Hi Henry,

It's good to see you again.

Check to see if the MG mix has fertilizer built in before adding too much more.

Welcome Back Henry. Hope U can be active again here.

I think U did well on re-potting. Just regular mild fertilization should do the trick in your zone. But watch moisture level. I use general purpose MG lots on young/weaker plants. I fertilize like what Jon recommends like watering them 1st and after 2 hours I would give them another drink with mild fertiliser. Does this once a week for a month. I sometimes use supplement fertilisers in between that mentions "Good 4 Roots - Young starts." They have them in MG too

If they(plants) don't come back, I am sure forum members will help to get U a better collection. There are many newer & better variants than years ago.

what paully said would work nicely. the trick is not giving too much fertilizer. not sure how they will take it. if the root system is good, full strength might actually work. otherwise start with 1/4 to 1/3 strength. lately i have been playing with superthrive. not sure if it's actually working or not, but plants after repotting using superthrive seems to have little less hard time. i'm using it on newly rooted cuttings that are not showing any improvements, not sure if it's working yet. but they seem to hang in there longer than previous yrs when i haven't used them. 

Hi guys,

Thanks for the input.  James and Paully...good to "hear" from you :)

Let me clarify a little more:  I repotted in MG potting soil that does have some fertilizer "built in".  All of the plants I'm speaking of are alive and have leafed out.  However, some of them have barely pushed out the smallest bit of growth and have grown little thereafter.  Also, some of the oldest ones really got hit hard by our near record lows of around 10 for two nights in a row.  That kind of cold just doesn't happen in central Mississippi.  So...some of these older plants have pushed a little growth out through the gnarly, freeze damaged wood on some branches and have grown little since.  Some branches are dead.  If I can get these older, larger ones to survive and recover this year I'll probably lop off all that damaged wood and let them basically start over.  There was also considerable root damage from the cold freeze, but I'm not really sure of the degree of damage.  All of these plants are past the point of where if the roots were completely dead it would show.  You know...I had a few that had some life in the wood but evidently the roots were too damaged.  These pushed out some meager growth only to shrivel up and die a week or two later.  So...the rest must have enough of a root system for continued growth, but some of them are just barely growing.  These are the ones I'd like to help out if I can.  For me this year is a transition year from neglect and freeze damage to attempting to nurse these plants back to health.

Would some root stimulator be appropriate, or should I stick with the liquid MG fertilizer regimen?  Other than the MG soil that came with some fertilizer I've done nothing else yet.

Thanks again.

Henry

Hi hlyell,
How is your watering schedule ?
I would check the watering schedule and give them a bit more water - that's what they need the most.
As for fertilizer, I use the normal fertilizer in blue balls the 10/10/10. I spread a small hand/ 30 balls over the dirt once a month.
But to me the most important is water, sun and a bit of heat from a sunny spot and then be patient, after all we're still in April .

Hello Henry:
Good to hear from you again!
I was hoping nothing serious happened to you.
This year I bought Twin Pines Fertilizer 13-13-13 from Home Depot for about $20 for 40 lb bag.
I have used this on my in ground trees as well as my potted trees and so far I am seeing some nice results with strong green growth.
I plan to apply this monthly, just like jdsfrance has described.
My old Italian friends in Chicago use 10-10-10 on their trees in the same way and have good results.

MG soil holds a lot of water and not much air.  It tends to rot roots.  If you use it you have to water very lightly.  Even though it has fertilizer built in I'd still water with houseplant strength fertilizer.  The best ones have micronutrients including iron.  If it were me I'd wash that stuff off and repot in pro-mix HP, preferably with the biofungicide.  Then I'd fertilize every time you water with houseplant strength fertilizer as above.

Welcome back!  :)

Leon,

It's really great to "see" you, and thanks for the Twin Pines info. 

Leon is in large part to blame for my fig addiction/obsession :)

I've got some good guidance.  Thanks to everyone.

Bob, I think I got lucky with the MG soil I happen to get at Loew's.  All but a couple of bags were the least dense MG soil I had ever seen.  There won't be any issues with this particular batch of MG soil holding too much water and not enough air. 

We've had a lot of rain in the last two weeks, so I'm going to let things dry out a bit before beginning a fertilizing regimen.  I'll report back.

Thanks again.

Henry