In-ground HC and Celestes Finally Breaking Dormancy

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Maro2Bear

Registered:1344284082
Posts: 732

Posted 1399767180	Reply with quote #1

Greetings all Seems like a long time waiting for buds to break out here in MD, but my in-ground HC and Celeste are finally showing signs of life. I also attached a snap of how they looked buried in snow just a few months ago. Attached Images image.jpg (796.16 KB, 71 views) image.jpg (727.05 KB, 76 views) image.jpg (702.69 KB, 71 views) image.jpg (604.40 KB, 69 views) __________________ Mark B., Glenn Dale, MD Zone 7a

drphil69

Registered:1390113240
Posts: 803

Posted 1399774643	Reply with quote #2

Looking good! __________________ Phil - Zone 7A - Newark, DE Newbie fig lover just trying to learn.

rafed

Registered:1252876934
Posts: 5,308

Posted 1399776593	Reply with quote #3

Mark, Glad it is working out for you and the buds breaking. Some just take longer than others. I have a Nordland. Said to be one of the hardiest and cold tolerant figs out there. Dead! But others that you least expect were amongst some of the early risers. To sum it up, figs are just plain strange sometimes.

jdsfrance

Registered:1376988473
Posts: 2,591

Posted 1399822270	Reply with quote #4

Hi Maro2bear, See, patience is the key. It is good that the tree comes back from the stems and not from the roots. Those stems are the energy for the tree to grow better. Don't forget to help them water + fertilizer and if something is shading them ... cut ! @Rafed : My longue d'aout/Nordland is alive but decided to show no brebas this year. I'll have to rely on the maincrop ... I'm going to fertilize her like fire is found in hell . Or she'll produce, or she'll burn. I'm out of patience on her . It is a shame, as that fig has such an unique taste. Figtrees need support from their gardener to perform at their best . __________________ ------------------------ Climate from -25°C to + 35°C Only cold hardy figtrees can make it here

kurtzu2

Registered:1399831462
Posts: 2

Posted 1399832595	Reply with quote #5

I'm in DC, and have two trees (one Celesdte, one Brown Turkish) I planted in my back yard six years ago. Both were enormous last year, over 10 feet tall and as wide. I gave both a heavy pruning in November because they were getting out of control. Neither tree has shown any sign of leafing (last year they were covered in foliage by mid April). I noticed today the Brown Turkish has pushed a 4 inch shoot out of the root ball with a few leaves. I know this winter was the harshest in the 18 years I've lived in DC, but i never imagined it would wipe out these well-established trees.

mgginva

Registered:1320266925
Posts: 1,856

Posted 1399893850	Reply with quote #6

I'm about 50 miles west of DC and there are severely damaged trees all over the place. Tough winter. __________________ Michael in Virginia (zone 7a) Wish list: Perretta,

bullet08

Registered:1284496248
Posts: 6,920

Posted 1399895873	Reply with quote #7

that means i need to make some phone calls today :) __________________ Pete Durham, NC Zone 7b "don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash." - sir winston churchill "the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." - the baroness thatcher *** all my figs have FMV/FMD, in case you're wondering. * * and... i don't sell things. what little i have will be posted here in winter for first come first serve base to be shared. no, i'm not a socialist...***

Maro2Bear

Registered:1344284082
Posts: 732

Posted 1404059000	Reply with quote #8

Greetings all Just when I thought there was absolutely no chance what-so-ever for this one HC look what is popping today. Here we are 29 June and this tree decided to give it a go. I had totally given up on it. I had totally neglected it for the past month other than cutting all the dead wood almost back to the ground looking for proof of life. Been busy with other summer projects and luckily my drip irrigation system was set to still provide this " dead" wood with a daily dose of water. You would not believe how many times over the past month I almost dug out the roots! Bottom line keep the faith, keep them watered and don't give up. I've attached a snap of it covered back on 1 December 2014 before all the snowstorms and cold wxr. Attached Images image.jpg (641.57 KB, 28 views) image.jpg (357.95 KB, 27 views) __________________ Mark B., Glenn Dale, MD Zone 7a

cis4elk

Registered:1347840383
Posts: 1,718

Posted 1404072283	Reply with quote #9

Mark, this is an interesting topic for me, mostly along the lines of protection. So your tree was protected and yet it still suffered severe dieback. I need to ask some questions. 1. How old was the HC? 2. Was it completely hardened off before you protected it, or was there still green wood? 3. Because it's hard to tell sometimes in a picture, how thick was the layer of leaves from the core where the tree was to the outside of the wire cage? 4. Were the leaves just loosely filled into the wire cage or were they packed a bit? 5. The outer layer just being a trash bag I'm sure leaked moisture at least some, were the leaves moist/wet when you uncovered it this spring? I ask all these questions because your method is very similar to what I plant to try in the future, in a colder zone. Difference being I had planned to use a wider cage giving a thicker layer of insulation with leaves, and using a tarp with plywood on top as well. I realize that in your zone during a normal winter, minimal protection is probably all you would need. But this is good information for us in zones lower than yours. Thanks. __________________ Calvin Littleton,CO z5/6 Wants List: For everyone to clean-up after themselves and co-exist peacefully. Let's think more about the future of our planet and less about ourselves. :)

Maro2Bear

Registered:1344284082
Posts: 732

Posted 1404081589	Reply with quote #10

Greetings all Going to try and respond to Calvin's questions here tonight. So, here goes: Mark, this is an interesting topic for me, mostly along the lines of protection. So your tree was protected and yet it still suffered severe dieback. I need to ask some questions. 1. How old was the HC? --- this was started early winter 2013, so it was not yet a year old and this past Arctic winter was its first 2. Was it completely hardened off before you protected it, or was there still green wood? --- completely hardened off, had been in ground and growing, fertilizer stopped a long time before winter: actually covered it once all leaves had naturally fallen and before any arctic blasts hit the area 3. Because it's hard to tell sometimes in a picture, how thick was the layer of leaves from the core where the tree was to the outside of the wire cage? --- I think this is the culprit that didnt help. I had some extra hardware cloth that I made a circle and staked it around the tree firmly. Problem is that the distance from center of tree to the enclosure was probably only about 6inches, so the total diameter was about 12 inches, max 14. 4. Were the leaves just loosely filled into the wire cage or were they packed a bit? --- i used a mixture of mulched and just raked. Again, by the time I got to this one, i probably didnt have enough shredded leaves and used mostly just raked oak leaves. 5. The outer layer just being a trash bag I'm sure leaked moisture at least some, were the leaves moist/wet when you uncovered it this spring? --- surprisingly, the leaves inside stayed quite dry and there really was no moisture inside. I do think that my problem with this particular tree was that it was a lot more exposed than other trees i protected, and I didn't use a large enough container, and I should have used all shredded leaves, vice mostly unshredded. Hope this helps! If you look at pix in the initial posting in this thread, you can see my other winter enclosures were much larger, and they worked well. __________________ Mark B., Glenn Dale, MD Zone 7a

cis4elk

Registered:1347840383
Posts: 1,718

Posted 1404162344	Reply with quote #11

Thanks Mark! Good to know the bigger enclosures worked well. __________________ Calvin Littleton,CO z5/6 Wants List: For everyone to clean-up after themselves and co-exist peacefully. Let's think more about the future of our planet and less about ourselves. :)

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