I've read all kinds of cautions about over-
watering and I really haven't watered my
plants except for right after I transplanted
them into their larger pots.  HOWEVER, if
it wasn't me doing the over-watering, does
that make it any better?  We have had so
much rain lately.  Our ground is saturated
and we have flood watches/warnings out.
I moved the planters next to the house be-
cause the past two nights have been near
40°, but I have left them there because of
the eaves.  They are somewhat sheltering
the pots from getting a LOT of water.  I can
control the water to a degree, but what
about plants in the ground?  Do they suffer
in this weather?  Even if the soil drains well,
when the ground becomes saturated, it's
saturated.  I'm planning on sinking the pots
about 4" into the ground when I can work
the soil (probably not until May, this year).
Would excess rain hurt them at that point?
I wouldn't want to move them, in case they
were sending roots out of the side-holes, so
what would YOU do?  Maybe I'm just worry-
ing about nothing.  There is a chance that
only April will be rainy and May will dry up-
and I'll be back to watering with the hose.

On another topic- I bought little (2x8") bags
in a small lot (200), for $3.77, including ship-
ping, from eBay.  Bought them Wednesday
evening- and received today.  I know some
of you guys use them, but I don't need a lot
of them, so I thought maybe some of you
would be interested in a small lot.  I severely
pruned a hibiscus bush the other day, and
stuck cuttings in wet paper in the fridge,
then I came across these little bags, and I
thought I might be able to root some of the
cuttings using the method I read about here,
in the little baggies.  And I'll have plenty for
when the time comes for me to try my hand
at rooting fig cuttings.

Pami, I have had floods down here where the standing water lasted more than one day. I happen to have silty clay soil. The figs have suffered no harm and have actually done very well. I would not worry about your in-ground figs. Your more immediate concern is the 40-degree temps. Don't think it will kill your plants but some leaf damage may occur around those temps. Good luck!

Agree with Ruben.......

I grow all of my figs in the ground. From my experience the MOST important thing you can do to get your fig trees off to a good start is to ALWAYS keep the ground under your young tree damp (not soggy wet) for the first year after planting. NEVER allow the soil to get too dry. Fig feeder roots are very fine and lie just below the soil surface. When the soil gets too dry or cracks, these fine roots will break or dry up and die. This will set back the growth on a small fig tree. By keeping the soil always moist for the first year or two......this allows a larger root sytem to develop much more rapidly. The larger the root system that develops.....the larger the mass of the leaves and branches it can support.......and the faster the tree will begin to bear fruit.

IMO......keeping the ground always moist beneath a young in ground fig tree is more important than giving the tree fertilizer in the "root" development of that young fig tree. However, they do indeed benefit with some fertilization too.

And, adding to Dan's advice, a good layer of mulch will help keep the soil moist right to the surface.

Ruben, Dan, Ken-

You guys have made me feel better about
all this rain we're getting here.  I used al's
5-1-1 mix to plant my planters and that is
mostly pine bark mulch so I expect that to
help with moisture retention when it starts
getting dry around here.  The pots drain
freely now, but when I place them partially-
buried in the ground, that might change.
They don't seem to have suffered damage
from our nearly 40° nights this week.  I feel
like, as long as they are in pots, it is easier
for me to have a little control over their temps,
water, light, etc.  We aren't supposed to have
a sunny day until May 2 (weather.com). 
I hope they remember what to do in sunlight,
when the time comes!

Thanks, guys, for all your help!