How would u trick a fig tree not to go Dormant
Hi from Sydney Austraila In Austraila farmers r growing fig trees in glass and plastic hot houses ,tricking them to give crops in winter but r winters r very mild.I would love to get some help from u guys cause i want to give it a shoot cause in Austraila its like top secret and the degrees,fertilizers and so on the info would help a lot thanks

I just watched a video on Youtube by the Dave Wilson Nursery in California.  Out there, because of the warm climate, some of the trees are resistant to going dormant....so what they do is to manually defoliate the tree(just hold on to the tip of the branch, and with the other hand, run your closed fist down the length of the branch to strip off the leaves)...they claim this enables the tree to go into dormancy...I have naver had the need to try this method, but these guys are professional nursery men, so they probably know what they are doing......Edit-----Opps...just re-read your post, and you want to know how to trick a tree into NOT going dormant....so sorry. 

My guess is that as long as the temps are warm enough the tree will keep growing and produce a crop of figs year round. But like I said this is only a guess as we get freezing temps for winters. Maybe the tropical members on here can explain how their trees do for them.

I kept my trees all green with considerable growth through the winter by keeping the Temp between 78-82 F.  I think that an ambient temp of anything above 45F will be good.  I also keep the lights on 24/7 as they are the source of the heat.  I use 250w heat lamps for this.  Try to keep the lamps far enough away to prevent leaf damage.  Water accordingly.

Good luck

Its been said they can sense the cold and length of daylight similar to street tree's that change colors and then shed there leaves in fall and finally go dormant.
Least here they do.  

I agree. I think that the length of day would be the tree's ultimate signal. My figs always try to come out of dormancy early and I don't know why because it is usually cold when they begin to break bud for the first time. I think that a younger tree, it it's first few years would be easier to trick because I have noticed that the youngest trees are usually the last to go dormant, but that is just speculation. I think that dormancy is a tremendous benefit to the tree and I believe that it results in a more vigorous plant in the spring. Summers can be very hard on figs here, so by late fall, they are ready to rest. Most of mine go dormant at the end of October and it's not really all that cool yet. I have also noticed that; regardless of the amount of care given and conditions, fig cuttings are easier to root in the spring, right after the weather is warm. That could be because later, the cuttings are older and have been stored longer, or they are already trying to break bud when they are taken, but in the early spring, it just seems so much easier to root them. I guess I'm over romanticizing. 

mocatta, you are talking to an entire forum made up of members from all over the world in different climates.

I live currently in the low Southern California desert.  It may almost freeze in winter, and definitely will fry your flip flops in summer if you have the guts to walk on pavement!  I said that to say this:  Most of my figs have gone dormant, but some have not.  I can't figure it out.  Must be the variety?  But although their leaves are still green and pretty, they are NOT producing figs.

To trick them, I would say you would need to keep the temps even, like a greenhouse. 

Good luck to you!

Suzi

My one data point would seem to indicate keeping the tree warm would prevent dormancy.  I purchased a Hunt fig tree in late Nov and decided not to plant it.  When it is predicted to get in the 30's here I put the pot/tree in my garage until the temps get back above 40.  It still has leaves.

The main fig variety in Austraila is a Black Genoa large purple fig, produces three crops tastes ok but ozzies r not very good with figs,thats why im on this site for info.

Since some of mine do not go dormant, or barely do, keeping the temps above 60F should be sufficient. Day length also plays a role. In a greenhouse, here, they would not go dormant, even with shorter days. Contact Ken Love in Hawaii, http://www.hawaiifruit.net, I think. He has trees that do not go dormant, as I understand it. More tropical, closer to the equator.

To trick a tree into going dormant: Open fridge, place pelletized lime on lower shelf, wait for fig to go for lime and Whammo! close refrigerator door.

I have a sun room so anything I bring in there does not go dormant, even with heat off.