Fig Tree Still Dormant Zone 7B

Hey y’all. I have a brown turkey fig tree that I’ve had in the ground for about two or three years now. It’s usually sprouting new leaves but way earlier than this and I’m worried if something’s wrong with it. I’ve done the scratch test and there’s plenty of green all along the tree, and it doesn’t feel brittle at all, still very flexible like a living tree so I’m not sure that’s it’s really dead. But is there anything I can do to help it along? It’s being watered regularly and was topped with compost earlier in the winter. At what point do I assume it’s dead and look to replace it? Thank you so much for your advice!

I thought I lost a black Mission Fig in Zone 7a/b.  A friend noticed leaves coming out of the root system.  But the top of the tree was dead (no green).

Dennis Bangham wrote:I thought I lost a black Mission Fig in Zone 7a/b.  A friend noticed leaves coming out of the root system.  But the top of the tree was dead (no green).

That’s what I was originally worried about but I didn’t see it sprouted from the bottom. I have had that happen w Russian pomegranates though.

But oddly enough the damn fig started sprouting the day I posted this so I’m guessing all is going well. I’m still not sure why it took so long though!

My brown turkey is about 20 years old. Some winters almost all the wood dies and it greens from the ground, most years the wood lives. I tug out the dead wood as soon as it's obvious so I don't have to dodge around it when the figs are ready.