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Old 29-08-2004, 05:37 PM
Boron Elgar
 
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Default How to Overwinter a Potted Brown Turkey fiG?

I have a lovely Brown Turkey fig that is on my deck in a huge patio
pot. The pot is 20" high and 20" across. This is not something I want
to bring indoors during the winter. It would be the size of a small
fridge.

How do I best protect it? I have had several options recommended to
me, such as wrapping the entire pot and tree in burlap and filling the
loosely wrapped tree part with leaves. I know that the wonderful
Italian gardeners in this area sometimes take a yard-rooted fig and
bend it over into a shallow dug trench & bury it for the winter.
Obviously, that isn't an option with a tub plant, and so I turn to the
wisdom on this group.

I am in northern NJ in zone 7.

Boron
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Old 30-08-2004, 02:07 AM
Beecrofter
 
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Boron Elgar wrote in message . ..
I have a lovely Brown Turkey fig that is on my deck in a huge patio
pot. The pot is 20" high and 20" across. This is not something I want
to bring indoors during the winter. It would be the size of a small
fridge.

How do I best protect it? I have had several options recommended to
me, such as wrapping the entire pot and tree in burlap and filling the
loosely wrapped tree part with leaves. I know that the wonderful
Italian gardeners in this area sometimes take a yard-rooted fig and
bend it over into a shallow dug trench & bury it for the winter.
Obviously, that isn't an option with a tub plant, and so I turn to the
wisdom on this group.

I am in northern NJ in zone 7.

Boron


Everything involves manhandling the plant with no guarantees in a
severe winter. You could take a few cuttings and winter them as
houseplants.
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Old 30-08-2004, 02:07 AM
Beecrofter
 
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Boron Elgar wrote in message . ..
I have a lovely Brown Turkey fig that is on my deck in a huge patio
pot. The pot is 20" high and 20" across. This is not something I want
to bring indoors during the winter. It would be the size of a small
fridge.

How do I best protect it? I have had several options recommended to
me, such as wrapping the entire pot and tree in burlap and filling the
loosely wrapped tree part with leaves. I know that the wonderful
Italian gardeners in this area sometimes take a yard-rooted fig and
bend it over into a shallow dug trench & bury it for the winter.
Obviously, that isn't an option with a tub plant, and so I turn to the
wisdom on this group.

I am in northern NJ in zone 7.

Boron


Everything involves manhandling the plant with no guarantees in a
severe winter. You could take a few cuttings and winter them as
houseplants.
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Old 30-08-2004, 07:00 PM
 
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you live in zone 7 and you're afraid your NORTHERN brown turkey will not
overwinter??????? excuse me...am i missing something here????
i live in nhz4a and "I" am the one who needs worry about overwintering this
tree, although i realise no matter what i do for it, it'll die down to
ground level and put out new shoots come the spring.

tell you what...you contact me come spring and if i am not right...i'll buy
you a brand new fig tree.

imho, if you still are having worries, take the little tree and situate it
as close to your house as possible, in the south west corner. you may tie
it to the railing or whatever you have in that corner to prevent it from
getting knocked over by the wind...but anything else???? no way!!!

if you had posted your real email address without the b.s., i would have
contacted you privately as to spare you any embarrassment...but, hey!! i do
my best.

From: Boron Elgar
Newsgroups: rec.gardens.edible
Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2004 11:37:24 -0400
Subject: How to Overwinter a Potted Brown Turkey fiG?

I have a lovely Brown Turkey fig that is on my deck in a huge patio
pot. The pot is 20" high and 20" across. This is not something I want
to bring indoors during the winter. It would be the size of a small
fridge.

How do I best protect it? I have had several options recommended to
me, such as wrapping the entire pot and tree in burlap and filling the
loosely wrapped tree part with leaves. I know that the wonderful
Italian gardeners in this area sometimes take a yard-rooted fig and
bend it over into a shallow dug trench & bury it for the winter.
Obviously, that isn't an option with a tub plant, and so I turn to the
wisdom on this group.

I am in northern NJ in zone 7.

Boron



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Old 30-08-2004, 08:44 PM
Boron Elgar
 
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From: Boron Elgar

I have a lovely Brown Turkey fig that is on my deck in a huge patio
pot. The pot is 20" high and 20" across. This is not something I want
to bring indoors during the winter. It would be the size of a small
fridge.

How do I best protect it? I

snip

I am in northern NJ in zone 7.

Boron


On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 17:00:27 GMT, wrote:

you live in zone 7 and you're afraid your NORTHERN brown turkey will not
overwinter??????? excuse me...am i missing something here????
i live in nhz4a and "I" am the one who needs worry about overwintering this
tree, although i realise no matter what i do for it, it'll die down to
ground level and put out new shoots come the spring.

tell you what...you contact me come spring and if i am not right...i'll buy
you a brand new fig tree.


You own me a Mission and a Brown Turkey already. Both were nursery
graded and specifically grown for this climate. Both were protected
over winters milder than the zone rating. Both failed to emerge in
spring. Both were tub grown. We have a specialized situation her that
you seem unable to grasp.

By all means, if you wish to try a bit of googling for overwintering
the BTs with no damage, be my guest. You will see the difficulties
that can ensue.

As I mentioned, local gardeners often bury their trees but this is not
possible with mine. I realize that you probably think you know more
than the locals here, and you may amuse yourself and continue to do
so.

imho, if you still are having worries, take the little tree and situate it
as close to your house as possible, in the south west corner. you may tie
it to the railing or whatever you have in that corner to prevent it from
getting knocked over by the wind...but anything else???? no way!!!

I have no worries. The tree is not that little and has been a heavy
fruiter this year. The wind is not a problem, either, but the freeze
and thaw cycles are.

if you had posted your real email address without the b.s., i would have
contacted you privately as to spare you any embarrassment...but, hey!! i do
my best.


I do not post on usenet to make you happy, nor am I particularly
tolerant of top-posting fools who make sweeping, generalized claims
that cannot be backed up. I am an experienced gardner and your
insulting post is worthless.

Go play in the granite.

Boron




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Old 31-08-2004, 07:06 PM
simy1
 
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Boron Elgar wrote in message . ..

You own me a Mission and a Brown Turkey already. Both were nursery
graded and specifically grown for this climate. Both were protected
over winters milder than the zone rating. Both failed to emerge in
spring. Both were tub grown. We have a specialized situation her that
you seem unable to grasp.


This is entirely correct. Potted and in the ground are totally
different beasts. Even a very large pot will freeze solid given enough
hours below. I have, for example, lost all lemon balm plants planted
in an old capped well. The walls of the well are 1ft thick, the "pot"
is 2.5 ft wide and 3 ft deep, so it was much better protected than a
regular pot. Lemon balm, of course, is hardy to Zone 4 (Zone 5.5
here). The difference is in the thermal flow from below. So Boron has
two choices (three, assuming he wants to risk losing the fig): bring
the fig in, or bury the fig pot. Even burying it will not eliminate
the risk of a truly severe winter, unless good part of the fig is
buried also.

More desperate measures include placing the pot near the dryer vent,
wrapping the fig in insulation (including underneath the pot), and
placing a deicing cable inside the insulation. The insulation alone
will not prevent a kill if the freeze lasts more than a day. Also,
venting the dryer directly onto a cold fig willl probably cause the
fig's bark to split severely. All are somewhat labor intensive. In my
tunnels hardy greens overwinter easily, the tunnel alone (a thin poly
film) giving them about 1.5 zones, with the ground acting as thermal
ballast. You could also consider buying a 55 gallon drum, to be placed
full of water inside the same insulation jacket as the fig, and
somehow heating the drum for more even heating of the fig. The drum
will take a few days to freeze in severe weather, and until then the
temp will stay at 32 inside the jacket, giving you a bit more leeway
on how to manage your fig's survival.
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Old 31-08-2004, 08:53 PM
Ross Reid
 
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Boron Elgar wrote:

I have a lovely Brown Turkey fig that is on my deck in a huge patio
pot. The pot is 20" high and 20" across. This is not something I want
to bring indoors during the winter. It would be the size of a small
fridge.

How do I best protect it? I have had several options recommended to
me, such as wrapping the entire pot and tree in burlap and filling the
loosely wrapped tree part with leaves. I know that the wonderful
Italian gardeners in this area sometimes take a yard-rooted fig and
bend it over into a shallow dug trench & bury it for the winter.
Obviously, that isn't an option with a tub plant, and so I turn to the
wisdom on this group.

I am in northern NJ in zone 7.

Boron


My BIL built an enclosure 4' square and 8' high out of 2"x2" strapping
and rigid foam insulation to fit around his fig tree. He placed a 100
watt bulb inside the enclosure for warmth.
It worked for several years. Unfortunately, two years ago the bulb
burned out sometime during the winter and the fig was toast in the
spring.
We are in Canadian Zone 5b which I think translates to USDA Zone 5.
Ross,
Ontario, Canada.
New AgCanada Zone 5b
43º19' North
80º16' West
To email, remove the obvious from my address.
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Old 31-08-2004, 08:53 PM
Ross Reid
 
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Default

Boron Elgar wrote:

I have a lovely Brown Turkey fig that is on my deck in a huge patio
pot. The pot is 20" high and 20" across. This is not something I want
to bring indoors during the winter. It would be the size of a small
fridge.

How do I best protect it? I have had several options recommended to
me, such as wrapping the entire pot and tree in burlap and filling the
loosely wrapped tree part with leaves. I know that the wonderful
Italian gardeners in this area sometimes take a yard-rooted fig and
bend it over into a shallow dug trench & bury it for the winter.
Obviously, that isn't an option with a tub plant, and so I turn to the
wisdom on this group.

I am in northern NJ in zone 7.

Boron


My BIL built an enclosure 4' square and 8' high out of 2"x2" strapping
and rigid foam insulation to fit around his fig tree. He placed a 100
watt bulb inside the enclosure for warmth.
It worked for several years. Unfortunately, two years ago the bulb
burned out sometime during the winter and the fig was toast in the
spring.
We are in Canadian Zone 5b which I think translates to USDA Zone 5.
Ross,
Ontario, Canada.
New AgCanada Zone 5b
43º19' North
80º16' West
To email, remove the obvious from my address.
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Old 01-09-2004, 02:50 AM
Boron Elgar
 
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Default

On 31 Aug 2004 10:06:26 -0700, (simy1) wrote:

Boron Elgar wrote in message . ..

You own me a Mission and a Brown Turkey already. Both were nursery
graded and specifically grown for this climate. Both were protected
over winters milder than the zone rating. Both failed to emerge in
spring. Both were tub grown. We have a specialized situation her that
you seem unable to grasp.


This is entirely correct. Potted and in the ground are totally
different beasts. Even a very large pot will freeze solid given enough
hours below. I have, for example, lost all lemon balm plants planted
in an old capped well. The walls of the well are 1ft thick, the "pot"
is 2.5 ft wide and 3 ft deep, so it was much better protected than a
regular pot. Lemon balm, of course, is hardy to Zone 4 (Zone 5.5
here). The difference is in the thermal flow from below. So Boron has
two choices (three, assuming he wants to risk losing the fig): bring
the fig in, or bury the fig pot. Even burying it will not eliminate
the risk of a truly severe winter, unless good part of the fig is
buried also.

More desperate measures include placing the pot near the dryer vent,
wrapping the fig in insulation (including underneath the pot), and
placing a deicing cable inside the insulation. The insulation alone
will not prevent a kill if the freeze lasts more than a day. Also,
venting the dryer directly onto a cold fig willl probably cause the
fig's bark to split severely. All are somewhat labor intensive. In my
tunnels hardy greens overwinter easily, the tunnel alone (a thin poly
film) giving them about 1.5 zones, with the ground acting as thermal
ballast. You could also consider buying a 55 gallon drum, to be placed
full of water inside the same insulation jacket as the fig, and
somehow heating the drum for more even heating of the fig. The drum
will take a few days to freeze in severe weather, and until then the
temp will stay at 32 inside the jacket, giving you a bit more leeway
on how to manage your fig's survival.



I want to thank all of you who have made these wonderful suggestions.
I am beginning to think that these lovelies are just too tender to
make it, regardless of what the Monrovia Nursery tags say.

I will give it a try this year & wrap the tree & use foam peanuts &
leaves to insulate, and perhaps bury it part way with a tarp around it
and leaves/peanuts under & around, but I am beginning to think that I
will wind up with my figs as an annual....I have gotten wonderful
prices on them by hitting the local garden center at just the right
time, and as much as I love the Mediterranean look they give to my
patio, I may just use tough love instead..

Boron
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Old 03-09-2004, 06:43 AM
Denise Bachman
 
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In the ground is always the safest place -- any reason not to plant it? How
about digging a hole and putting the whole pot in, then. And the very best
insulation is bubble wrap, which you can buy in huge rolls, wrap snugly
around the trunk and pray it doesn't get REALLY cold. But the roots are what
must really be kept from freezing - the top will come back if the roots
don't freeze.

Denise

"Boron Elgar" wrote in message
...
I have a lovely Brown Turkey fig that is on my deck in a huge patio
pot. The pot is 20" high and 20" across. This is not something I want
to bring indoors during the winter. It would be the size of a small
fridge.

How do I best protect it? I have had several options recommended to
me, such as wrapping the entire pot and tree in burlap and filling the
loosely wrapped tree part with leaves. I know that the wonderful
Italian gardeners in this area sometimes take a yard-rooted fig and
bend it over into a shallow dug trench & bury it for the winter.
Obviously, that isn't an option with a tub plant, and so I turn to the
wisdom on this group.

I am in northern NJ in zone 7.

Boron





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Old 04-09-2004, 01:11 PM
Boron Elgar
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Thu, 2 Sep 2004 21:43:05 -0700, "Denise Bachman"
wrote:



"Boron Elgar" wrote in message
.. .
I have a lovely Brown Turkey fig that is on my deck in a huge patio
pot. The pot is 20" high and 20" across. This is not something I want
to bring indoors during the winter. It would be the size of a small
fridge.

How do I best protect it? I have had several options recommended to
me, such as wrapping the entire pot and tree in burlap and filling the
loosely wrapped tree part with leaves. I know that the wonderful
Italian gardeners in this area sometimes take a yard-rooted fig and
bend it over into a shallow dug trench & bury it for the winter.
Obviously, that isn't an option with a tub plant, and so I turn to the
wisdom on this group.

I am in northern NJ in zone 7.

Boron


In the ground is always the safest place -- any reason not to plant it? How
about digging a hole and putting the whole pot in, then. And the very best
insulation is bubble wrap, which you can buy in huge rolls, wrap snugly
around the trunk and pray it doesn't get REALLY cold. But the roots are what
must really be kept from freezing - the top will come back if the roots
don't freeze.

Denise


There is not enough light in the yard for it. Most of the yard is
shaded. I grow cukes, beans, tomatoes, roses, peppers, herbs - all
sorts of things - in pots on the deck because of the shade. The lemon
& lime come indoor in the winter, but I am afriad the fig is just too
big.

I am not sure digging a 3' x 3' hole is going got be much fun, nor is
buying bubble wrap. The tree was under $40. Lovely as it is, I just
may give it up to the gods or just do burlap & leaves.

Boron
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