Newbie from Georgia, zone 8, about 40 miles SW of Atlanta with questions about whether to plant or not to plant. I received Hardy Chicago, LSU Purple and Petite Negri from Edible Landscaping today. All three are in 1 gal containers and about 2 1/2 - 3 feet tall. I wanted to see how the forum feels about planting them now or over wintering them and planting them in the spring. Thanks in advance.

Hi Mike. We have very mild winters here in Ga but i like to plant all of my young figs in spring. Time to time we have cold spell that  can damage young plants, so better safe then sorry.

Welcome to the forum. I am not the best to answer, just basically saw your post and am saying hello. I'm up in philly so different conditions. I guess you know whether or not you get many days of freezing temps. If so I would wait to plant, if not go for it.

Hello Mike,

Welcome to the forum.
Others closer to your zone will chime in later but I will tell you my opinion.

I would put them in two or three gallon pots for the first year or two so the roots will grow thick and strong. I am looking at around Spring of 2014 to plant them in the ground if I were you. Water them daily and fertilize them on time and they will thrive.

I would also wrap them up in the first year or two or so.

Good luck and ask all the question you want please. I say this everytime, the only dumb question is the one that's never asked. LOL

I forgot to mention that I keep my young plants in the unheated garage over the winter.

Eden, thanks for your reply. In our area we normally plant most trees in the fall to allow them to acclimate and for root growth. Eden. would you say that with figs that is not necessary?

Yes Mike. All other trees i plant in fall( apples, pears, peaches,cherries....)but fig are semi-tropical and when they are young they are very sensitive to cold. It happened to me in 2007 when in April the temperature dropped to 24F and winds of 50 miles per hour my young figs froze to the ground.

Mike...

Welcome to the forum.  You will get all the advice that you need to help those new trees to survive.  The unheated garage is good.

Forum members....Can Mike throw the 1 gallon pots into larger, soil-filled, 5 gallon containers, to create a buffer zone for the root area? Over-winter the trees in the unheated garage.  Then when Spring-2013 rolls around he can just slip the plants out of the 1 gallon pots and plant them into the 5 gallon pots?  I doubt this will disturb the roots, and, the plants will then be up-potted.

Just a thought.

Frank

I just planted three trees in-ground last weekend - all were 2nd year trees. 

The important thing to remember this time of year is, if you should plant, remember to water at least 2x per week, and check daily for droopy leaves, which can indicate underwatering or excessive sun.

Planting in April-May is great for mid-to-north GA as Eden already brought up.  I'm just impatiend and wanting to get a start on a new espalier attempt.

Jason, Frank and Rafed thanks for your input. Some good advice now all I need to do is pick one.

Don't don't be shy... Worst thing that may come is you'll need to source a new tree or two.... ;)

Hi Mike, welcome to the forum. 
It is safer to plant in the Spring. I live south of you in Tallahassee. It isn't so much the cold you should  worry about but the swings in temperature. Last year's late winter freeze came after 6-8 weeks of balmy temperatures, resulting in the death of many of my in-ground trees. Most came back stronger than ever but a few of the ones I planted in September, did not make it. 

You could up-pot now and plant later, you'll be glad you did.

FMD, thanks for the reply. Looks like the consensus is not to plant them in the fall. Do the roots still grow over the winter while dormant if I up-pot them?

Hi Mike!
Definitely plant later in the Spring and yes up-pot them now and they will grow. Also, by the time Spring comes around you will no doubt have added to your collection and also have boxes of cuttings rooting in your house. Figs may smell like coconut, apricot and fig in the summer but they seem to smell like cat pee in February...(did I say that?)

newnandawg,
Someone, somewhere, at sometime said that the roots will continue growth until root soil temp reaches 45 deg F.  I don't know, I don't know about cat pee either, LOL...(did she say that?)

Danny K
Marshall Tx

Just chiming in to say "welcome". I've only been serious about figs for 5 years so there are more experienced folk out there, but I have kept hundreds of trees in various orchards in the past. I may be saying something already said but - I'd over winter inside in a bigger pot. Figs are not as evolved for the weather on the east coast of the US as say peaches, cherries and apples. I like to plant the largest tree possible so I'd wait. When I collected heirloom apples I always planted in the fall but I'd plant figs in the spring as winter can be a far harsher stressor for figs then apples, for example.