Advice for moving fig trees long distance wanted

[drphil69 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close drphil69]

Hello,

I am moving from Delaware to Texas and have 20 potted fig trees I need to move. The move will occur mid October. I have a trailer that I am going to build a plywood enclosure to protect the trees from the wind. I will need to heavily trim the trees to fit them all. I want some advice on how best to ensure survival. The drive time is 22 hours, I will either drive straight through or stop to sleep for a few hours. Some of the trees have their leaves turning and falling off already.

Should I trim them now so they have time to heal or wait? I'm concerned that if I trim now they will put out new growth before the move, and I would be removing figs that should ripen before then. If I wait some of them may actually be dormant before the move.
Should the enclosure have air holes?
Anything else I should consider?

Thanks,
Phil

[Bijan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bijan]

If it were me:

• Water 1-2 days in advance to reduce the weight
• Close up the trailer. I don't think you will need air holes if just for a couple of days
• Trim as late as possible before the move. If they go dormant, even better
• If they are in standard nursery containers, consider getting duplicate containers. You can pass rebar through the drain holes to connect the duplicates together. Slip your trees into the containers so they ride as a whole as much as possible. Otherwise find a way to tie down the trees so they don't move/bounce so much.
• Map your route so you do not pass by any figaholics / buy a super strong lock.

What part of Texas are you moving to?

[drphil69]

Thanks for the advice... I really like your last point. ;-) They will be very tight in the trailer, though bouncing could be an issue.

I'm moving to a suburb north of Houston.

[dkirtexas Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dkirtexas]

Uhaul wardrobe boxes are great, somewhat expensive but they are tall enough foe small to medium trees, comes in 3 sizes. Jame's advice is good. Where in Texas?

Danny K

[drphil69]

Hi Danny, yes I considered boxes, the problem is I have too many trees! If I put them in boxes I probably wouldn't be able to fit them all on the trailer.

Moving to a suburb north of Houston. Where in Texas are you?

[dkirtexas Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dkirtexas]

I am in Waskom Tx, a small town on the Texas/Louisiana border on I-20, about 3 hrs North of Houston. There are a couple of good figgers on the Northside of Houston. Good Luck with the move.

[Kelby Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Kelby]

In my work at the garden center we've received lots of shipments from plants.

-Don't worry about ventilation, we get tractor trailers from Oregon filled to the gills with no problems. Just be wary of heat.
-Instead of trimming, can you lay them down and stack them? It won't hurt the plants.

[drphil69]

Thanks Kelby.

[PawPaw Gene Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PawPaw Gene]

Kelby beat me to the punch, but shipping them laying on their side works for tall trees. Just fill the pot to the rim with any kind of fill, I use newsprint, and tie a plastic bag tightly around the pot and then to the trunk. You can add some tape to help keep it in place. This will keep the soil and root ball intact. I've carried some to the west coast like that with no problems.
"gene"

[drphil69]

Thanks Gene.

[lilfiggy Member Find all posts View Profile Close lilfiggy]

laying on side works with plastic bag around pot. 22hrs not a long drive for a fig. I have gotten stuff from west coast shipped to me in florida. some arrived little wilted others perky. the wet newspaper before putting on plastic bag is great. Oh by the way, those cuttings look like they might want to visit florida

[drphil69]

Thanks. The cuttings could easily make it to FL.

[Harborseal Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Harborseal]

I would visit every figophile I could. It's a lot of fun. Most of us ship much younger trees and they take 2 or 3 days to get to their destination. You'd have to work hard to hurt those trees. If it's going to be super hot & sunny then some ventilation is in order and I'd water just before you close the lid. Otherwise I don't think it matters what you do

[drphil69]

Thanks, that's what I wanted to hear... I know figs are tough but figured more advice is better!

[WillsC Admin / Owner Find all posts View Profile Close WillsC]

Good advice all. Delaware to Texas......culture shock

[drphil69]

I'm a misplaced southern boy. Sadly, Houston is full of transplants. Hardly anybody has an accent there.