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Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > Black Madeira over-wintering question
 
 


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rafaelissimmo

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 
I have a first-year Black Madeira in 1-gal pot. I hope that it can put on some decent growth this summer.

Jon states that Black Madeira will often die during its first overwintering.

http://figs4fun.com/Info/Info_Black_Madeira.html

Has anyone here ever experienced death of BM during its first winter? Thank you for your responses.
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rafaelissimmo

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
Happy father's day Ejp. How about chiming in?
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rafaelissimmo

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
Helllpppp.....
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kubota1

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
I overwintered mine in my greenhouse. It has been very vigorous this year.
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pino

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 

Be optimistic Rafael.  If you treat it well it should grow strong for you.   Make sure when overwintering it the first year that it doesn't get below freezing and give it a little water from time to time during the winter.
When it fills up the 1 gal you may want to re-pot it carefully to a larger container.
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rafaelissimmo

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Thank you Petechanr
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Quackmaster

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
This past winter I over wintered 2 first year BM's with no problem.  I left them outside most of the winter under my back porch, I brought them in only twice when it got down in the 20's and probably didn't even have to do that.  Even though it was the worst winter in a long time it was nothing like you guys up north had.
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rafaelissimmo

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
Thanks Ryan. I keep a small heater on in the garage for visits from the polar vortex, I hope next winter is gentler they say el niño should make it warmer at least during the first half of winter.
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Rewton

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Posted Reply with quote  #9 
Mine did great overwintering in a garage that was unheated except for an electric heater on the coldest nights.  It got down to around 21 degrees inside the garage a few nights.
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rafaelissimmo

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
Good to hear that Rewton thx
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Rewton

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Posted Reply with quote  #11 
Forgot to mention that mine was in a ~ 4 gallon container and it was rooted around Feb. of 2013.
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Steve MD zone 7a
Sas

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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
Rafael,

The temperature came down to the teens this past winter here in Texas. My first year Black Madeira from a cutting, was unprotected in the ground.
It nearly died. This spring it has four shoots from the main cutting and growing more vigorously than the first year. I'm hopping that the trunk puts on more mass in order to resist the freezing better next next winter. If your fig tree has sunlight in the green house then no worries, you could take it outside anytime you're ready. From my experience, it is the over watering in the pot that will kill a tree more than anything else. If you're not sure of how much to water, then use a self watering pot, the kind you find at Walmart. They work great.
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Sas from North Austin TX Zone 8B
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rafaelissimmo

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Posted Reply with quote  #13 
Sas thx for the info, currently it is in a 1-gal in shade, next week will go into sunshine. I always thought that strong sunlight will dry up the small volume of available moisture in a 1-gal pot, so I usually water once a day, it drains out pretty fast. This cutting has strong extensive roots. Mostly I am worried about the effects of fmv here in the northeast but hopefully it will grow stronger during this summer. I will use a greenhouse in the fall and then overwinter in garage.
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Sas

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Posted Reply with quote  #14 
Rafael,

All my plants were moved to either to a 5 gallon pot or a large Walmart self watering pot. The ones in self watering pots are performing better in their second year than the ones in regular 5 gallon pots. I agree that a one gallon pot is not an ideal place to keep your plant in a hot sunny location for a very long time.
I planted my Black Madeira in the hottest and sunniest location of my yard.
Figs love the sun and heat. Just make sure they don't suffer from lack of water.
Here's a snapshot of my Black Madeira taken today.

20140617 BM.JPG 

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Sas from North Austin TX Zone 8B
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KK

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Posted Reply with quote  #15 
Never had a problem overwintering



Quote:
Originally Posted by rafaelissimmo
I have a first-year Black Madeira in 1-gal pot. I hope that it can put on some decent growth this summer. Jon states that Black Madeira will often die during its first overwintering. http://figs4fun.com/Info/Info_Black_Madeira.html Has anyone here ever experienced death of BM during its first winter? Thank you for your responses.
JohnnieB

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Posted Reply with quote  #16 
I overwintered my first year BM in an unheated garage that stays around the freezing mark or slightly higher with no ill effects. The 40 or so trees that stayed in the garage all survived but  the 30 plus others in the unheated shed all died. The trees in my shed were my largest trees that were all at least 2 years and many that were more.
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rafaelissimmo

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Posted Reply with quote  #17 
Johnnie sorry for your losses Frank from the Bronx also lost all his trees that were in a shed, garages clearly do better than unheated sheds, tho' I suspect an unheated, uninsulated garage exposed to polar vortex temperatures would not do very well.
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RichinNJ

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Posted Reply with quote  #18 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rafaelissimmo
Johnnie sorry for your losses Frank from the Bronx also lost all his trees that were in a shed, garages clearly do better than unheated sheds, tho' I suspect an unheated, uninsulated garage exposed to polar vortex temperatures would not do very well.


For a small fee we could winter over your BM in the Fig Taj Mahal du Fair Lawn :)
rafaelissimmo

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Posted Reply with quote  #19 
My offer is this: nothing. And I'd appreciate if you picked up the fee for the gaming license.
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RichinNJ

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Posted Reply with quote  #20 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rafaelissimmo
My offer is this: nothing. And I'd appreciate if you picked up the fee for the gaming license.


Sounds like a line out of "Godfather 2"
rafaelissimmo

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Posted Reply with quote  #21 
Really??
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RichinNJ

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Posted Reply with quote  #22 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rafaelissimmo
Really??


Yah think?
RichinNJ

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Posted Reply with quote  #23 
Anyhow my offer stands
RichinNJ

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Posted Reply with quote  #24 
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