Ok here we go again. My main question is how old should a plant be to plant it inground in the North East? I have a few I would like to plant Inground at our truck yard since thats the only place I have room to do it in, 95% of my plants are young mostly rooted in the last six months would that be old enough to plant them in Ground this spring or should I wait another season?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I just plant into the ground right away.  Just make sure that it'll be well protected for the winter.

Thanks CCC1 our truck yard is in south etobicoke and open and next to the CP Rail tracks I would definately need to protect it good. Thanks for the help I will give it a try this spring.

I think that for cold up-north, one should first pot figs for 2-4
years before (spring) planting in ground. The more young a tree,
the more winter protection is required.

hmm, that makes sence. I guess I will try with the less important varieties just to see what happens. Thanks Gorgi

Nelson,

I'm with gorgi. There is no hurry to get them in the ground. Keep them in pots, until they out-grow a 15g pot, and then think about planting them. As they get older, they get more cold hardy. Even in San Diego, I don't plant them till they out-grow a 5g pot. At that size I don't have to baby them.

Years ago I used to plant right away in the ground and I had no problems.  But Herman has been saying to wait  a few years, just as gorgi and pitangelo.  The last few trees I put into the ground I have had in pots for a few years.  Up by you I would wait to get them stronger. 

Gorgi and Herman are correct. Wait a few years. Here is something that I found in one of my fruit books. If you plant fig in the ground it says dig a 2'x2'x2' pit.

Thanks Guy's I will definately wait a couple more season's hopefully by then I will have sold the Condo and bought a house with a big backyard lol.

Heres another question I forgot to ask earlier, is it ok then to plant newly rooted plants in ground during the summer and digging them up in the fall to get them to grow a little faster?

If it isn't outgrowing a 5 gallon pot, there is no advantage to putting it in the ground.

No not at all Jon I just put them in 1G containers this week, I just thought maybe it would help. Thank you for the reply thats exactly what I was looking for.

Tge bigger they are when planted, the less issues you will have. I don't plant in my nice climate til they outgrow the 5g.

You can always grow them in pots & leave the pots in ground & dig them out in Fall. That's what I do. Make sure you don't bury bigger pots too deep. The roots will grow out from the drainage holes & of course for a young fella with a strong back, there will be no problems digging them out unless you have more than 50 pots. Yes, when the roots grow out from your partially buried pots you can note the difference in the vigor/health of the plant. I buried my bigger pots half way or one third up. For the one or 2 gal, I usually buried them to the rim.

Thanks Paul, do you just cut off the roots that grow out of the pot in the fall? or Repot into a bigger Container?

Forgot to let you know I have send requested variants
on Friday, including Adriano's. All are suckers.

Yes, cut all the roots that have grown outside pots
for winterisation storage. Then I will do another root
prune before or just at initial signs of bud movement
by watching the tips. What I do is I will pull plant out
from pot, usually very easy & pot is light as I may only
water a little once(or twice at the most) & I will root
prune at least 30% of roots using a big hand held saw.
I have done this yearly which is a good check for RKN.
I give them fresh mix of compost & soil. I place them
back into same pot most of the time -- applies to 5 gal
pots & up.

Thanks Paully, will let you know when they arrive.

Whats the latest in the season that a plant can be planted inground in the north east? I have finally bought a house and will be moving in early August im sure thats not the best time to do it but was just curious if it was still possible to plant it that late.

Another question I have is, if planting in the spring should a rootbound fig be root pruned before going inground?

What temps are typical at that time and what level of sun does that spot get? How cold are your winters?

I would truly wait until October if your winters are not so cold you need to wrap (this is true of any tree). A plant is going to benefit more by being planted in fall.

Congrats on the new place!

Hi Nelson,

Congrats on the new house. 

I agree with Jason on when to plant.  As mentioned above, you could bury the containers until later this year then plant.  I treated the trees I planted in the ground the same as if I were repotting them.  I remove all the growing mix from the roots and soaked them before going into the hole.

~james

If you think the tree will survive through the winter, I would wait until mid-October to plant.  I wouldn't plant in the summer with extreme temps like that, it's too much stress from heat in my opinion.

Alternately, wait until spring to plant - then you don't need to worry about rodent damage to the tree while it's wrapped over the winter.  The risk with that is that a late freeze might take out the tree ;)

Ya I think your right think spring will be better, by then I should have chopped down that darn huge maple and should have a better Idea as to where to plant them.

Alan plants that will be going inground are 3 to 6 years old now. Either way I will wait until spring to plant them.

As an experiment, I have already planted two grimo-natalina in ground this year. Both were rooted this past winter, so like I said .. an experiment.
One is next to house's south facing wall, the other out back in the little valley. Both will be getting lots of winter protection. The one by the house should be fine, getting radiated heat from the house, it should stay plenty warm enough. The one in the valley is a double experiment. First purpose is to check for fig tolerance/resistance to juglone excreted by the many walnut trees. Kind of like a canary in the mine. Second will be to test for winter hardiness, again with protection.  I am hoping it will be fine as well. For winter use, root vegetables are often keep in ground under a heavy mulch. The ground does not freeze if mulched heavily enough, So I am hoping the fig will also survive.. Next spring will tell.

Grant
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