Fig tree

Question

I bought a lovely fig tree this year and placed it in a pot following the instructions. It looks as though it is dying, if not already dead, and I am afraid that it is suffering from the cold winds and perhaps too little watering – I haven’t watered it for a while because it has rained so much and I thought that the rain would suffice. Please help, as I don’t want to lose it. Should I bring it into the house and water it like a houseplant now?

Answer 1

It is just going into dormancy, and this is normal. Most people store them in an attached garage, a basement or a closet for the winter after they go dormant. If you decide to do this, water them once a month. Then just put it back outside in the spring.

You can also bring it indoors for the winter too and treat it like a houseplant. It will likely never look great while indoors, but once spring comes and you place it back out, it will recover quickly.