A good friend gave me a branch of his fig tree and I took cuttings. Now we have three 2'to 4' fig trees in 5 gal. pots. My dilemma is when to plant them. Do I plant them now in full leaf, wait until they go dormant, or try to overwinter them in the pots and plant in the spring? We are in central Texas, zone 8-b with winter lows about 15F. and summer highs at 100F. We have very good soil, and the option of full sun or part shade for the fig trees. I'd certainly appreciate any suggestions. These trees are dear to me because of the source.
I beleive the recommended time is in dormancy, with enough time to settle in before the start of the spring growing season. I don't think it would be any great shock though to plant them, make sure they've had a good drink and a feed of seaweed fertiliser to boost their immune system or another liquid fertiliser. don't know what is like in texas, but if very dry perhaps try and up the humidity for a few days around them, watering ground etc. If leaves start to severely wilt just cut about 1/3 to half off each leaf. I think figs are notoriously quite resilient, even rapacious growers so don't imagine they'll suffer too much. You don't really want fruit off them first year any way, so if they sacrifiice a season getting into their growth and patterns it will be no huge loss in fruit.Good luck, will be interested to see how you go
I planted mine several years ago in early August. Being a very novice gardener at the time I just bought it and stuck it in the ground. But after overwatering it and almost killing it, the sweetie came back with a full head of steam the next spring and grew quickly, putting out a few Figs that next summer. I did use the common Fruit and Nut Tree fertilizer stakes every spring for a few years, so that helped too. I think now would be fine, they will have plenty of time to establish roots before whatever winter you have hits you then be prepared to take off next spring.
As long as they have a good root system, I would plant them now. There will be enough mild weather for them to get established in the soil before the cold gets here. And they will get the fall rains.
Cheryl, Figs root pretty easily. In late fall take semi-soft cuttings (the twigs bend, but don't snap, and aren't a bright green). Immediately plunge them into a bucket of water, have containers with a 50/50 mixture of vermiculite and perlite ready and damp, take the cuttings and put the bottom 1" into rooting hormone and tap off the excess, make a hole in the potting mixture, insert the cutting and water. This is the last time you overhead water, and it serves to settle the cutting into the mixture. Cover the container with a plastic bag or clear plastic soda bottle with the bottom cut off. Keep them in light, but not direct sunlight, and water from the bottom only. Be patient. Depending on the temperatures, the fig cuttings may not root for a couple of months. When you see a bright green tip at the top of the cutting, you are getting roots. Thank you all--I'll be putting them in the ground next week. I have to wait for things to dry out--YES, we have rain! Hallelujah!
Merlin... thanks for the propagation tips. My aunt has a fig tree that I would love to get some starters from. I'm going to print out your instructions and wait for spring.
Cheryl, Since you are in Houston, I don't think you need to wait for spring. Take some cuttings now, and then take some more in spring. You will likely have more fig trees than you know what to do with!
