Is it safe to put pine straw around the base of a fig tree? What do you recommend?
It is ok to use, but just keep an eye on the acidity levels of the soil. Long-term use of pine mulch can raise acidity levels, which can harm plants.
Bought a fig tree sapling last year. It survived and when I took the burlap off this year, there appears to be a hollow depression in the top middle stem/trunk. What should I do about this?
As long as there are no pests in the depression and it is not rotting, and the bark around it is healthy, you don't need to do anything. It should be fine.
I have a 2-year-old fig tree that only had fruit on it when I bought it. How do I get figs to grow on my tree?
Fig trees normally need 2-6 years to bear fruit. If it had figs on it when you bought it, I suspect the nursery rooted a fruited cutting to increase the sales or maybe they had a fluke cutting that was able to bear the first year but still needs to mature before it could fruit more.
You may also have bought a truly mature fig, and if you feel this is the case, this article will help you to get it to fruit:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/figs/fig-tree-is-producing-fruit.htm
My fig still has unripened fruit left from last year. Should I remove these? I notice there are leaves sprouting from the same branches and I would not remove these.
If they have dried out or are mushy, go ahead and remove them. If they are still green and firm, you can leave them on to ripen.
I'd like to know when to uncover a fig tree in spring in central New Jersey. I've also heard it may not be necessary to wrap and cover my fig tree here in winter. Is this true?
You can unwrap it once temps generally are above 40 degrees F. If you get a few frosts after that, it will not harm the plant.
Some figs can survive in your zone. It depends on the variety. I would still wrap it if I were you, as a precaution. The figs that can survive in your area will survive a normal winter, but cannot survive a severe winter without help. Since you cannot know ahead of time which winters will be severe, it is better to be safe rather than sorry.
My 5 year old container grown fig tree wilted, turned dark brown, lost all its leaves and 'died' early last summer. This spring in early March, I applied "Super Thrive" hormone and it came back to life with lovely green leaves. Now they are all curling up. I love my fig tree and don't want to lose it. What can be wrong?
It sounds like you have a fungus, but it could be one of several. Treating the plant with a fungicide should take care of any fungus that are attacking the plant.
My fig tree is young (2nd growing season) and potted. I move the tree into my garage in the winter and cover it with burlap. I just uncovered it and saw that it has started to sprout leaves. Can I still prune it now?
I would not prune it after leaves have appeared. It makes it more susceptible to disease if it is pruned after it comes out of dormancy.