Hi all,

My tree is about 8 years old now and It had produced ripe figs for the first 4 years. Over the last 4 years or so the tree/branches died from the cold Winters. Luckily they keep sprouting back from the bottom each Spring. But it's like starting over again and the figs have no time to ripen.

My question is, has anyone ever used a bucket to place on top of the covered tree like some of the old-timers used to do back in the day?

I cover   mine with burlap, blanket/cloth tarp and then the plastic tarp. But this year I tried the bucket method. I am hoping that the air will circulate better with the top open.

Anyone use this method? I am hoping for different results this year. P.S. I live in PA...I think Zone 7.

Thanks,
Joe

Yes\, this is the way folks I knew did it in the bronx, in Queens and the way that I did it in upstate NY when I was trying to winter protect my trees. The bucket at the top allows the wrapped tree to breath and allows moisture to escape preventing mold / mildew / rot resulting from too moist a wrap....

Thanks for the good news. I also grew up in Queens and I saw those buckets on top of many trees as well..

I'm crossing my fingers this year and hopefully it works this way. I'll know in a few weeks or so.

I do the bucket, but it's not so much to give air as it is to keep water out. The tarps can deteriorate in the winter sun. For air flow I leave the bottom of the tarp loose in one section at the ground level. This year I have beautiful results in Boston. Will uncover them next week. The branches are still green from last season and there is no mold. 

Yes, that's how I often do it.

Figtrees2013... Boston has some pretty harsh winters. So you use the bucket, as well as leave a little section open for air flow. Sounds logical.

If the bucket only method did not work for me this year, I will try your way next year too.

Thanks for these tips.

I used the bucket at my old house when my trees where in ground. I did loose the tips of a few branches that were up in the bucket and covered well, but that was nothing. I also drilled a few holes at the top for more circulation.

Whatever works for you all, I will certainly try as well next year. Drill a few holes in the bucket and leave a little portion of the tarp open on the bottom. I like all those tips.

By me covering it tightly for so many years has not worked at all lately, and I hate having to start all over again with new branches shooting from the bottom.

Thanks for all the advice.

Figtrees2013. What do you mean by this?   >>>>>Make sure you pinch back the terminal bud on branches after about 2 feet.
Thanks

That is an excellent tip. I surely will try that too. My tree in the picture can grow up to 9' tall with tiny figs that won't even ripen. Now I see that this will give it a little push to fruit.

Thanks 

Hi JoeR,
Search for the 80liters trashcan technique. It it a post from me.
To make a long story short, you need to protect the base of the tree. So remove the bottom of a big dark trashcan, and put it over a tree.
Fill the trashcan with dirt from the nurseries. That will be like a pullover protecting the bottom of your tree.
The dirt will avoid the rodents to settle in and act as a heatsink. That's how I do in my Zone7.
This year, I just put the trashcans around the trees and left them empty. Some I put them near the trees. Those containers being dark they still attract some heat from the sun, and cut the windchill.
I planted small bushes around to cut the windblow too ( currants, ... ).

My figtrees already started to leaf out. I lost some stems, but some terminal buds are alive, and figlets (brebas) have appeared and some new keep on appearing.
I may have lost some potted backup trees... Still too soon to know !

If I cover, I  use a tar paper top hat

After all this talk over the last few days, and seeing that the temperature for the next 10 days or so seems perfect for the unwrapping of my trees, I did just that last night.

I was anxious to see what it looked like under the bottom of the tarp first and saw that the branches were all alive. Then I removed the bucket on top and saw the tips alive as well.

So I uncovered the whole thing and saw tiny buds on the branches. I was so relieved, because this would be the first time in about 4 years that the branches did not die over the Winter, using the bucket method this time.

It was so dark last night, I could not take a picture but I'll get one tonight after work and post it.

Now my next question would be... That picture of the tree you see up there is about 8' tall and every branch was pruned before wrapping. Should I cut the branches down even further now to promote fruiting? I also have another tree that is about 3' tall where I did the same bucket method and it worked as well.

Any advice to force fruiting earlier here is PA with these established trees? 

P.S. I will surely keep an eye for frost if it comes and will get them covered up if so.

Thanks,
Joe  

Hi,

I think the bucket method is the way to go. This is the first time in the last 4 years that my branches came back alive and I won't have to wait for re-growth. I see little buds sprouting on the branches on both trees also. 

As you can see, all branches were pruned before I wrapped it up last Winter.

The big tree is about 9' tall, and the small one is about 4'. Would any of you cut the branches down even further to enable fruiting or just leave them as is?


Thanks,
Joe from PA - Zone 7

  

Hi,
The trees are yours, and you'll do what you want.
But, you should keep 4 or 5 stems per spot, no more.
The problem is they'll shade each other and pump the nutrients.
I would leave 4 or 5 per spot, choosing the bigger that are ideally spaced .
The ones you remove, try with a shovel and see if you can get some roots attached to the stems ... Et voilà, you'll end up having more rooted trees ...
Good luck !

JDSFrance,

Thanks for that tip, it makes sense. I will remove all the branches around the outside perimeter, and the small ones inside. I'll keep the bigger ones as you suggested and that should help out the tree getting the nutrients it needs.

Thanks again,
Joe