Winter care for a potted fig
Ficus Mannaro
DEAR JESSICA: I recently purchased a Chicago fig. It's in a pot and only 18 inches tall. What do I do? Plant it or keep it inside this winter? -- Donna Smith, Selden
DEAR DONNA: 'Chicago hardy,' aka 'Bensonhurst purple,' is the most cold-tolerant of all fig cultivars, hardy all the way down to zone 5 (most of Long Island is considered part of zone 7). The Sicilian native is drought-tolerant once established, self-pollinating and well-suited for containers. It can also tolerate a bit of shade, but prefers a minimum of six hours of sun daily.
Although top growth could die back all the way to the ground during winter, the plant reliably resumes growth when spring arrives. What's more, this tree produces fruit on new growth, whereas other figs do not. The rich, dark mahogany, sweet figs that grow on old growth can be expected to ripen in summer, and those produced on new growth will be ready in autumn.
Since you haven't planted it yet, keep your tree indoors this winter. Place it by your sunniest window to ensure it receives a moderate to bright light exposure. Set the container on a tray and water the soil until water runs out through the drainage holes. Allow the pot to remain on the tray for 10 minutes, and then discard the water that drained out. Let the soil dry out for a day or two between waterings. Depending on the humidity in the house, this will probably mean you'll be watering about once a week.
In spring, set the pot outdoors in a shady spot for a few hours each day for a week to allow it to adjust to the garden and prevent shock. Then, remove the plant from its pot, gently tease the roots apart with a kitchen fork and plant the tree about 2 inches deeper than it was growing in the pot. Water every week or so (accounting for rainfall) until established.
DEAR JESSICA: I read your recent column about filling in a swimming pool and would like to add to it. Speaking as an architect, I recently had a commercial client remove a pool that was buried by a previous property owner. After a good rain, the ground became like quicksand from liquefaction. The rain collecting in the pool had nowhere to go because the bottom of the pool wasn't thoroughly broken up before it was filled in. The rain mixed with the backfilled sand and soil, creating the unsafe condition. This property was the site of a hotel, and children used the new courtyard as a playground. It was important to remove the backfill and use demolition equipment to break up the bottom surface of the pool. -- Edward Koenig, Nesconset
DEAR EDWARD: You are correct about the need to break up and remove in-ground pools completely before filling in any holes, for safety's sake and also to conform to code in many municipalities.
The reader who asked how best to fill a pool hole, however, was dealing with a 2-foot-deep area where an in-ground or semi-in-ground pool had been. These types of pools don't have rigid floors that would need to be broken up and removed, so he could simply fill the area as I recommended.
DEAR JESSICA: I planted garlic the end of September, and it's growing already. Should it be growing now? What should I do? -- Pete McCabe, East Northport
DEAR PETE: That's normal. Just mulch around the sprouts (preferably with straw) and leave them be. They'll die down with the first hard frost. Push back the mulch in spring, and you'll see, they'll start up again.
