Protecting fig trees in Winter

Question

We live south of Atlanta, GA. We planted two Fig trees in the summer of 2014. We had covered most of the trees with wheat straw, but some cold snaps got the best of them. They died back to the ground. We thought they were totally dead, but in late spring we started seeing some new growth from the ground up. One has grown to about 7 feet, other more modest 3-4 feet.

What do we need to do to protect them from cold weather? Do we run them back and cover? Thanks.

Answer 1

Since your figs would seem to be too large to move to a warmer spot, the best would be to protect them from frost with fleece on the tender growing tips. Do not cut them back, you will never get fruit that way.