Has anyone thought about or used large diameter Sonatubes for winter protection of in ground fig trees? My idea is to tightly tie the branches and slip the tube over the tree, filling the tube with pine shavings then wraping with a tarp topped off with an inverted plastic bucket. Perhaps the lower end of the tube would have to be moisture proofed with polyurethane inside and out and maybe a stake driven into the ground and tied around the tube for wind support. These tubes could be reused for years. Thoughs or experience?

Rich,
   I used those Sonatubes back when I worked road construction. They are virtually indestructable, and are moisture proof, maybe even water proof. Also they come in various diameters, from 6" all the way up to 36" and maybe beyond that, so you could use various sizes as the tree grows. My biggest tree when tied up could easily be surrounded by a 36" Sonatube.  Real good idea Rich, never occured to me before.

Make sure you put mothballs or rodent poison in there so that the rodents don't chew up your trees.

What's the cost for something like this?  What would the benefits of this be over a plastic barrel?  I've heard of some forum members using those.  The only concern I have with large rigid protection structures is storage.  Sorry if I come across as knocking the idea.  I found it interesting and I'm just thinking it through.

I've used "shrub jackets" for one winter, so I'm not expert, but I stuffed them with leaves and they worked well.  They fold up pretty nicely so storage isn't too much of an issue and the leaves can be piled elsewhere afterwards to make good mulch/compost.  Works well in my yard because my trees generate a ton of leaves.

Tim

Last year I went all out protecting my in ground trees using the shrub jackets and leaves that Tim mentioned above.  I even made one jacket for a very tall tree!  See here:  http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/Make-your-own-Fig-Jacket-5644862

This year, now that we are in zone 8a, I am not protecting any of my in ground trees.  And what a relief!!!!!!!  I have 70 in ground and it's a chore and expense!  Some of my container trees are inside though.

We have our trees in ground for 3 yrs or so and we are in zone 8. They seem to do well until spring.  They will start to bud and then a cold snap will die them back. We opted to try and protect our in ground trees this year.   They are about 5 feet tall and we wrapped them with 3.5-4 ft fencing (loose like a tube, not tight) and then filled the space with leaves.  The tops of trees are still out.  Will this help at all?  We are looking for simple and with materials we already have (like the fencing and our abundance supply of leaves). 
Sarah

Tim & Dennis,
   Shrub jackets probably work well in some zones, but if you need serious winter protection, then you may need something more substantial than the shrub jacket. I have tried lighter coverings here in central N.J. and have experienced "die back" on my trees every time. So now I tripple wrap my trees,eg: 3 layers of burlap, 3 layers of weed cloth, and finally a complete covering with plastic tarps.  I also bunch up all the mulch that I keep around the base of each tree and pile it up around the trunk of the tree to protect the root ball from freezing.  Anything less than that and I run into freezing problems.  That is why the Sonatubes that Rich talked might work for me.  But..... you did bring up a valid problem, that is, "storage" of those tubes during the 3 seasons that I am not using them. They dont fold up like tarps and burlap and weed cloth.  Soooo, maybe I have to give that a little more thought.

An idea for storage of the tubes: cut them in half lengthwise, then they will lay up against one another quite compactly.  Then you'd just have to tape them together prior to using them the next year. 

Rob,
   The only problem I see with cutting them is that they might loose a lot of their strectural integrity.  They are absolutely rigid and unbendable in their original state, and for me that's part of the reason I would use them.  And then I would still have to deal with storing all those half tubes that are nested together.  And then tapeing them all back together next winter.  I'm not trying to disparage your idea Rob, I'm just thinking out loud here :))