I have 2 pots of a European unknown variety that started from a small cutting, and they have grown pretty good over the last few years, producing many leaves, but never any edible fruit. I want to attempt moving these to the ground, but not sure if the timing is right based on the size, and my location (north Atlanta, GA, zone 7b).  Also any advice on type of fertilizer to use would be great (whether I keep in pot or move to ground).

Size at planting: 18-inch cuttings, no leaves
Current Age:  6 years old
Current tree size:  4' H x 3' W (including leaves)
Pot size: Years 1-3 in a small 1x1 pot, Years 3-5 a black pot, 2' W x 1.5' H
Fertilized: Not when first planted, but in year 3 when moving to larger pot I used 50% native 50% miracle gro potting for trees. Have not fertilized at all since
Watering: Spring/Fall - every 3 days, but only if it doesn't rain (see note below)
Sun: Year 1-3 sat on east wall of house, brought indoors every winter. Year 3-5, moved to a west wall and get about 10 hours sun in summer.  
NOTE: This past winter I did not bring them indoors at all, nor did I cover them, and they seemed to hold up ok even with a couple of weeks 30 degree weather we had.
Fruit:  Year 1-3 nothing, Year 4 - each produced about 5 figlets, but never reached ripening, Year 5  - nothing, not even buds

This February we had an early warm spell in Georgia and I noticed a few leaves starting to come out.  Then we went back to our normal cold and it killed whatever started growing (see pics below).  Can this cause any problems and/or stress the trees?

Hi mulox,, this is what I would do.. plant in ground springtime, after last freeze date.. remove frost damage from plant.. of course in area with plenty sun and well draining soil. work soil about 4 -6 foot circle. 8" depth. Amend soil if needed. Wood chips hold moisture, allows water to penetrate dense clay soil, retains moisture in Sandy soil. Black cow or similar products help tremendous start.mix into soil. Don't fertilize at time of planting,,.make a donut type mound. Water on roots ,at first ,, don't drown your plant,,.well drained soil is best. After it gets settled ,, takes off , water outside donut(trench) to get roots to spread.. miracle grow is like baby food, jump start for older trees,,water in roots once week for first 3-4 weeks, ( 1-2 gallons) . Don't fertilizer after June , you want your plant to stop growing late summer and go dormant by fall. Pruning unwanted growth will make wanted growth thrive.. pruning is another topic,, single or multiple trunks .nice rounded tree or upside down umbrella..private message me anytime. You should have many figs by fall. Send pictures then!! Any chance you're by Loganville?

Hi Mulox,

Welcome to the forum. Last frost date for us is April 15th. All of my trees except for a couple which leaf out a bit later than most got frosted too.  A cold snap after leaves have started to emerge is not a rare occurrence in our area but it is disheartening. Le_Blanc has given you good advice and wood chips are your best friend. Have tried a number of other mulches but none work as well as good old fashioned wood chips. Personal preference is chips from soft woods as they break down more quickly than hard wood chips which means mulching more frequently but it builds a nice layer of soil that retains moisture and allows air to penetrate. Proof is the number of earthworms you will begin to see.

Watch out for your 4 trees, they multiply faster than rabbits. You are likely to find yourself in double digits if not triple digits within a very short time.

Your neighbor (nextdoor to Toccoa, GA), Marianna

Hi Mulox,

I am new for fig trees, If you plant them in ground, you may not have fig this year, Fig trees love to develop its roots first, then leaves and branches, If there are lots of heat with sun and nutrition available, it bears sweet ripen figs.

I suggest that you fertilizer your in pot fig trees, your area have heat and lots of sun, and you will get some ripen figs this year, If you plant them down now, It will develop roots first, It is likely that they may not able to ripe fig for this year, of course, With bigger roots system, you may get a big crop next year.

Thank you all for the great advice.  I understand your point Ricky that if I plant now, all of the tree's focus will go to developing roots, and I may not get any fruit this year, and that's ok.
At some point I just need to get them out of the pot to allow them to really grow - they have been in the pot too long and are staying small.

The one thing I remembered though - I am going to be on vacation the entire month of June, and that is a hot month for us here in Georgia.  
Unless I can get a neighbor to water 2-3 times a week or set up an auto-water system, I think I may want to hold off on putting anything in the ground this year... 

Also if I do keep them in the pots, is it still ok to fertilize them? 
Last question - what type of fertilizer to buy?  I was told you need to measure the pH level of soil to match it up right?

Now is the time to put them in the ground if you want to maximize growth and maybe get a few figs in the fall.

well, you will have many suggestion for fertilizer.

>Fertilized: Not when first planted, but in year 3 when moving to larger pot I used 50% native 50% miracle gro potting for trees. Have not fertilized at all since
> Fruit:  Year 1-3 nothing, Year 4 - each produced about 5 figlets

it indicated that your tree love fertilizer, those potting soil contain fertilizer, In order to get figs, it needs rich soil and lots of SUN to ripen figs.
Since your fig tree is 4x3 , I don't think that you want them too big, in order to get lots of figs, you may go for lower

Hi,
Now is the best time to plant. I would just go ahead and plant. I should be planting 2 this weekend if time allows .
I use the same fertilizer as for tomatoes, you know the blue-bullets in 10/10/10 quality.
The only problem is if the trees are not adapted to your Zone7 and would never produce ripe fruit for you, but that is another topic.
Choosing a strain adapted to your zone is the hardest part of the game, but failing at this step, means failing to get fruits in the future ...
Good luck !

HELP!  All my other fig trees have produced many healthy leaves by now, as they all do every year. 
However my 2 Greek figs do not look good at all and have zero leaves and no buds anywhere
I was told to try snapping a branch from the top to see if it was dry, and it did snap right off (but not easily)
I was able to snap a few others off as well, but it seems the base branches are ok

What should I do now?  I have not fertilized at all and they are still in pots.
See attached pictures of the tips I broke off - the inner core is very white - is that good or bad?

Keep in mind these branches are 1/4 inch diameter near the tips and about 1 inch near the trunk.  The bark appears very dark, almost black near the tips, but normal closer to the trunk.  What can I do to save these now, if anything?  Both of these are 6 years old and have consistently grown and leafed out every year, however this is the first winter I did not bring them inside, and then we had that odd early warm weather in Feb which resulted in early leaf production, followed by some freakishly cold weather that killed everything.

Those tips are dead ...do you have a picture of the main trunk... I fertilize my trees as soon as they come out of my garage... All you can do now is take the wait and see approach, I'm willing to bet that the main trunk will be okay, but I would still give it a little fertilizer.

This is cold winter here too, my young in ground trees are top killed.
Just give your plant sometime, good luck.
 

Ok the trunks look ok on both of them, so I think they can be saved.
What kind of fertilizer to use?  I have heard 10/10/10 suggested a lot, but folks around here say that's no good... ?? Pics attached of the trunks.