Richard’s fig tree tucked in for winter.

By Steven Biggs

Find a Method That Suits You and Your Garden.

When teaching new gardeners, I often turn to the analogy of making tomato sauce: I know five neighbours with five different recipes. They are all good.

Overwintering fig trees in cold climates is like making tomato sauce: if you talk to five different growers, you will probably get five different fig-overwintering recipes.

After my latest newsletter, Richard, who gardens in Niagara, sent me the note below explaining his recipe for overwintering his fig tree. With his permission, I’m sharing it with you.

When it comes to overwintering your fig trees, be creative and find a system that works for you and your situation.

NOTE: I really like the way Richard uses ratchet straps to reduce the amount of work that he has to do. Mental note to self to do this next year. Thanks Richard!

Richard’s Overwintering Technique

This is my fourth year overwintering a fig tree in Niagara. This is a method I learned myself, when, after the first year, my tree "died".
Then in late spring, shoots sprung up from the root ball - and my fig tree was given a second chance in at life.
My fig tree is now three-and-half years old and twelve feet high! We usually get two to three dozen figs a year.
I overwinter my fig tree in the following manner:

Start of second week in November

Wrap a ratchet strap around the girth of the tree and tighten the branches together
Wrap the tightened tree configuration with burlap
Tie the burlap with twine
Secure another ratchet strap about two thirds up the tree
Pound a stake in the ground in front of the tree about 7/8 the height of the tree away
Lay a tarp on the ground in front of the fig tree. Tarp should be at least two feet longer than the height of the tree. (The tarp will cover the stake)
Cut a small slit in the tarp to expose the stake underneath the tarp
Take some twine and tie it off to the ratchet end of the strap, and the other end to the stake
Slowly ratchet the entire tree toward the tarp so that it is about eighteen - twenty four inches from the tarp
Cover the burlap-wrapped tree with a bale of straw
Wrap the sides of the tarp up around the straw and tree and secure with ratchet straps at third points along the tarp
Cover the wrapped tree with another tarp and stake the perimeter to the ground (but not forcing the tree any tighter to the ground than what it is already).
Heap the base of the tree with black bark mulch

End of first week in April

Remove the tarps and the straw. Leave the burlap wrapped around the fig tree
The tree will spring up but will still have a lean to it. Leave it covered with burlap for another week
After a week, remove the burlap and mulch from the base of the tree (end of second week in April)
The lean in the tree will not affect leaf or fig development - and after a month, the tree will straighten with warm sun

One Additional Thought…

Very high humidity and condensation can cause dormant fig plants to rot. For that reason, I usually advise people to use an insulating material that breathes — something like leaves or straw or soil.

In the method above, Richard uses tarps — which don’t breathe. But he also removes them early in spring to check on and air out the plants.