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Inground Trees Breaking Dormancy in Northern NJ!

Hi all. After a very mild winter, it's 81 degrees here today! I removed the buckets from my inground trees yesterday to allow some air and prevent moisture buildup. To my surprise, there are little green bugs everywhere. I've never had this happen so early in the season. Not even any dieback.

Has anyone else in the area reported this at all? Have to be very careful not to allow ambient temperatures under 32° now, or else the new growth will obviously freeze. I'm hoping that leaving the bucket tops off will allow for them not to overheat as it is still too early to uncover them completely because surely they'll be a few nights and April where it dips down below freezing.

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Bumping this ^^
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I'll have to check mine tomorrow!
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figgi11, aren't you the guy who had heat lamps directed at your wrapped trees?  Maybe that made a difference.  That and the warmth of the sun hitting the blue tarps.  Here in MD none of my in ground trees (which were not wrapped) are showing any signs of swelling beds at this point.
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I have mine out but they are in pots, so I can shuffle back to the garage. I am the next two nights where it's going inot the 30's, then back to warmer nights again!
I like your wrap, could you go over what you did? Leaves in there? Or direct me to where you talk about it. I'm putting a couple in ground this year.
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I have over 30 in ground figs. All of mine are pushing leaves all of each branch. Going to be a good year. Everyone should have nice fig to show to each other this year ..


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Originally Posted by Rewton
figgi11, aren't you the guy who had heat lamps directed at your wrapped trees?  Maybe that made a difference.  That and the warmth of the sun hitting the blue tarps.  Here in MD none of my in ground trees (which were not wrapped) are showing any signs of swelling beds at this point.


Are dormant figs supposed to have green buds on the branches or not? I'm concerned because two of them do not and have a little bout of fuzzy white mildew. I unwrapped them sprayed with hydrogen peroxide then replaced the bottom insulation which was a little soggy. The branches were still green under the bark despite the white fuzz.

The problem seems to be that the lower insulation may have settled and absorbed some of the ground moisture. Still, only the paper was soggy. The tree and pink stuff was fairly dry but probably caused humidity inside to create the fuzz. Even if I clean them will the branches rot and die or will they put out new growth? This is the one issue with wrapping that drives me crazy. I wish there were a way to prevent moisture buildup under the wrap. Regardless of whether I use insulation of not, it happens. I put rocks at the base of the trees today to prevent the insulation from touching the ground and absorbing any water.

Anyone that's experienced this, will early intervention prevent dieback? To what extent does the fuzz damage the affected areas? Is it hopeless once fuzz appears regardless of how much? Thanks!

Rewton, I did use the heat lamps during that bitter cold spell and it seemed to work well.

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Originally Posted by drew51
I have mine out but they are in pots, so I can shuffle back to the garage. I am the next two nights where it's going inot the 30's, then back to warmer nights again!
I like your wrap, could you go over what you did? Leaves in there? Or direct me to where you talk about it. I'm putting a couple in ground this year.


Drew, see thread:
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/heat-lamps-to-provide-additional-heat-during-cold-spell-for-inground-covered-trees-7926917?pid=1290889944
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Hi figgy11,
Wash that mold, dry the branch with a paper towel and let the tree in the open air - don't cover it again.
The tree needs air for that mold to vanish or it may come back.
After cleaning, just watch. You can't know if there was damage be it sever or light.
So let the tree do what she can .
Keep an eye on the tree if the mold comes back, clean it again and again. I'd use water only; you don't need any chemical. If the tree is still alive, she can take care of the mold.
Good luck !

By the way, that mold tells that the temp were too high under your protection. In the future, arrange for better temperature control.
To survive, fig trees just need a little tug and not a big push.
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Originally Posted by jdsfrance
Hi figgy11,
Wash that mold, dry the branch with a paper towel and let the tree in the open air - don't cover it again.
The tree needs air for that mold to vanish or it may come back.
After cleaning, just watch. You can't know if there was damage be it sever or light.
So let the tree do what she can .
Keep an eye on the tree if the mold comes back, clean it again and again. I'd use water only; you don't need any chemical. If the tree is still alive, she can take care of the mold.
Good luck !

By the way, that mold tells that the temp were too high under your protection. In the future, arrange for better temperature control.
To survive, fig trees just need a little tug and not a big push.



Will do. Thank you very much for the information.
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Here are a few pictures of the two larger ones that are inground that are unaffected

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Las VeGas is getting in the 80s, enjoying the weather before the 100s...
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Spoke to Bill from Bills Figs in Flemington and he recommends bringing small trees out of storage around April 1st. which is only a few weeks away.
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