I am talking about situation in zone 5a where short, cool and cloudy days of fall have already set in. Temperatures in our area now are  “daily  High/Low at 10C/3C average”  and cloudy half the time. But the leaves on potted fig plants are still very fresh and sturdy which mean I have to wait a while for leaves to fall before I can start to store inside for winter.

Unfortunately  weather fluctuations at this time of the year are unpredictable; we can get some snow than can make outside slushy wet and difficult to work, or temperatures can fall very fast to -10C ( (15F) overnight that can kill some plants (faster temperature drop can burst tissue cells, the cells not having enough time to diffuse out the water contents).

 I have a good number of potted figs to take care of. My question is if there could be any residual harm to the plants if I remove the leaves and store the plants now (i.e. before the leaves fall naturally or fall due to a sudden good drop in temperature). 

I'm in zone 6. I removed 2/3 of the leaves 2 weeks ago. The rest I'll remove next week. Pots will go in storage around thanksgiving. To answer your question I'd cut off the leaves and old figs. Then wait a week or two to let the leaf stems purge themselves. Prune as needed before storage to hedge yourself against winter dead loss.

I don't think there would be any serious negative impact. It sounds like you need to get started. I'd say go for it.

Hi OttawanZ5,
I would already unbury the pots for sure, and cut the extra-roots and remove at least half of the figs (all the smallish ones out).
Here I don't have that big frost problem. We usually get mild frost (0°c / -5°c) and most of the leaves fall, and then we get the snow in December. In November I finish the job and remove all remaining leaves and fruits and put the protections on. Here the wintering job should be done by the second half of November.
I would let the trees get at least two weeks of cold/fresh weather (like 10°c/3°C) before moving them in.

It appears that the nature itself will take care of the leaves this weekend. With -4C minimum forecast and windy here for the weekend will knock off most of the leaves. Then knocking off the many fat hard unripe figs will make me wish for just one more warm month  !!

Hi Jamie0507,
Now that the heat wave is gone, you can do it.
I have a "Ice crystal" and since the remaining figs were not ripening I decided to take it out - As of today,I got 3 figs from that tree for this year.
That tree was in a buried 80liters trashcan with bottom removed. I considered several options and
decided to go brute force. The tree came off, some roots broke while pulling and I saw some roots to fit the pot, and I potted it. One fig ripened after the potting, and two weeks later the tree still is not droopy.
So really from experience, go ahead with cutting the roots.

I already removed most of the smallish hard figs on mine. But I'll let the frost remove the leaves.

Leaves are now sending sugars and other good stuff to the roots, where it will be stored, and then used when trees start up next spring as they break dormancy.  Let the leaves fall off naturally, then store your hardened-off, dormant trees in a cool shelter.  Nature knows best.


Frank

I agree with my friend Frank. I would let them go to sleep naturally. I don't feel a frost or two will cause any damage.

It is at this time of the year (shorter days, weaker sunlight, longer, cooler nights) when semi-lignified (greenish) wood is starting to harden off.  Leaves are sending photosynthesized foods, hormones, etc. to the roots for storage and watery sap is thickening, becoming fig "anti-freeze".  All fertilizing with nitrogen-rich formulations should have stopped at least a month + ago.  Continue to keep the semi-dormant trees hydrated.  Let the leaves turn yellow, and fall off the trees, naturally.  Expose the bare, quiescent trees to some cooler weather- to properly harden off the newer wood- and then, store trees in a cool area for the dormancy phase.  Keep the roots hydrated/damp.  Light is not necessary after trees go into full dormancy.


Frank

Leaf removal should be fine with your temps. Removal can cause a re-flush with new leaves if the temps are summer or spring-like, but doubt that will happen at 3C.

I pretty much agree with Frank. I would remove any figs bigger than a pea and let the leaves be. Every year I put away some figs with a good deal of green healthy leaves still attached. The tree will slowly draw the nutrients from the leaves and drop them as they are done, now if your storage isn't cool enough yet..that's a different problem.

Ed, your right. Brown stems can take all the frosts and light freezes just fine, if there are any green stems those trees will need to be shuffled during freezes because the green will be killed. It is almost always the younger ones that are still relatively small and easy to shuffle. Eventually when it gets cold enough and I'm over it they go to the garage for the winter and drop their remaining leaves in due time.

To clarify a little, I cut the leaves off but leave a bit of leaf stem for a while. When they are ready, they will drop on their own or with very little effort.

I've got over 200 potted figs that need to get stacked in the greenhouse. All of the tree branches will need to be pruned back. I want them to harden off as much as possible before I have to do it. A hard freeze at this point would really damage my semi hardened branches. Yes, this cold snap is just going to be a couple hours Sunday night, but a cold week would set me back 6 months or more. Not on my watch!

Ideally, let nature take it's course, but the problem is the wild temp swings we can have this time of year. I can't let nature go unchecked. These are semi-tropical plants & this is NJ.

This:

"Leaves are now sending sugars and other good stuff to the roots, where it will be stored, and then used when trees start up next spring as they break dormancy.  Let the leaves fall off naturally, then store your hardened-off, dormant trees in a cool shelter.  Nature knows best."


Frank

Ottawan, time to move to Vancouver/Fraser Valley. Leave your trees behind . I can help you with a new collection
that guarantees no work needed from a few reliable varieties. In no time you will have more than U need for the family.
This season I have a large harvest and almost stop picking them for fresh consumption after end August. We have been dehydrating,
making fig roll-ups and invited many friends & neighbours to come and pick them.