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jonr

By Jonr

United Kingdom Gb

Hi I bought a fig (ficus carica) some 18 months ago. It was doing well (or so I thought) but the very cold winter appeared to kill it off.
I left it in my greenhouse and forgot about it but early June i noticed it was shooting from soil level. I have given it a bit of T.L.C. It now has 8 figs growing. What do I do about the winter. It is in a pot 10 inches deep and 6 inches accross the top, too small ?
So in a word "Help
Jon R.




Answers

 

I would guess that this is MUCH too small - the roots are what need protecting from the cold. How big a pot can you give it? We have about 5 big fig trees and a lot of self-seeded plantlets that survive our fearsomely cold winters, but they do have their roots below the surface of the earth. I suggest you give it a nice big pot for now, wrap that in some sacking and keep it in the greenhouse until springtime. Then you can decide if you have space to plant it in the garden.

6 Nov, 2011

 

It's probably carica 'Brown Turkey' it's hardy in this country but a hard frosts may cut it back to the ground, but don't worry it will re-grow from root level in the spring as yours did.

As Gattina suggested, I'de re-pot it into a large pot or plant it into the ground. If you plant it in the ground, you can use a barrier of flag stones to restrict the roots.

Prune it to a height that you want it and it should do well.

I have a fig tree that I grew from a seed taken from a Brown Turkey fruit some years back. It has never died back to ground level and I prune it vigorously each year to a height of about 5 foot.

6 Nov, 2011

 

Yes, Myron, one of our is a Brown Turkey - the flavour is wonderful. It is a very strong grower, too.

6 Nov, 2011

 

Thanks guys I will give it a bigger pot and hope for the best
jonr

7 Nov, 2011

How do I say thanks?

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