I know what fig trees do in the winter in N.Y. but I'm in Florida for the winter near Boynton Beach (southeast).  Do fig trees lose their leaves and stop growing during the winter here, or if watered and feed will they continue to grow?  I believe it's zone 10a.

Also, does anyone know of an individual or nursery within an hours drive that would sell actual fig plants?  Seems most of the fruit nurseries are way up in the northwest corner of Florida.  Thanks for any help.

I'm in sw fl zone 10b. Last year my one fig tree(Celeste) lost most of its leaves from rust by mid December and I pulled the remaining ones off. Plant stayed semi dormant until it come to life with longer days in March. Keep plant watered during dormancy. As to where to buy- Lowes and HD periodically have figs, but they are not always true to named variety. Also call local plant nurseries for availability.

Thanks for the advice, I'm hesitant to buy fig trees from the big box stores & it seems the local nurseries don't have too much at this time.

In South Florida where you are trees generally do not go dormant. They will lose some leaves but generally not all of them as the temperature is going to fluctuate from the forties to the mid-eighties all winter. So you probably will not see much if any new growth but I have not seen trees in your area go completely dormant.

wbni59  Thanks, I will be getting some small air layers this week do you think I could just pot them up, leave them outside in a partially shaded area and they would be ok for the next few months?  Of course I will water, actually I'm thinking about putting the small air layers in an Earthbox, any thoughts?

Absolutely, I would just make sure you bring them in if there is a fluke cold front that flirts with the thirties, I would also be aware of the wind it is very common to have days where the wind is consistently blowing 25 +. A young plant would definitely be susceptible to wind burn. Another thing, I don't know how close to the water you are but salt could also be something to be concerned with.

Ray,

I used to buy fig trees on sale from Lowe's etc. But most of the big stores (and some smaller outfits) get plants from either Simpson's nursery, or agristarts...sold to dewars out of apopka...

If it's not a mislable, it most likely won't be the real McCoy.

Your best bet is Encanto (the people who have us this forum), Herman2, and other trusted sellers on this forum...

An excellent Florida source of fig trees is Just Fruits & Exotics in Crawfordville (Near Tallahassee).  They also ship ...

James

Lewi  I tried Encanto but he didn't have the varieties I wanted, I'm not too keen on bidding/overpaying for cuttings on Ebay at this stage, I prefer actual plants, last night I stopped by Lowes they had Nero fig plants, good looking plants, with figs on them in one gallon containers for $8, I will have to research Nero but I'm concerned what it really is,  I wish they had other varieties, up north they usually just carry Brown Turkey.

NativeSun   Yes JF&E had a good selection of trees but their shipping costs are very high, about $25 I may yet get something from them.

Thanks

If you ever need to go through the area, you could pick them up at JF&E. A trip just for the plants may cost more, yet, if you need to go in that general direction you could may a detour. It's a shop too from what I understand. Never been there.