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Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > People who lost in ground trees this winter--will you try again?
 
 


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Matt_from_Pittsburgh

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 
I only had one in ground tree, and it died this winter. I had been planning to plant a few more trees in the yard once they got big enough, but I'm thinking no at this point.
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Matt
Pittsburgh, PA
Zone 6ish
Maro2Bear

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
Matt, regardless if the trees made it through this past Winter, the problem i see is that in-ground trees that I have are WAY behind all of my potted trees that were stored inside a cold room, but now flourishing outside. Last year this time I was thinking to plant a lot more inground, now I'm thinking pots are the way to stay. Plus, at least in my case, it's a lot of work in Fall to build cages and fill with leaves, mulch, wrap, etc. hauling in trees is a lot easier and faster.
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Mark B., Glenn Dale, MD Zone 7a
RichinNJ

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
I had plans to put a few trees in ground but after seeing how many were lost by others this year I think I'll stick to 20 gallon pots
hoosierbanana

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
Many of my older trees which were intended for the ground are now staying in containers. I will be planting cuttings out from now on. 
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7a, DE
ascpete

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
Matt,
Yes.
This past winter was an "exception" and most protected and older plants survived and are now regrowing. With a little planning, prudent pruning and simple winterization the main scaffold branches of hardier cultivars can survive extreme conditions. The lessons learned from this past winter have actually strengthened my plans for an in-ground orchard in my Zone 5B/6A location.

BTW, in ground trees that were only protected with a very thick Pine Shaving Mulch had no die back below the mulch surface.
rafaelissimmo

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
I agree with Pete. A winter like this has not happend in twenty years. And we don't want to deal with wrapping and winterization, it is a pain. But even in this kind of winter, if you take measures, most trees can survive, albeit with heavy or not so heavy dieback. I only have 3 in ground so maybe its not so bad for me, I wouldn't necessarily have a huge orchard in ground but overall, while there is some risk, with proper protection and choice of cold hardy varieties, growers should not bail on in ground cultivation.
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Zone 7b, Queens, New York
susieqz

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
i'll have 6 inground trees this year. those big pots are too heavy for me.
plus, i prefer the higher yields from inground trees.

of course, i spent a fortune making a micro climate to allow this.
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susie 
wish list:  nothing. i can't grow cuttings  . right now, i have  6 trees showing no signs of fmv. i'd like to keep it that way' 

i was told that if i couldn't deal with fmv, i should grow peaches, so i got a peach tree to live with my clean figs.
jdsfrance

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
Hi,
The choice is yours of course.
I had the same issue in 2012. My choices were more radical : plant apricots in the place of the dead figtrees.
Well, Apricots are a pain as well especially when it comes to keep fruits on the branches until ripening.
Not all of my figtrees died, and my "unknown from the Italian ufti" figtree number 2 (ufti number 1 died) grew fast so that in September 2012 I could make 4 trees out of her - she is grown in a bushy still .
Figtrees are cheap when compared to other trees. And last year I had a nice crop, so I bought some more figtrees to test those.
The path I'm walking, is to protect them efficiently and painlessly during the winter.
See my topic on winter protections for ideas.
Keeping the tree in ground is less pain for me (Watering enough but not too much + no shed for them) ! So I'll stick to that .
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Climate from -25°C to + 35°C
Only cold hardy figtrees can make it here
FiggyFrank

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Posted Reply with quote  #9 
Buried pots is also an option.
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Frank
zone 7a - VA
Rob

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
I think I won't plant my older, larger trees.  Rather I'll keep them in large pots and plant smaller, extra trees in ground.  Nothing to lose that way.  I agree that even the trees that survived outside are way behind the potted plants and may not ripen fruit this year.  But it was an exceptional winter.  Last year was the opposite.
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Rob
Maryland Zone 7
http://rbfigs.webs.com/
pino

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Posted Reply with quote  #11 
I have had in-ground trees for many years and have taken a few lumps with some winters.   

After last year I will only plant the proven winter survivors.   Making sure to keep them a manageable size and to protect them well for winter.

Also will make sure to provide better protection and a heat source for the figs stored in the garage.
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Pino, zone 6, Niagara,  JCJ Acres
Wish; Peace on earth and more figs Italian 258, Galicia Negra, Luv, trade suggestions welcome.
Chivas

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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
I put in two more trees, will have to dig out a 5 inch stump with a 18 gallon root mass and plant another one, if one dies another will always go into it's place.
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Canada Zone 6B
pino

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Posted Reply with quote  #13 
Sounds like a lot of work Chivas.   How close to a building are they?
If you have a tractor you could dig around the trees and then put a chain around the trunk and trying to pull them out 1 at a time.
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Pino, zone 6, Niagara,  JCJ Acres
Wish; Peace on earth and more figs Italian 258, Galicia Negra, Luv, trade suggestions welcome.
Chivas

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Posted Reply with quote  #14 
Just the one I have to pull out, I only had 2 die in ground on me, 1 wasn't protected MBVS (I didn't like the flavour much)  the other was colisanti dark, I took the pick axe around the main roots earlier on and found a ton of ants so the shovel, pick axe and the hachet should make short work of it, if it takes more than 15 mins I would be surprised.  It's close to my shed in the backyard so tractor is a no go but a back ho would be a lot more fun.  Way easier than juniper or mulberry stumps at least.
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Canada Zone 6B
ascpete

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Posted Reply with quote  #15 
Has anyone in zone 5,6 or 7 planted their young trees deeper than normal?



I've watched Montserrat Pons' video @7:55 and @13:44, http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=5801607 and PDF, http://www.sonmutnou.com/htm/campexperimentacio.pdf of his orchard. with pertinent info on planting up to 2 meters deep to allow the roots to get to the water table in a clay layer and deep cultivation close to the tree trunks to eliminate suckers, cultivate deep roots and to help maintain the single trunk tree form.
 
I'm starting a new project for in ground trees in zone 6 and zone 7. I'm planting the young fig trees "very deep". In zone 7 the Bronx, NYC I've planted some trees 2' deep. In Zone 6 Catskills NY the trees have been planted 3' deep or below the frost line. The holes will be back filled gradually to allow the trees to grow out of them.
DeepPlanting_TimLight1_8-20-14.jpg DeepPlanting_TimLight2_8-20-14.jpg .

I'm curious if anyone else has tried this to get the roots into a warmer winter time depth.

Website... http://www.sonmutnou.com
RichinNJ

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Posted Reply with quote  #16 
My plan for next year is to repot several 5 gal plants into 20 gallon pots and bury my doubles that are in 5 gallon pots in the ground. In the fall I'll lift them and move them to the garage.
At some point I may do a 20x20 hoop house that I can take down and put up each year.
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