Cdd figs in ground in central NC?

General Fruit Growing
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We are building a new outbuilding and part of my idea for this south-facing porch was always as a heat sink to help me grow figs. The stem wall goes into the ground a foot or two, and while it won’t do a ton to protect from cold winds, it will definitely help radiate heat out and also moderate the ground temperature. I am in central NC, north of Durham, zone 7. We have cold winters but warm up fairly quickly in the spring and can have long falls. (Of course everything is unpredictable. It was 33 two nights ago and will be 90 next week.) We get a lot of sun. Everything will be in ground. I am hoping to keep them as small bushes so they shade out the burmuda grass, but I may need to make a Japanese espalier if they keep dying back.

My goal isn’t a ton of fruit, it is a variety of delicious fig that I can just enjoy. I’ll plant 6-7 different varieties, and I really want to try a Cdd. From what I can gather, Cdd Grise might be my best bet, as it seems to be the earliest of the Cdd varieties, but I get a lot of conflicting information.

Is anyone else growing Cdd varieties in similar conditions? Do they ripen early enough? I won’t fret if one fig tree doesn’t get me figs EVERY year, but I will if it never ripens figs.

Thanks,

Jonathan

PS: Everyone around here grows brown turkey, but I’ve just never loved that variety. The other varieties I am planning are:

  • Ronde de Bordeaux
  • Violette de Bordeaux
  • Black Celeste
  • I-258
  • Smith or Texas BA-1
  • Green Michurinska
  • (Maybe) Chicago Hardy

PPS: Here is a picture of the future location for Fig Row

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1 Like
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That south facing porch idea is really clever, using the building as a heat sink. I’ve seen people do similar things with stone walls and it makes a noticeable difference to how early figs break dormancy in spring. For CDD varieties in zone 7 you should be fine with most of the common ones, Celeste and Brown Turkey are the obvious safe bets but something like Ronde de Bordeaux might be worth trying too if you want earlier ripening.

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@Joao you think Cdd Blanc would work too? Reputation is that it is more productive but later than Grise. It might also be more available as a rooted cutting, so having options would be nice.

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id worry less about zone and more about length of season. zone 7 can mean a lot of things. whens your first/last frost

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Good point. Our published last frost is April 15 but ranges from late March to mid-May (that’s uncommon though). Our first frost is published as Oct 15 but usually is the first or second week of November. Our typical May temperatures are 75-80/55-60 and it is the same in September, so it warms up quickly.