So should I be worried about how wet my potted figs are right now?

S

snarfing

Well-known member
I havent watered them in about oh. 2 months? I assume theyre slowing down, but when i put the moisture meter in today they all measured max wetness. I dont want them to rot over the winter.
 
Jigfig said:
You must get a lot of rain. Personally I would get them out of the rain and let the pot dry out some.
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not really to be honest. my other plants in ground have needed watering even. we had one rain storm a week ago where we got 4 inches, however, but before that it had been a month or so.
 
Does the soil feel that wet doing the finger test? Have you tried it in other soil? Just wondering. Those things can lose calibration.
 
Wow, where are you located? No watering for 2 months? Florida?

I still water twice daily with the day's high to be around 84F and low 62F.

In winter, when the plants are fully dormant inside the garage, I check weekly depending on the temperature because the south facing garage can get very warm even in winter.
 
Yea that’s crazy. Either the meter is messed up or that must be some dense medium in the pot.
 
grasshopper said:
Wow, where are you located? No watering for 2 months? Florida?

I still water twice daily with the day's high to be around 84F and low 62F.

In winter, when the plants are fully dormant inside the garage, I check weekly depending on the temperature because the south facing garage can get very warm even in winter.
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Long island ny.


Its been low 50s for awhile now.

Jigfig said:
Yea that’s crazy. Either the meter is messed up or that must be some dense medium in the pot.
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It seems accurate for other plants.

Mix is 2 parts peat moss 1 part perlite 1 part top soil. .5 parts wood chips

also i did just touch them and they feel damp. theyre sitting on concrete not sure if that matters, i figured theyd drain find on that since its porous
 
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GoodFriendMike said:
Does the soil feel that wet doing the finger test? Have you tried it in other soil? Just wondering. Those things can lose calibration.
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yes it does feel damp. I have tried it in other soil, for instance it read my potted honeysuckle as dry today. It reads my baby pawpaws as dead even moist (in ground)
 
Hmm idk. If it is so wet you are worried I would move it someplace warmer and let it dry some before the tree goes completely dormant. That is just me personally though. Others may have a better idea.
 
Do your trees still have leaves? My last watering was over the weekend and I watered until runoff. They should be good to go until Spring.
 
bushdoctor82 said:
Do your trees still have leaves? My last watering was over the weekend and I watered until runoff. They should be good to go until Spring.
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one has lost its leaves but the rest are hanging on still. first frost is looking like it will be end of november
 
Would you be willing to wick them drier on some old newspapers? Just a suggestion. It's what I do when my pots are too wet. Never did it on a fig.
 
A lot of times I wish we got more rain. I just have to remember there is a benefit to it being dry. It is almost impossible for me to drown a tree once it is past the rooted cutting phase.
 
If you’re still worried, just pull it from the pot and check the soil.

I pulled one of my trees from its 20-gallon pot earlier today to check roots to see if root pruning is necessary this Winter - the potting mix was moist, not wet, after watering till runoff and getting rained on last night.
 
Hmm, how big are your pots? I agree it is easier to check the rootball to confirm.

The bigger the root mass(without root bound) and soil mass, the better it can hang on without watering especially after the leaves are gone.

I usually tell by weight because I often get runoff when the soil is hydrophobic. All it takes is underwatering by one day in some mix in summer. It is quite the opposite in winter. Since I use lots of SIPS, I have to drain the excess water before storage and watch out for overwatering.
 
grasshopper said:
Hmm, how big are your pots? I agree it is easier to check the rootball to confirm.

The bigger the root mass(without root bound) and soil mass, the better it can hang on without watering especially after the leaves are gone.

I usually tell by weight because I often get runoff when the soil is hydrophobic. All it takes is underwatering by one day in some mix in summer. It is quite the opposite in winter. Since I use lots of SIPS, I have to drain the excess water before storage and watch out for overwatering.
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3 gallon but they were uppotted about a month and a half ago
 
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