Hi everyone,

Its my first year of having my potted figs (several varieties) in my basement.
Zone 6. It's fairly dark with a few small "basement windows".  

It is February 8th and I just noticed that the stems have slight green buds on them...

Being that it is February 8th and likely a month  or so until Spring comes - what's the best way for this scenario to play out?

Thanks for the help/suggestions!

Mike

U could set up grow lights and move them into a pot that is about wide enough that u can fit ur hand between the root ball and the pot wall

Thanks Jc for the suggestions.  I was hoping for something less costly and time consuming.  I was hoping to somehow bide my time without causing my plants damage.  They are already in very large pots.  I don't think re-potting is an option.  They are pretty much at the size I intend on keeping them.

Grow Lights, if I had to, I would consider that, but it sounds costly for now - 

Any votes out there for how to bide my time for a month or so without negatively affecting my plants?

Are the buds just light green...?
Or are the buds swelling up...?
Or are the buds actually opening up and pushing out leaves?
How many figs are we talking about...?
Do you have any nice south-facing windows upstairs?

I'm having the same problem.  My basement is just a bit too warm to keep all the figs dormant for the whole winter.  And the one uncovered window I have isn't helping matters.
If they aren't leafing out, you can try to cover the window and cool it down a bit somehow. 
Do you have a garage or somewhere a little cooler you could keep them?

I brought a lot of my figs up to sunny windows.  But you can get a shoplight at HD or Lowes for ~$12.  They hold two T12 bulbs, which are not very expensive.  You can mix and match bulbs with different spectra.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_420865-43921-MXL-101_0__?productId=4013481
For about $35 you can get two units and bulbs...which gives you a lot of light for not much $.

The two-bulb T8 fixtures are only $1-2 more.  I'm not sure how much more expensive the T8 bulbs are, but I think they may be brighter and more energy efficient.
Jim

jc_fig, you should not be giving anyone advise on this forum.  You little con!!  I hope others chime in here based on previous issues with jc_fig on here.  Admitting you are using multiple names on this forum, using numerous birthday dates,  sending threatening and inappropriate PM's to members.  He/she, whoever you are has no business giving advise.

What I do in the spring and fall is move the pots out of my garage every morning (weather permiting) and drag them all back in every night.  I know it is a giant pain, and the more you have the more of a pain it is.  I do not know if this is a plausible option for your situation, but it works for me.

Windows block to much light and UV typically leading to weak leggy growth. Additionally, after being in a window the trees will need to be hardened off before they go into full sunlight or they will go into shock, plus other issues. 

High intensity lighting it's an option, if you don't mind the cost, yet it causes issues much like the Windows do.  

Good luck, I think this is going to be an issue for many people in many places this year. 

Hey Scott, yep the dreaded fig shuffle.  I am new to this and appreciate all the information folks post here.  I am a vegetable gardener so this fig thing is quite a challenge.  It's fun though.  Hope everyone has a great harvest in 2015!!

Same here Keith, it has been quite an eye opening experience playing with the figs and doing the pot shuffe. This will be my third growing season with the figs, and I'm sure it will be fantastic.  Like most things, they get easier with time.

Umm keith or whoever if I truly didn't like figs and grow them y would I know so much and I'm not gonna argue with u and there's no reason for me to just be here to argue with u or cause trouble and I'm not causing any trouble now I haven't be on in months ✌

If you cannot move them to a cooler environment, say below 50°f, grow lights are your best option.  If they're well on their way to opening buds, do not force them back into dormancy.  Good luck...I know it can be tough to manage when this happens.

Hi,
I (did) wait until first leaf is/was opened but not fully developed .
So I brought 5 upstairs under lights and have 5 more waiting .
Some have greening buds, but until I see leaves I'm not encouraging them nor hasting them for bud break .
The ones I brought up, the leaf did green nicely and one tree is firing her third leaf ... I need to pot up at least two. They are in 1liter ( 1/4 gallon) pot and roots are already spreading in the plate under .
And just for the laughter, my potting soil is in the garden and for a week we have 0°C. So yesterday, I had to warm up my potting soil for it to melt and become workable ...

I kept my figs in the basement too and they didn't start budding until April. My temps stayed around 50-60, but there are no windows. Could you make your basement light proof like needaklone said?

One year (when I was more single than I am now and traveling a lot more than I am now) i replaced the entire content of my fridge with ~40 one to three year old trees for two months. I bare-rooted them first, wrapped the roots in damp paper, then foil. It worked like a charm. If only one or two small trees are starting to wake up, they may not need so much space.