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Is my Fig tree dead #930649

Asked May 05, 2026, 8:36 AM EDT

We moved to this house in Annapolis and in 2024 this established Fig Tree had much foliage/fruit, it is apx 8'tall and 10'wide. In 2025 it had fewer leaves and I removed all the dead limbs last fall. This spring it has no leaves yet, as of May 5. A neighbor's tree (same setting) has begun to leaf-out with a lot of new leaves. I think this brutal winter may have killed all the old wood? How can I tell? Should I trim it way back? Did other figs die this winter? I would like to salvage it.

Anne Arundel County Maryland

Expert Response

Hello,

Unless a fig was in a very protected area, the top growth may have taken a hit in the extremes of winter weather. We hadn't had this for a while in much of Maryland so many fig trees were able to sprouted leaves earlier from branches that survived our milder past winters. This year, many have died to the ground. However, if the fig was a hardy version, it will resprout from the roots. You won't get brebas this year, the early figs that were overwintering buds on last years branches, but you might get later fruit.

You could do a scratch/scrape test to see how far you have to go before you find under bark green that survived. Otherwise, you can prune off any dead branches to encourage new growth now and wait a couple months to look for regeneration from the base.  Much depends on the variety--many grow Chicago hardy or Celeste due to the winter kill issue. 

You can water, give it some compost, wait and watch meanwhile.

Sue


An Ask Extension Expert Replied May 05, 2026, 11:49 AM EDT
Thank you for this advice. I fertilized and watered.
I have been waiting and luckily there is finally regeneration at the base appearing, so it is alive. Some of the old branches have some flexibility, and I trimmed those that were brittle. It appears they have some white substance (like marshmallow) inside the branches. It has a foam-like texture. Does that mean the branches are still alive-despite no sign of leaves? I have read that it's best to trim all those limbs back so they don't get pests. It's disappointing, as this tree was 8-10' tall and wide and now just a little growth at ground level. Do you suggest trimming back all the unproductive wood and letting it start all over?
Thank you for all of your assistance,
Cindy Hepner

On Tue, May 5, 2026 at 11:49 AM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied May 24, 2026, 7:30 AM EDT

If the branches are tan inside, they are likely dead. Often they will have a white pith in them, but see that just under the bark there should be a line of green to show they are alive. 

As for starting over, in the more northern zones when we have a harsher than usual winter after some mild ones, this isn't an unusual thing to happen. Top growth gets mostly killed but there's regeneration from the base. Much also depends on the variety of fig and its' normal hardiness zones. Chicago Hardy is one often grown in zone 7. Annapolis is somewhat warmer and may not get as difficult winters as other regions of MD,  so you may have more types of figs that make it through most winters without dieback. You don't have to cut everything down to start over, but it would be a good idea to look at some fig pruning.

https://extension.umd.edu/resource/growing-figs-maryland/

An Ask Extension Expert Replied May 26, 2026, 10:19 AM EDT

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