How to Care for a Fig Tree in the Winter
- 1). Plant figs near a fence or wall that protects them from the prevailing direction of winter winds. A protected courtyard is preferable in areas that experience mild winter frosts.
- 2). Hammer in four stakes around the perimeter of the tree, placing them so they do not touch the foliage. Use stakes that are taller than the fig tree.
- 3). Wrap an insulated plant blanket around the stakes, enclosing the fig, once temperatures have dropped to freezing or below. Wrap only if the fig has lost its leaves and gone dormant, otherwise the warmer temperatures under the blanket may stimulate new growth that cannot tolerate winter cold.
- 4). Remove the blanket if temperatures rise above freezing, otherwise the warm temperatures under the blanket may cause the tree to break dormancy. Replace the blanket if cold weather returns.
- 5). Shovel soil to form a berm 3 to 4 feet out from the trunk if there is snow fall. The berm should slope away from the tree's trunk to prevent the snow melt from running toward the fig and overly wetting the soil. Figs cannot tolerate soggy roots.
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