When do you allow newly grown cuttings to go dormant?

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Joeturbo26

Registered:1398466224
Posts: 73

Posted 1404131333	Reply with quote #1

Hello all! So I was just watering the Chicago Hardy cuttings I successfully began a few months ago. They're doing incredible. One of them is over 2 feet tall the other one is slightly smaller. I've moved them both outside and they're loving it. Then it occurred to me.... Do I let them go dormant at the end of the season? At what point do you start to let your cuttings go dormant? I guess I can keep them indoors in a window with the same exposure they're currently experiencing... I'm just curious because they're doing so amazing I'd hate to kill them accidentally when the season is over. __________________ -Joe- Queens NY Zone 6b-7a depends on who you ask!

drphil69

Registered:1390113240
Posts: 803

Posted 1404133686	Reply with quote #2

Quote: Originally Posted by Joeturbo26 Hello all! So I was just watering the Chicago Hardy cuttings I successfully began a few months ago. They're doing incredible. One of them is over 2 feet tall the other one is slightly smaller. I've moved them both outside and they're loving it. Then it occurred to me.... Do I let them go dormant at the end of the season? At what point do you start to let your cuttings go dormant? I guess I can keep them indoors in a window with the same exposure they're currently experiencing... I'm just curious because they're doing so amazing I'd hate to kill them accidentally when the season is over. My novice answer is let them go dormant. __________________ Phil - Zone 7A - Newark, DE Newbie fig lover just trying to learn.

fignutty

Registered:1374034473
Posts: 580

Posted 1404134235	Reply with quote #3

Let them go dormant naturally as the weather dictates. Just don't allow them to freeze until all leaves have dropped. Then put them in an unheated garage where it preferably stays between 32-40F all winter. They can freeze after fully dormant but I don't let the rootball freeze. Even that usually doesn't kill them if it doesn't get too cold. They don't need to be babied in your house at room temperatures all winter. That brings on another set of issues that's more likely to end badly than normal dormancy. __________________ Steve in Alpine TX 7b/8a Wish list: Sangue Dolce, Siblawi, Victoria, Emalyn's Purple, Colonel Littman's Black Cross

Quackmaster

Registered:1370361410
Posts: 769

Posted 1404136077	Reply with quote #4

I let my first year cuttings go dormant and none died. __________________ Ryan Zone 9a SeLa, wish list:

newnandawg

Registered:1344130335
Posts: 2,535

Posted 1404136911	Reply with quote #5

Let them get a few lite frost and the leaves will brown and fall off. Move them into the unheated garage.

Joeturbo26

Registered:1398466224
Posts: 73

Posted 1404137142	Reply with quote #6

Sounds like the response is unanimous! Followup question: My garage is not heated, but also has no sunlight... is that ok? __________________ -Joe- Queens NY Zone 6b-7a depends on who you ask!

fignutty

Registered:1374034473
Posts: 580

Posted 1404137346	Reply with quote #7

No leaves equals no need for sunlight. Any sunlight would just heat things up and bring them out of dormancy too soon. Keep it as cold as possible without freezing until you want them to start waking up. __________________ Steve in Alpine TX 7b/8a Wish list: Sangue Dolce, Siblawi, Victoria, Emalyn's Purple, Colonel Littman's Black Cross

FigaroNewton

Registered:1403556278
Posts: 75

Posted 1404141233	Reply with quote #8

I too have been thinking ahead to wintering my young trees. Mine are first year and I worry my shed won't be enough protection. My plan is to mummy wrap them in pink fiberglass insulation with a 1" piece of PVC pipe running down through the insulation close to the soil to give them a couple of light waterings during the winter. If anyone sees a problem with my idea or has a better one, please let me know. Regards, bill o. __________________ Billy - Middle Tennessee Seeking: C'hiapetta, A'driatic JH, and S'mith maybe 2 cuttings or so of each. Thank-you.

Rewton

Registered:1291943117
Posts: 1,946

Posted 1404143098	Reply with quote #9

Last year I started two cuttings in September and decided they were too young to transition to outdoor life, dormancy, and overwintering in the detached garage. So I kept them going indoors all winter. It was a pain but they survived the gnats etc. The year before I started a cutting in July, moved it outdoors and allowed it to go dormant with my older figs. It did fine in the detached garage. __________________ Steve MD zone 7a

cis4elk

Registered:1347840383
Posts: 1,719

Posted 1404147808	Reply with quote #10

Joe, is your garage attached to your house? If so it will stay warm enough. If it's detached, it will likely need some heat supplementation during the coldest spells of winter. __________________ Calvin Littleton,CO z5/6 Wants List: For everyone to clean-up after themselves and co-exist peacefully. Let's think more about the future of our planet and less about ourselves. :)

Joeturbo26

Registered:1398466224
Posts: 73

Posted 1404169828	Reply with quote #11

My garage is detached, however it's a garage for my apartment development. There are 200 cars parked in there. So it never freezes but it's also not heated. I could bring them out east to my summerhouse basement, that's another option I guess... __________________ -Joe- Queens NY Zone 6b-7a depends on who you ask!

Beyondista

Registered:1288798678
Posts: 119

Posted 1404183264	Reply with quote #12

I bring a lot of my first year figs in the house and grow them thru the winter. Partly because my dormant space stays around freezing and sometimes the young figs get a lotta dieback and also because by growing them thru the winter I gain a lot of root growth. Oftentime I cut the majority of the top growth back in the spring before they go outside for their second year. I'm in Wisconsin with a fairly short growing season so for me there's a lot to be gained. __________________ BEYOND Vineyard - La Farge, Wisconsin z4b http://facebook.com/beyondvineyard Driftless Sacred Grove - West Lima, Wisconsin https://www.facebook.com/driftlessgrove ebay: sacredgroveorganics http://www.ebay.com/usr/sacredgroveorganics

jdsfrance

Registered:1376988473
Posts: 2,591

Posted 1404208883	Reply with quote #13

Hi Joeturbo, In my Zone7, they all go dormant with the winter. All my trees are in ground - except some tests I'm playing with for this year. Last year, I put on the ninja suit, to get some root-shoots in an abandoned garden . That was in June or July. The two small trees grew - they had 3 or 4 small roots to start with - well nothing serious. In Fall, they went dormant and I protected them - look for my winter protection post . This year, the bigger one is growing good. The smaller one did come back from under the ground - amazingly that last one had more roots but ok, a thinner stem... go figure ... They are in an eighty liters ( yes one more) trashcan bottom less but in ground - for rodent protection. In the same spot, I planted 2 "Dalmatie" root shoots . They are growing good too. I already had to pinch the toughest one. So as the winter comes, let the cuttings go dormant. They can handle it down to Zone7... as long as you protect them a bit . __________________ ------------------------ Climate from -25°C to + 35°C Only cold hardy figtrees can make it here

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