Hey guys I'm very new to this (last year air layered for the first time) and put it in a small pot and then a little bigger and then bigger again until now I'm in a half a wine barrel and used top soil and manure I think. I live in zone 7b I'm pretty sure (Queens, NYC). Right around the time I covered my fig tree I can remember someone on here saying that you should cover it when it goes below 40 at night or after the first frost and uncover it when it stays above 40 at night but with the mild winter we had the forecast is saying its supposed to be in the 60s this month (but i don't trust a weatherman as far as you can throw him) do you think its too pre mature to uncover the tree? Or should I play it safe and leave it covered? I don't know if keeping it covered too long can cause any sort of damage. Also once it is un covered is there anything i should add to the soil to help it out? fertilizer? manure? Thank you all for your help hopefully i will be eating some figs soon.

There is no easy answer.

If the temps are too high, you risk cooking your plant. If they are too low, you risk killing the new growth.

New growth is very tender. It is temperature sensitive, probably damaged even above freezing, which is why at 40F figure is given, most likely. Alos, ne growth is easy to damage by touching it, by suchthings as throwing a blanket or tarp over it to protect from low temperatures.

if you do a search for "fig shuffle" you will find the same issues arise when storing the trees indoors. Sometimes they can be outside, getting a start on the season, and sometimes they have to return to a protected environment when weather turns cold again. It is a game and a pain, trying to balance things, particularly in the Spring when temperatures fluctuate dramatically, sometimes.

I would uncover it.
if it is multi branched, I would leave the branches tied up together, so as to be easy to re-cover if/when it gets colder again.
I checked actual temperatures for jan feb and march 2012. This year in my area most days we have been 10 or more degrees above the historic average, with a day or three lumped together that were about average.
Assuming the trend continues, I think it would be good to uncover and cover again for the few days that it will be needed.

Grant
z5b kitchener ontario

Thank you guys for your reply's is there any sort of fertilizer or special products i should add to the tree or soil?

Dolomitic limestone is a good thing to add a couple times throughout the season, like a couple of handfulls sprinkled on top for a barrel. There are lots of opinions about fertilizing you can find with the search function. I use fresh bat guano and Fertrell Super K on my container plants. Go easy, your tree is not even a toddler yet!

lol thank you hoosier I did search fertilizer and a few other things before I posted I didn't come up with anything really too solid I want to rush the hands of time (which is impossible and have it be a few years old bearing fruit) but ill defiantly look into some dolomitic limestone to sprinkle on it.