Sorry to hear about the lost plants Frank.  Let me know if you want me to start some airlayers for you.

Good point, Pete (ascpete).
Hadn't thought about that.
I may try to find that article and read it again.

Aloha, Frank.  My condolences on your huge loss.  I don't have much, but what's mine is yours.  Shoot me a PM with your address and I'll send you some cuttings that I've saved.  

Nate

Hi Bronxfigs,
I would have kept the trees until august - the choice is yours.
In case of hard die-back, I don't prune the trees until august - to see what you could be kept alive from the trees .
So you there out, with the clippers, put them back in that drawer ! Unless the tree had light damage and you're pruning to shape your trees.

As an example, I have several buds on my brownturkey that had diagnostics of being bone dry . Funny they turned from green-brown to green and brebas are popping ...
It is too soon to bury all those trees, branches or buds, keep hope !
Those trees having big root systems will grow back quicker than any new you would buy - keep that in mind !

Bronxfigs, you've written that you've got a short season - what is your (tomatoes=figs) growing season ? Here for me, it is from the 1st/15th May to 15/30 October .

Now, you've got 6 months to better insulate your shed for next winter - at least these would be my plans .
When putting trees in a garage or a shed, always try to put them above the ground - say some 40 centimeters above - upon bricks - that would insulate even better.
I'll post later one of my winter protection, that I have tested this year - although this year was really mild here - the killer was february 2012 where we had -25°C at night for 3/4 days in a row with no snow cover at all.
I lost my bigger tree that winter, plus 6 others !

I lost my first sultane that Feb. 2012 - you've written you're going Sultane . I bought a new Sultane last October - and the tree is now showing some green on the tips but still sleeping.
Hope my new sultane will last longer than my first which lasted one winter and fell in the second...
But my shielding technique is now better that I'm full fignut ! - To be quick I take a 200 Liter plastic barrel and put it other the tree to protect - and I fight rodents all year long !

Hello, JDS-

When the bark covering the roots and lower trunk slips off the wood, and is slimy and moldy, I think the tree is dead.  I will not yet throw away two of the largest trees, just in case some buds will sprout later in the season.  I am not optimistic however.  All the smaller, younger trees were killed off.  The main reason they were killed was because the wood was not hardened off properly, and the trees were forced - (by sudden cold weather) - into early dormancy.  The trees got frozen solid, while the wood was still too juicy.  This was followed my months of snow, ice, freezing winds, and very low temperatures.  Also, my trees went into storage too late.  I moved them into the shed after the freeze damage occurred.  Next time I will be smarter.

My growing season, in good years, starts in late-April, or, early-May, and ends either in late Sept, or early October.  It is very short.  Last year was a cold year.  My fig trees didn't leaf out until early June!  Some of my fig trees never sprouted any main-crop figs.  Some of my trees never ripened any main-crop figs before dormancy started.  Didn't you hear me screaming and cursing in your country?  Last growing season was a disaster, and was followed by an equally miserable, long, freezing, winter.  Growing fig trees in containers under these conditions didn't help either.

Growing fig trees in cool climates gives us many challenges.  I learned the hard way to be a lot less complacent and a little smarter about storage.  My trees died because I didn't do the right thing, at the right time.

This will be the first time that I will grow "SULTANE".  It will be a new variety, but I'd like to give it a try and see how it does in NYC/Zone-7b.  I read that it will ripen figs in cool, short-season climates.  I'll never know until I try it for a few years.  If it doesn't work, I'll give it away, or, cut it up and give it out to forum members.

Thank you for the good advice, and the interest.  Good luck with your new "SULTANE".  I hope it turns out to be a good fig for both of us.


Frank

Hi Rich-

Over the years, I have read that some varieties are just hardier than others.  For example, with established, in ground "Black Mission" vs."Hardy Chicago"...I think the "HC" would be the survivor if grown in very cool climates.  All bets are off if the trees are containerized. 

Please do write about your experiences with growing "SULTANE" as you gather information about its performance in your area.   You list "Noire de Caromb" as a fig that you want to try.  Good evidence points to "Kathleen's Black" as being the same variety, o,r a very, very, close twin.  Just saying.

I guess that "Violette de Sollies" would be a good candidate for container culture, and to extend the season by using the fig-shuffle.  Day out, then, back in at night, with due diligence.


Frank

Frank,

I still remember when I lost my collection.  It is heart wrenching to see all the years and hard work go.  Mine was lost due to lack of water during summer heat.  I had 4 trees (3/1 split between two varieties) survive.  I lost about 105 fig trees (64 varieties) along with 30 pomegranates (18 varieties) and other miscellaneous fruit trees.  If there is a silver lining it is the gained wisdom (both personal wisdom and the collective information of the forum) help us make better decisions.  I have rebuilt a pretty good sized number of trees.  I just counted after reading through your post... Only 13 of the fig varieties I lost are back in my collection.

I hope your next collection is better than the one you lost.  Let me know if I can help.

James....OUCH!

Sorry to read about the high death toll, and the hit that you took.  I lost about 10-12 trees, but my collection is just a small one, and nowhere near the scale of some of the collections grown by others, like yourself.  Yes, we all live and learn the hard way.  In my case, my loss was because I didn't pay attention to the weather, and dormancy issues.

I will rebuild.  I already have two, new trees, and I'm doing the in and out routine over the last week.  If we didn't love growing fig trees we wouldn't do it.

Best of luck and success with your trees, and thanks for the offer of help.


Frank

Move over Frank and let me sit on the bench too.

It looks like a good majority of my year old rare plants are or appear to be Kaput!
Most of them are hard to come by and I put my heart into them. The branches break as I twist them.
Some other older ones look like they've met their demise as well but hopefully it's just the top growth that's effected.

All this work for nothing. This winter was brutal!

So sorry Frank and Rafed. It appears no one is immune to winter kill.

Can't imagine how you felt when losing your whole collection. I am broken hearted when my I lost my xin jiang zao huang and now my black madeira is dying on me. My family just couldn't understand that I need to talk about my losses. To me this thread is just like a group theraphy for us who lost our figs. Thanks for sharing Frank.

Norhayati

Yeah, sorry Rafed and Frank.  I knew this winter would be bad so I got an electric radiator for my detached garage.  I probably ran it a total of 15 of the coldest nights or more - not carbon neutral I'm afraid.  But the good thing is that all of my container figs came through the winter with flying colors.  I did get cold damage on my two young in-ground trees but I can detect a green cambium layer on the thicker branches.

It continues to be distressing to see that the death toll keeps rising as other forum members report their findings.  Many collections have taken a big hit.  I am sorry for all the hard work, and years of nurturing that now, lays in ruins due to a very, inclement winter.  The deep freeze is over, and now, we sadly view the devastation. 

Now I, and others have to think about how to replace lost trees, and what precautions to take for next winter.  On my "to do" list:

1.  Get trees into a storage shed, after dormancy, but before the bitter cold weather arrives.
2.  "Wilt-Pruf" all my trees before storage.  Never used this product, but can it hurt?
3.  Use a small, heat source in my shed.... to keep temps. from going below freezing.
4.  MAKE SURE TREES ARE HARDENED OFF BEFORE DORMANCY.

I will make efforts to grow my trees "harder" this season, and minimize fertilizers, and over-watering -especially, towards the end of the season -(July-September).  I have long believed that I have grown my figs too "soft" i.e. too much fertilizer, too much water, and grown in mediums that are too rich and fertile.  Overly long inter-nodal spacing tells me I might be right.  Too much nitrogen in my fertilizer MG "tonics" in addition to the organic, Espoma Iron-Tone that I add to my growing mix?  This year, no MG after June 21st.

Buried in the "Planet Fig" web-site is a article called: "Resistance to Cold".  The author observes that that nature of a fig tree is half succulent, and have woody.  The sappy-latex acts as a natural anti-freeze, when it's concentrated....but this latex can be diluted by too much water.  If newer growth is still too juicy when dormancy hits, the saturated tissues will freeze in colder temps. and be damaged or killed.  If trees are grown with a culture replicating the fig's natural habitats, trees will be less likely to be damaged by freezing cold weather.  The whole section is very interesting to read.

Better days are coming.


Frank

My 3 trees look ok. No big buds opening yet but they look like they are about to. I kept them in a 2 car detached garage and only added supplemental heat to keep the plants above 20

I will have 30+ 1 year old trees next winter. I will have to be sure I do this right or I could have a big mess on my hands.

Frank,
Although the reports of winter damage have been bad, IMO, extreme measures don't have to be taken concerning actual fig culture. Storing the trees in an insulated (to keep in the heat), minimally heated structure will almost guarantee survival through the most severe winter weather. Storage temperatures for older trees, above 20 deg F and for younger trees less than 1 year old, above 30 deg F. Maintaining temperatures above 30 deg F will also protect the newest wood and breba crops from cold damage.

I had about -6 celcius for a week straight in my garage this year plus a few more days.  I looks like I may have lost trees, there is still green below the bark so I have pruned the most brittle growth and waiting for see what happens.  I pruned one branch of my Black madeira about 1 inch down and sap started to come out so I think that is a good sign but others have been dry so time will tell.  Col De Dama Blanc and Nigara Black are swelling buds right now so I know I have 2 trees at least.

How many of you think desiccation or too wet played a major role in the potted plants you had stored inside.  I know NewnanDawg took considerable damage that he has not detailed here as of yet. Sorry Mike if you wanted private family ceremony, and I know you have not wrote the obituary yet, still holding hope.  My in ground trees are all dead to ground, hopeful on all putting out great growth from the established root systems. I believe I took no loss on stored trees. I took pretty good care to make sure they did not get too dry. Small watering’s with special attention to the smaller pots. Once the media dries too far, it tends to just run off down the side.  On the trees you lost check the soil was it overly wet?  Frank you stated your root bark was slipping off, that might result from  too  moist.  Mike,  I know you suspect too dry on many of yours.  I know some folks state they maybe water 1 or 2 times a winter, I don’t believe that will suffice, more frequent very light watering. Try and check the moisture level prior to watering on discovery of a lost tree. Just hoping some of the losses are within a more correctable measure than climate control.

Strudeldog, I agree.  I gave mine a relatively small amount of water once every 2 weeks with checking the soil in between to make sure it wasn't too dry or too wet.

I agree with Steve. I give a little moisture about every 2 weeks, this will always vary given ambient humidity and growing container compositon. What I generally go by is when I see the growing medium has pulled away from the sides of the container I give it another week. I then admister either  3-4 inches of snow or a big cup of ice cubes. My smaller gallonish containers just get a couple snowballs.  It just happens to work out that in the Denver area it usually works out that about a week after applying ice or snow the soil starts pulling away but the medium is still moist under the surface and a week later the subsurface moisture is greatly reduced.

I don't know that it makes any difference (likely not) but I when I use snow and ice I clear it away from the trunk. My thought process being the temperature difference between the garage and the snow bank, it would be a shame to be the cause of a frost girdling.

Some of my soil was too wet and I have some cracks between the trunks and branches (not many though) and some I didn't water with the extended cold as I knew the rootballs would freeze so I didn't want to blow up the roots with ice crystals.  We will see how much survived in the next coming months, I use a heavier soil so I would plan to water 1 time a month during winter, and when I use coco with manure same thing.

strudeldog, the five year in ground Celeste was killed to the ground. Starting to see some new growth at the root ball. My friend has four
large Hardy Chicago trees in ground. They were all killed to the ground with no signs of life. I will hold on to info on my potted trees
until later. I don't see a need to post that until I see what is what.

Thanks, for the interest, and sorry about the damaged trees. 

I believe there was more than one factor that helped my trees meet a premature end.  First, sudden and deep freezing, that lasted for weeks.  This came before new growth had a chance to properly harden off, Second, desiccation....the containerized figs were frozen solid, for month after month, and no water penetrated into the frozen root balls.  Only after the temps went above freezing, in mid-March, did the root balls thaw out.  When I was finally able to inspect the trees and roots, I knew it was too late.  The bark was smelly and slipped right off the lower trunk and roots when rubbed.  If I had a small, heat source in my shed, the frozen trees might have defrosted enough for me to get some moisture around the roots, but the trees were just blocks of ice from Dec-March. Honestly, I think my trees were killed by the time December ended.  While trees are in my shed I usually add some moisture to the containers every few weeks, or, shovel snow and ice into the containers, to slowly melt over the weeks in storage.  In the past years, the temperatures inside my shed never got as low as they got this year.  It was brittle-cold!

When I inspect my trees, usually at the end of March, I have always found that buds were starting to swell and become a nice, healthy green.  This year, any buds were shriveled, hard, crispy, and had that sick, grey, look to them.  The dead twigs, and branches all had the tell-tale, rusty-brown color, and just snapped like dry spaghetti.  The majority of the trees were young and planted in 5-gallon buckets.  The two oldest trees, the "Red Italian" and "Atreano" both in 25 gallon pots, and, just recently thawed out, are still on my front porch.  I will wait for a few months before I toss them into the garbage truck.  Maybe they will re-sprout, but they both look real bad.

I will NOT go through this again, and I refuse to give up growing figs because of a little bit of depressing, hard luck.  I just got to get my head straight, and become a smarter grower.  I will cost me a few bucks, but next fall, I will take more precautions to guard against winter-damages...especially, with getting some added heat into my shed.


Frank

I am still holding my breath to know exactly if this was the worst (recent) winter for (NE) figs!?!