Fruits and Nuts: Finally...Figs!, 1 by ritchh

ritchh wrote:
Hi flyboyFL & philomel. I would think that as already stated the trees were probably shocked moving from FL to NJ. I don't know when in May you planted them but this Spring was the coolest dampest one I can remember for at least 20 years. My entire garden was 2 weeks late because of the slow start. My tree normally starts to leaf out in very late April or early May but doesn't grow very quickly until the weather really warms in June. I normally unwrap it in in mid April but on more than one occasion for various reasons didn't get to it till mid May and although it was already budding when unwrapped there seemed to be no ill effects. Keep in mind that my tree is 50+ years old and probably has roots through half my back yard and may not act the same way as a new tree. I didn't wrap the tree for 20 years up until last winter and it survived & even thrived. Most if not all of those winters were average to warmer than average. In the severe winter 2 years ago it died back to the ground. I would definitely recommend that you wrap them as I did mine last year. I use old quilts and the like followed with reinforced plastic tarps that are very inexpensive at the local hardware store. Make sure that the top is covered thoroughly so that water cannot get inside and freeze. As far as care I trim the tops each fall before wrapping and during the growing season I do absolutely nothing in the way of feeding or watering. In the 35+ years I have lived with this tree I can recall no summer where the tree failed to produce even in very dry conditions. Again this is a 50+ year old tree and younger trees probably would appreciate some water in dry summers. Good luck and I hope the trees suprise you next year. The attached pic was taken this afternoon showing what the tree now looks like. I will attached another picture in my next message taken in early May so you can see just how much it grew this year.

Rich