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Timing the unwrapping of figs

This is my first year with in-ground figs in the northeast.  Since the temperatures have been warmer than normal, are you considering unwrapping your figs a bit early?


I believe I've seen Bass say that he unwraps around the end of March (he's in a very similar climate to me).  I was thinking mid-March this year might be sufficient as it's been atypically warm.  I don't want to do it too early but I also don't want to wait too long.

Regarding the timing of unwrapping of figs in general, is the idea to wait until after end of the really hard freezes?  What constitutes a hard freeze in your mind, below 28 or so?  Bass' blog entry seems to say to do it when temps stay above 25 at night.

Some feedback would be greatly appreciate from the seasoned fig-wrapping pros!
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I'm in the same boat this is my first year with wrapped trees. I was thinking about unwrapping them this coming weekend. It looks like the weather will be in the 40s at night going forward from then.

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I know what you mean, it's very tempting to unwrap the trees now, but after unseasonable warm February, tomorrow night it will reach 20°. Friday they're predicting 60° in our area. Keeping it wrapped up for another 2-3 weeks is not gonna hurt the tree, but if it's unwrapped early and we get one night of really cold temperatures we're taking a chance. 

That said, i'm anxious to unwrap mine as well, So I'll be monitoring the temperatures. 
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I'm thinking about this upcoming weekend too.  I'll keep an eye on the long-term forecast.


At what point do temperatures become worrisome in terms of being too low in the spring?  I have heard that figs can tolerate 13 degrees when fully dormant, but I imagine that's dependent on the variety and the age of the wood.

I would think if you got a bunch of warm days (high 50s, lower 60s) to get the sap flowing followed by a few nights in the mid-to-high 20s could be damaging.  Does anyone white-wash the limbs of their trees for this reason?  I've heard of people doing that with stone fruits to avoid damage to the bark due to sap flowing prematurely and freezing on cold nights.  The whitewash is supposed to help keep the tree from waking up by reflecting the heat generated by the sun.

Thanks for the responses!
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I am in zone 7, SW Balto. county, Maryland. Right next to the Southern intersection of 695 and I-95. I don't wrap my tree, but I have great wind breaks to protect it. It has been severely damaged by freeze only twice in 20 years.

So, if you have good protection from wind, you may be able to unwrap soon.
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IIRC, I lost one of the my 3 main trunks a couple of years ago during this snowstorm where we got over 5 ft. of snow within a couple of days. But the rest of the tree survived it. The part I lost, received the most wind.

 

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Around here (morris county NJ) most who wrap unwrap near the end of march.  I may take the tarp off wed morning because I am worried about cooking mine in the 65 degree sun. that is coming.  at least the top is then open to let some heat escape. 

 I did a partial unwrap this weekend and noticed some condensation buildup had wet some old cloth I had in for extra protection...I am glad I took a peak, as that would have gotten really steamy and moldy as the temps build.

Lessons learned...ventilation really does matter...make your protection easy to partially undo if you need to.
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Well, I unwrapped the figs over the weekend and it's probably good I did.  It's been in the high 60s/low 70s and I think I would have induced mold growth had I waited any longer.  With the same weather predicted over the next 10 days, and the nights being relatively warm (high 40s, low 50s), I'm certain that many trees will wake up.


So now my question for everyone (especially northeast growers) is this...how long does it take for your fig trees to wake up during a warm spell?  I'm very concerned now that they'll all wake up and we'll get a late freeze.  We've had warm weather since the weekend and they're predicting it'll stay warm for at least 10 days out.  That means at least 2 weeks of consistently warm weather.

Bass, have you unwrapped your trees?  I know you were thinking about it.
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Tim All my trees were unwrapped last week. 

I even brought out some of my trees.

They usually start waking up a bit late for me... possibly by late April or May
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I unwrapped most of mine already lost two and had one damaged by field mice.. They ate my peters honey right off There was about 6 inches of good wood on top so I just cut it and buried it in the old trees spot. Hoping some of the root ball survived but it will be about two months before I find out. Lost one of my Brooklyn white and had my Black jack damaged... I have another Brooklyn white in a pot but I was really upset when the first two trees I unwrapped were damaged.. I was frantic unwrapping the next few will have to try the moth balls next year or something else to keep these critters out......
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I unwrapped my two trees today seeing that you guys did already. They both looked good only a few dead tips that I did not pretext as well as the rest of the tree. I'm happy the lived and we had a mild winter, but I would have liked to test how well the protection would have held up in a colder winter
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With >70F expected tomorrow in north-central Ohio, I unwrapped my Brown Turkey in its tub and found several tips frost-bitten and moldy. Otherwise, in pretty good shape and buds not open yet. My question is about the light mold over the tips: should I treat, or trim or just let the sun and the air take care of it?
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I imagine that the sun and air will take care of it.  If you're anything like where we are, it's supposed to be pretty dry over the next week or so.
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Thanks. Actually expecting showers until Monday, but in the seventies. I keep guessing about whether it is time to bring the others out of the garage, but am seized with fear of a cold snap.
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Fig tree do not wake up early,to grow leaVES EVEN IF A WARM SPELL HAPPENED.
They grow leaves and fruits late at the end of April,here in  NJ and so they escape frost damage unlike others fruit trees,the most notorious,being Apricot.
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Hello again fig lovers!!!


I just got done unwrapping my four in ground trees, other than a couple inches at the tips, I'm happy to report all is well!!

I guess mother nature felt bad for ruining our crops with the hurricane/tropical storm last September so she threw us a bone with a mild winter. :)


I have TONS of cuttings of mostly my 'family' tree but a handful of other varieties that I'd love to share/trade with others this spring. Any one having a fig get together this early/mid spring?


Happy growing folks! 
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Well, just checked on my in-ground trees today.  About 3 out of 11 are starting to break buds (Celeste, St Anthony Marseilles, and one other one).  I'm definitely hoping for no late frosts now!
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Since I'm a planter guy, I'm more interested in the "shuffle" thread.  But I read this "unwrap" thread too and thought I'd give you "in-ground" folks a data point.  I live in northeast Ohio, zone 5b.  Today is Fri, Mar 23.  Here is the recent temperature history:

Mar   15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Hi    72 71 76 73 71 79 79 81 82
Lo    55 52 47 59 57 53 54 51 56
It has been mostly sunny during this time.  Ridiculous for mid-Mar to say the least.  The last four days have been record temps.  Flowering trees have started dropping their flowers and my asparagus is up (three weeks too early).

Ok, so....unwrap or no?  No question, you say?  Read on, Mr. (or Ms.) McFig.

Within a mile or so from me, I know of three backyards that I can see into very well and each has several in-ground fig trees, tended to by older gentlemen, probably from "the old country."  Over the years I have been watching to see when and how the trees are wrapped, when they are unwrapped and how they grow during the fruiting season.  Traditionally I see "the unwrapping of the fig" around the first week in May.

Well, just today, in the 82F heat, I drove around the neighborhood past the three backyards to see if any had finally taken the plunge.  No, they have not.  All the trees in all three yards are still bent over, tightly wrapped with blue tarps, covered with corrugated plastic panels, as if it were January.

By the way, the forecast for Monday (three days from now) is a low of 28F.
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I'm really anxious to unwrap my two in-ground trees but the weather forecast says lows of 24 and 22 on Sunday and Monday nights, respectively.  There is even some snow predicted on Monday.  After that, no lows below freezing are predicted for the next 8 days.  So I think Tuesday after work I will do it.  Fingers crossed that there is no rodent or mold damage.  I would be interested to hear what others in the mid-atlantic (and elsewhere) think about the timing of unwrapping trees with this exceptionally cold and long winter we are having.
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I have been itching to as well Steve,
Will see what the forecast is for next week as this weekend approaches
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right front of NCSU, there is a church with a fig tree. i was able to take a look at it on sat. the tree is not protected and in ground. there were some cold damage on the tip of the branches, but it looks like it's in generally good shape. will be checking it occasionally to see what it is. 
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We have 8 or 9 inches of snow on the ground after the storm last night and more is still falling.  I'm still considering unwrapping on Tuesday if the 10 day forecast predicts no hard freezes. I could always do a quick re-wrap if necessary.  I guess this won't buy me anything other than preventing possible mold but maybe it will make me feel that Spring is just around the corner even if reality tells me otherwise :)
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