I've seen many fig trees in Albuquerque doing incredibly well without winter protection -- not sure which varieties though. In my mind, your plant should have a good month to harden off before really cold weather in your location (even the anticipated frost for Santa Fe next monday is no longer in the forecast), so maybe you could wait, and cover it later if you still think those buds are not ready. I wouldn't be so concerned about losing some buds and twigs, since figs can grow quickly, but for the overall health of the plant, since it is quite new, winter protection might be useful, especially whenever temps below 15 or 20 degrees are forecasted.

Good luck...

I think there has been a previous thread on figs here. You might want to do a search for it. I don't know anything about figs.

Lorna

Generally, figs do pretty well in ABQ. They do, however, seem to suffer some die-back in the winter, mostly some branches/twigs. It wouldn't hurt to provide some frost protection by covering the plant on the coldest nights. Usually burlap works, but some nurseries in town might sell frost cloth.

Good luck,
cd

I have tried a few figs here, but they were from Austin and did not do too well. However, my neighbor (we are also in the Heights) has a couple of good sized trees that have produced some figs. We tried to take some cuttings unsuccessfully last summer, but there should be some runners, if you would like a start or two. This is a variety that does well here and I suspect that is the best way to get into figs in this climate.

John R in ABQ

I bought two "Chicago" figs last year...felt I was taking a chance. To my surprise, they are leafing out quite nicely in their second season. I even got three tiny figs off of them last summer not long after planting. We did have an unusually mild winter though, so I am nervous about year two. They look so beautiful in the two huge urns I put them in. Good luck.

My 'Kadota' fig made it through the winter, although it was the mildest winter I can ever remember in ABQ. A couple small figs developed but dropped, probably due to the cool rainy weather (heavy hail one day) we had recently. The tree is thriving otherwise and looks to be a winner in the NE Heights.

Interestingly, Kadota is one of the oldest cultivars known (since Plato's time). It is kind of neat to grow a plant from antiquity in our interesting climate. This variety appears to be hardy here as it leafed out late (a good sign in the SW where the native plants also do this). Good luck ABQ fig growers!

We have a fig bush here in Albuquerque (zone 7 where I live) that came from a relative's in Roswell (zone 6) & has been passed down for a few generations. My fig has had fruit now for three years even after freezing back one winter when it was young & I forgot to cover it. A 'poster in Virginia asked for some cuttings & I believe he got some to grow from the ones I mailed him. He couldn't readily ID the variety yet for me though.

Yes, flattie, mine leafed out late too. In fact, I remember a month ago comming extremely close to pulling up my two foot trees before they finally leafed. Important for me to remember! I plan to watch the weather closely next winter to cover when necessary, but at least I now know that it can take some twenty degree days.

Oh, and I will have to check out 'Kadota'. I love my figs and would love to plant a couple more, probably two different varieties and hope to see some more recommendations.