INTERMENT, BUT NOT DEATH
(The following is from my book GROWING FIGS IN COLD CLIMATES)
The Warm Earth
I buried two fig plants a few days ago. No, not because they died. The reason was night temperatures occasionally dipping into the low ‘teens (13°F, to be exact, on December 4th), which is just about the limit for fig stem survival. If the stems die from cold, there’ll be no fig harvest from them them next summer.
Last summer’s figs
So what’s the connection with cold and burying the plants? The ground is a repository of heat; dig a few feet down and the temperature there holds steady at around a balmy 50°F. Laying fig stems down on the ground and then covering them with some sort of insulating material keeps them warmer than if they were upright, even upright and wrapped in insulation.
Even more cold protection can be had by digging a trench in which to lay down the stems and then covering the trench. Whether to just lay down or bury stems, how deeply to bury them, and how much to cover them depends on the degree of winter cold expected.
Laying down or burying fig for winter (from Growing Figs in Cold Climates)
When I lived in Wisconsin, a local Italian deli was home to two large fig trees, trees that survived outdoors with trunks a few inches in diameter despite winter temperatures that reliably dropped below minus 25°F! These trees were planted in the bottom of 4-foot-deep trenches into which the trunks were gradually lowered late each autumn. Once the trees were down, old doors were laid over the trenches topped by piles of autumn leaves. Through winter, temperatures in that trench remained cool, but not frigid.
Come spring, a system of pulleys gradually lifted the trunks to a vertical orientation. The plants bore heavily, with fresh, ripe figs that sold well.
Nuts and Bolts
If only moderate protection from cold is needed, prune a plant each fall to have 3 or 4 one-year-old stems. These stems could bear a “breba” crop, the summer crop on one-year-old stems. (Not all fig varieties bear breba crops.) Later on, the late summer into autumn “main crop” could be borne on new shoots growing off those stems.
Reducing the plant each year to just a few young stems makes it easier to bend the plant down each autumn.
Unpruned fig and waiting trench
I pruned each of my plants to 2 or 3 one-year-old stems that already seemed eager to recline into their trench. Older wood, or even a trunk, could be developed but would require a larger trench or more insulation for protection, as well as more effort to get it prone in autumn and vertical in spring.
Fig wood is flexible, but the plant is even easier to lay prone if a shovel can be driven into the ground to sever roots on the side opposite the direction it’s going to be pushed down. Next spring I’m going to plant another fig outdoors, this one in the bottom of a trench and with its stems already at a 45 degree angle, making it easier to both lay down in late autumn and resurrect in late winter.
Where winters are cold but not frigid, laying the stems atop the ground and holding them there with, say, a stone, then piling on leaves, wood shavings, wood chips, or other insulating material — with more depth the greater the degree of cold expected — would be sufficient to create a cozy, warm environment.
Historically, winter low temperatures here in this part of New York’s Hudson Valley regularly dip well below zero degrees F. so a trench is needed for of cold protection.
Rot and Rodents
Ground level or below, stems covered with insulating material could be subject to rot. Rot is best avoided by waiting to cover until cold — but not too much cold — has settled in in earnest. The threat of rot is also minimized with a final cover of plastic or tar paper.That could be topped with more insulating material, for greater cold protection and/or for decoration.
A fig bent down to or below ground level could provide both winter food (fig stems) and lodging for rodents. Waiting as long as possible to lay a plant down and covering it also gives rodents time to settle in with other foods and lodgings. Just before laying my plants’ stems down I sprayed them with Bobbex, which I have found to be extremely effective at keeping deer at bay and is supposed to work against small mammals as well. I also strewed mint leaves and stems in the bottoms of the two trenches.
Other repellents or sprays, homemade or commercial, might also be effective. They typically contain egg solids, hot pepper, castor oil, peppermint, and/or predatory animal urine.
Finally, I lay a piece of plywood over the trench, weighed it down with a stone to hold it in place, and piled on soil a few inches deep. Topped with a waterproof cover over the soil and then some hay, and the plants are all snuggled in for winter.
Disinterment
Timing is important for when to uncover the sleeping plants. Ideally, the plant is still dormant when finally exposed to the great outdoors in late winter or early spring. And ideally, late freezes won’t threaten the plant’s health. The fully dormant stems are good down into the ‘teens, but cold tolerance decreases as stems begin to wake up in spring.
I’ll report back in late winter or early spring when I remove the covers and learn whether I covered them soon enough this autumn, uncovered them in a timely manner at the end of winter, and whether the mice kept their distance.
Do you do that with Chicago Hardy Figs as well?
Yes. I’m not so sure Chicago Hardy is actually that much more cold tolerant, if at all, than most other figs.
Following the great advice in your book, “Growing Figs in Cold Climates”, I am on year four with four fig trees. I got a small harvest in year two, and a much better harvest this past year! I Bring mine inside an unheated garage for the winter in late November. This year, I noticed that field mice did quite a bit of munching on the stems and trunks. I pruned them back substantially, but I hope all is not lost.
Depending on the length of your growing season, you may or may not get a ripe crop next year. Do think about mouse control for future winters. Traps, poison bait, mint.
I have a Violette de Bordeaux, that I have in my garage for the winter. I’m not certain I let it lignify fully before bringing it in, however the soil in the pot was freezing (temps in the mid to high 20’s) and I was concerned about killing the roots!
As it is in my garage, it does get normal garage artificial light, is that a problem? Should I cover it from light?
Light should not be a problem. More important is to keep the plant in a cold, but not frigid, environment. Also keep the soil on the dry side.
You might ask Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh – they have a Chicago Hardy planted outdoors (in the childrens’ garden) for several years now and originally did not prune the stems or shield the bush/tree in any way. Last winter in Dec. I noticed they had pruned to the ground but couldn’t find an explanation.
Could have been because the plants were getting too big for the space. Or to rejuvenate the plant. Or maybe they just removed the plant.
Are the branches cut off from the main plant in order to trench them?
Not necessarily, if I can bind them together with rope into a tight bunch.
Very thorough and interesting! Thanks for sharing! Hopefully you considered the mint monster that very likely might erupt at the base of your fig tree!?
Yes, in one of my early gardens I created a mint monster. I had read that mint would keep cabbage moths away, so stuck some sprigs into the soil around the plants. By season’s end the was a latticework of mint roots beneath the ground. I was able, with diligence, to remove all of them.
Not worried for the fig trees. Figs can tolerate the competition and then the mint will be in place when the figs are buried.