I left my 2-years old duplicate fig plants in the garage in 5-gallon pots merely covered with tarp over the plants because the space allotted to me in the cold store got smaller for this one year only (hoping more next year).
What are the chances of survival for these fig plants in temperatures like the ones coming Thursday?
Last year I did not have any fig plants in the garage but the min/max thermometer recorded -23C (- 9.5F) inside the garage.

Thursday, Nov 17

• Hi   -13°C  (+8.5F)
• Low -21°C (-5.8F)

ouch, -23°C is very cold. Trees in the ground will not even survive these temperatures. I doubt that they'll survive that temperature. If you have several trees, I would add a small electrical heater that goes on when it's severely cold.

Yep, I would pick up a space heater. I have a few that I bought at Lowes for about $40 to keep my greenhouse warm enough for my tropicals. They work pretty well. Good luck.

Personally, I would look into a radiating heater first.  I'm always wary of space heaters, I've seen too many cases in recent years of folks burning down their houses.  I'm sure this is depending on the model of heater, but ...

If you must get a space heater, look into an oscillating ceramic tower heater.  Most of them have a digital thermostat on them and can hold a temperature range.  If placed in a proper enclosed (but vented) place, you can hold a solid temperature range without the heater turning on nearly as much.

Thanks for the suggestions.
It is the price of living in Zone 5/north. I did not know I will be getting addicted to growing figs.

Jason is right about the choice of a radiant heater. I would throw a couple of blankets over the figs too.

Try something like this.  I would try it with a mecury thermostat that can go below 0C.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Space-heater-controlled-by-digital-thermostat/

Ottawan,
im curious is your garage attached to your house?

dieseler
Yes, it is attached to my house but not insulated.
You don't recall but I have been bugging you in the past with private email asking 'how do you do it in Zone 5 the way you do and the plants survive in your garage in Zone 5 ?'.
Then it occurs to me that the Zones are defined by the "average minimum temperatures" and the lakes buffer you from the frequent bad cold spikes of -25C (-32F) that we get and which once or twice in a decade get to -35C (-37F) with wind chills taking it all the way down to -40F/-40C for a day, two or three in a row. Such are the days when you have to wait 5 to 10 hours when you call for a taxi since many cars would not start, and if you are lucky enough that your car starts then the frozen tires will make you feel that you are driving with not-so-round wheels (bumpy bumpy with no ground bumps).

But we do manage to get some ripe figs here! We hope to get some more ripe figs when we get cuttings for those cooler area early ripening varieties that fig friends tell us they cannot spare cuttings at this time even at cost.

Akram my area is considered a outlying area which always gets colder in the winter time than the city of chicago which is ranked 2nd out of the 40 largest cities in America as having the coldest winters.
http://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/US/coldest-cities-winter.php
 Here in the outlying areas the winds can be brutal in winter time with wind chills in the minus 20s or 30s. My car sits on driveway and always starts with a good sears diehard battery albiet it cranks very slow but starts and has 257,000 miles on the motor. Its started last winter season when temps were recorded in chicago of minus 23 that week the lows were minus 15 to 18 with the highs not above zero in my area its was a little colder.
My insulated garage temperature and it had me worried about my fig trees as this was first year i had a thermometer lowest temp was 6 to 8 above zero for probably a week and then the temperature stood below 20 above for several weeks , fig plants were covered with just a bedsheet to keep the breeze off them when garage door was opened and they had no winter damage at all. I did not take pictures of the temp gauge recording 6 to 8 above but did take one picture of it in the teens.


When plants were several years old all of them at that point did sustain winter damage as they matured they faired much better, last season the coldest winter they seen in staorage they had not damage none of my plants.
I see others on forum use portable heaters, light bulbs, etc etc to protect there plants in winter storage and if it works well for them all the better as for me this is what i always have been doing so i stick with it

No way would i suggest this to anyone else, its just what works for me and to give others a hint of what works for me only and what can be done in my area perhaps.
Many years ago my granmother had 1 good size fig tree in her chicago yard several blocks from midway airport and each season it was dug around rootball and layed down in a trench and buried and each year it and bore many figs i recall in the 1960s the winters there were brutal i just grow em in pots for me its much easier.
Best Health

Martin,
Way to go; a MIN/MAX thermometer is an ESSENTIAL
tool to monitor tempetaures. Mine recorded a minimun of
~20*F in my (slightly-emergency-heated) NJ garage -
I use a thermostat that kicks-in a small ceramic heater at ~32*F.

Place the Containers on the Floor,and on the house side wall,in The atached Garage.
as far from the main garage door as you can.
Also use radiator heater like the other posters sugested.
Yet it is very important to place them in the warmest spot,and it will make a huge difference.
H2