I've been seeing some hints from weather websites stating this winter will have below average temps and above average snowfall for the east coast/mid-Atlantic regions.  I don't know how accurate they are, but just a heads up for more winter protection on our trees.  It may not even help, but you might want to take cuttings from your trees by December for backups!  That's my plan anyway.

Frank,
Thanks for starting this topic.
Taking cuttings will help as insurance, but for those with potted trees, planning a reliable source of heat in the storage areas will save a lot of heartache next spring, if the predictions are correct. Good Luck.

Frank thanks for that info. Here is a link for long range forecasting. Don't know how accurate it is but its better than I can do.

http://www.longrangeweather.com/weather-forecasts/US-City.aspx

Going to prepare early and better prepared than last year. I am also thinking of adding a small electric heater on those cold nights that dip below 30f inside the garage.

Keeping the garage door closed is the issue here. I will have to lay it out with the family.

Great info guys.  Thanks for tips.

Rafed,
Setting up a "tent" or drapes inside a larger unheated space could work. The tent enclosure would help to keep cold drafts off the trees and keep the added heat inside. A small electric ceramic heater inside a perforated metal drum (perforations and access on bottom) could provide a safe, simple source of thermostatically controlled radiant heat

Thankfully, my attached garage averages around 45-55f during the winter.  As for the 9 outdoor trees, they'll have to fight the cold again.  The good news is that even the 1 year old trees came back from the roots and are loaded with figs.  No breba of course, but hoping for a good main crop.  I can live with that.  I'm tempted to prune the trees to the ground before the cold does it for me.  At least I'll get cuttings out of it.  I should add that I won't be protecting them.

Pete,

I have moving pads that I use to block the wind from hitting the trees. But with all the snow we had this past winter the garage door was opened for long period of times while the snow blower was in use.
Those were some windy days too.

My house is north facing so it was direct hits all the times.

Going to build a frame and nail the pads on to it and cover with a plastic tarp this time around. But I will need to do it in a way to where I will be able to move it when I need to water the pots to keep the soil from completely drying out.

This could be the other issue for many of those who lost their trees. Not watering them even while dormant. Once every other week will help. Even once a month will help.

This winter is predicted to be more likely a weak el niño winter than a moderate el niño winter. A weak el niño has a 1 in 3 chance to have above average snowfall, though not necessarily colder than average temperatures. I wouldn't buy into any predictions just yet. We are still in the same pattern as all winter past where cool temperatures plague the eastern half of the nation. El niño is really quite unpredictable. But one thing is for sure: things will be different as a whole, though it may not appear that way when we are buried in snow up to our necks!

Rafael,

If memory serves me,
I think we were like less than an inch of breaking the record snow fall here in Metro Detroit of about 93" last year.
Not sure of the exact numbers but I can look it up. Just to give you an idea.

Frank,
After losing most of my potted trees last winter for lack of a simple heat source, I have already planned and laid out the storage area and multiple backup heat sources, just in case.
The in-ground plants will be pruned back to 2 nodes above ground level and covered with Pine Shavings. Last winter all branches below the Pine Shaving mulch survived without injury.


Rafed,
Draped, overlapping flaps may be the simplest to fabricate, with access from any planned point.


Rafael,
Regardless of the predictions, I plan on being prepared : )
The vortex last winter took us by surprise.

Rafed

It will be tough to beat that. I use an electric heater in the garage, zero die back. My garage is not insulated, and can get drafty as there are holes in windows and wooden walls.

I'll wait till the winter to see what it's like, but if it becomes true, I'm pretty sure the energy providers made a deal with Mother Nature since it was a bust summer. I turned on my AC 5 times, 6 tops.

I keep my figs in my attached garage and it did get down to 30F last winter for a few days. All my figs made it through, but I may have dodged a bullet. I may need to be more protective this winter if the temps do drop that low again.

Tweak. That was my back catching onto this conversation....after last year's shoveling.

Frank, in our zone pruning down to just 2 nodes seem rather extreme.  The branching structure established during the season will be gone.  I'm thinking to leave about 20-24 inches of the main trunk(s) and stubs of the scaffold branches and protect what is left.  It might end up being a normal winter afterall.  Saving cuttings/airlayers of valuable trees does seem like a good idea though.

I may try that on a couple of trees, Steve.  I can handle adding protection to a few.  Might be a good to experiment with all 9 and see what results I get.  Thanks

Steve,
Yes, in warmer zones it may be extreme, but  I'm in a zone 5/6.
The mentioned "2 node" pruning is a modification of the 2 node pruning as used in the Japanese Pruning techniques and works quite well if you are not concerned with brebas and it is much easier to protect and winterize. If grown in a Bush form with only the branch base protected the yearly vertical fruiting branches will grow the main crop figs. Its basically a cross between the Bush form and Espalier form pruning.
   .

Don't know if many F4F people believe in the weather prognostications of animals but I can tell you that ALL the animals on this place are getting their winter coats about 2-4 weeks earlier than normal.  Don't mind winter coming a bit earlier but sure am hoping that it does not start out with 3 days 20 degrees before my trees are fully dormant like last year.  Pete: good pruning diagrams.

This year's summer was average so far in NJ

http://www.nj.com/weather-guy/index.ssf/2014/08/wheres_summer_first_average_nj_june_july_in_years_may_have_many_wondering.html

I keep telling myself, "Don't shoot the messenger.  Don't shoot the messenger."   :)

Delonghi makes an oil filled radiator that can be set to turn on at 35 degrees and off at 44.  They were $65 last winter.  Home Depot sells a device that you plug in to a wall outlet and you plug the heater into it and it does the same thing for around $15.

A fully dormant fig plant wont be harmed at 25 degrees F. 

BobC,
I agree that established potted dormant trees wont be harmed at 25*F but they will probably lose most of their breba crop and will be slower to come out of dormancy.
I had several storage areas in the past two winters and all the plants stored in in coldest unheated area died last winter.
The plants stored in an area that didn't fall below 20*F were slow to wake and did not produce any breba.
The plants that were stored in an area that remained above 32* F all produced breba and started to leaf out as soon as the daytime temperatures were above 55*F.

Although 25*F and above is recommended, growth is negatively affected by the colder storage temperatures.

While we're sharing notes and tips...
I know it's been stated that the ideal dormancy temp is something around 35-42 F, but my young 1-2 year old trees came out of dormancy just fine with consistent temps in the 50s all winter.  As Rafed mentioned, a sip of water is essential every so often while dormant.

If this coming winter turns out to be a repeat of last years we could be in trouble. The trees that had significant damage could end up dying completely from a second round of extreme temps. I think we should go all out in winter protection this winter. Better safe than sorry.

I was at a little get together last weekend with some family and friends. There were a couple of older Portuguese gentlemen there who both have in-ground fig trees. The one man has a home back in Portugal that he visits once a year with a few mature fig trees, and he claims he eats hundreds while he's there.

He was saying how this winter, he wrapped his in-ground trees here in Canada, and put a space heater outside. When he finally received his bill it was for $700. He knew why but went to the local utility and asked why his bill was so high. They asked him whether he had any energy sucking devices plugged in, which he knew he had. On his drive home he thought; $700 buys me another plane ticket to Portugal where I can eat all the figs I want.

Moral of the story is, we'll do anything to protect our trees lol.

On a real negative note  there are some saying that the artic warming has screwed up the jet stream into the pattern we saw this summer and this could be a long term trend.

If this turns out to be true then in-ground figs in the N.E. could be a thing of the past. 

Time to pack up and head for California.  Any fig picking jobs available for English speaking Canadians?