I know lots of people who grow figs in British Columbia and have great results. I’d say go for it. Just protect them from the cold. Unless you are on the south coast of Vancouver Island, where figs can grow in ground unprotected all year. But they can also grow hardy citrus varieties around Victoria so obviously the climate is better for figs and other subtropical crops. Ultimately, figs are very forgiving as long as they don’t get zapped by cold that causes dieback. And even then they are super resilient and will often come back from the roots if those don’t get damaged. The people I talk to who are further north and or inland start watching the weather closely if the prognosticators predict -5 C. While most figs will suffer no damage at that temp, it could locally get much colder, especially if you are in a wind sheltered valley where the cold air sinks in winter. Cold is definitely something to be cautious of when growing figs, but they are also surprisingly tolerant. In all my years of growing figs I’ve only had cold damage at -10 C and that was just the tips of young trees. My mature fig trees have never had any damage beyond superficial since my climate zone’s all time record low is -11 C. The main downside to growing figs in a colder region are the inherent limitations for size. So you’ll have to grow more smaller trees to get the same yield you could from one large tree in a warmer zone. And with a larger tree you can graft many different types on the same rootstock. Figs are really a great tree to practice grafting on and cloning them is phenomenally easy.
If we listen to someone’s advice, then probably 70% of the fig growing members here would not be here. 
Seriously, due to historical and geographical reasons, most of the immigrants from the Mediterranean came to US Northeast. Immigrants from South America come to US South. So in general, there are far more fig growers in US Northeast cold climate than the people in the South warm climate. I do not have the real data. But a lot of the fig growing members here are from US Northeast. There are also far more fig growing businesses I know of.
New people should really have open mind and learn something that they do not know… Do not grow fruit trees over internet.
I just do not know why someone continues to spread the false information.
Go onto Zillow. Search using the keyword “fig.” Then using Zillow’s map, compare listings for the entire northeast to just parts of the Deep South.
In addition, have you ever seen a fig tree in Louisiana? It would take at least 15 in-ground fig trees in Brooklyn backyards to even come close to the production of a single unattended Louisiana fig.
Furthermore, folks in the Deep South just eat figs. They don’t need to talk about their 100 figs growing in containers.
Finally, I grow in-ground figs in the mid-South (in the land of warm weather crops like rice and cotton). But I can admit that if I moved from Zone 7a/b to Zone 8a/b, fig growing would be much, much easier.
I used to live in deep South… I was a Master Gardener in deep South.
So I’ve seen it all.
Awesome, thanks. It hits -20 C here most winters so if I try this I’ll probably go the route of several pots and stick them in the garage in winter.
Also, go through fig name list. How many figs are named after Northern cities? And how many after Southern states or cities?
Wow, that is a bit nippy. You must be slightly inland, no? That area of the world is outstanding. Vancouver Island is one of my favorite spots on earth. How far north are you from Victoria?
I’d definitely go with pots for growing figs if I lived there. That way you can bring them into shelter when it gets too cold and avoid any dieback. Breba figs emerge on the previous year’s growth so the more of that wood you can preserve the better your breba crop will be. When I was choosing figs for my place in Oregon I was told to pick the figs with excellent breba crops. I was not disappointed. But I also discovered there are some excellent figs with early main crops and those produced very well also.
Growing them in a pot is actually very effective. They can grow to an impressive size in a 20 gallon. I know people who grow them in half wine barrels and they get massive with lots of figs. Even around here where they are usually grown in the ground people sometimes opt for pots to use as landscape accents. Figs and citrus look stunning in a pot on either side of a path or entrance to a structure. Makes me feel like I’m strolling through an ancient Roman garden.
Of course the weight is something to consider with container grown trees. Always keep in mind that you’ll have to move them at the end of the season. For that reason I keep virtually all of my container grown plants in plastic pots with very light soil. So much easier to move.
My other suggestion is to consider a greenhouse. If that’s feasible for you it is a game changer. You can do lots of passive solar techniques to keep the temp close to freezing without even using a heater. I use bubble wrap and filled rain barrels to keep it around 40 for a low all winter. In a zone 6 you’d likely need another heating source, but with the passive solar it won’t be too much extra that you need.
What types of figs are you considering? I’m sure you can get lots of cuttings from people on here if you ask. I have dozens of you’re interested. Just send me a direct message.
I bought it at a nursery in Portland, Oregon.
Looks like a lot of work. Can’t imagine how you’d protect an actually mature sized tree like that, or even one that’s been in the ground more than a few years (my LSU Purple tissue culture plug has grown 4+ ft in its first year). If you really like figs, the effort is probably worth it, but it is a lot of effort, you can’t deny.
I mean… Texas Everbearing, Texas Strawberry, Georgia White, Col. Littman’s, Hunt, Smith, LSU Purple, LSU Red, LSU Gold, LSU Tiger, LSU O’Rouke, LSU Champaign, LSU Black, etc.
The more important point, though, is that figs named after northern cities are so named for exactly two reasons: marketing, and historical accidents. Hardy Chicago is so named because the name literally says, “wow, you won’t believe it, but this fig is hardy all the way to Chicago!” Marketing. Others, such as Brooklyn White, were named that way because that’s where the Italian immigrants first arrived. If Texas had been where all the Italians had immigrated to, Brooklyn White would’ve been called Dallas White. Historical accident. And, the real kicker is, the vast majority of figs named after northern places are just renamed figs from warm places. The majority of figs named after places or people in the South were actually first bred and grown in the South.
But really, the names of varieties really does not mean much in terms of where figs will grow well, especially if we are just using American names for figs. The largest producers of figs in the world are Turkey, Algeria, Egypt, and Morocco. I can think of all of one common fig variety grown in the US named after those places, despite the fact that they grow most of the world’s figs. Similarly, southern Brazil, South Africa, and parts of Australia are amazing for growing figs, yet how many varieties are named after those places?
Mexico is not in South America… And plenty of Mexicans, including Mexican immigrants in the South, grow figs.
I’d be willing to bet there are more fig forum members from the northeast and than from the South. Not because more people grow figs in the northeast, but because growing figs in the northeast is hard. You need special knowledge and techniques, the sort of stuff forums are for. People in the South just buy a fig from the nursery, plant it, and eat the figs when the ripen. You don’t need to join a forum to do that.
Sure, but it is still more work to keep the trees alive, all else being equal. I do not think anyone on this forum in good faith would have ever said that figs are impossible to grow in NJ.
That’s kinda rude.
It is generally easier to grow figs in places were you can just plant them and let them grow than in places where you have to protect them from being killed by the air itself.
Very funny people… It is internet. People hide behind keyboard…
I understand that you grow many figs successfully, but I don’t see why you’d argue so strongly against the clearly true statement that it’s easier to grow figs somewhere they will grow happily unprotected than it is to grow them in even the warmest zone 6, where you have to spend lots of time, energy, and perhaps money to keep them alive through winter.
Here in Seattle, I regularly see fig trees taller than a 2 story house, loaded with fruit. You might even find similar specimens in some warmer zone 7 locations, but I’m not aware of any fig tree growing in any zone 6 areas, outdoors, unprotected.
Doesn’t one of those seem “easier” than the other?
Nobody is saying you can’t grow figs in zone 6 or even colder zones, just that in colder locations it’s a lot more work to protect them.
I “argue” because some people are totally wrong.
You stated: I’m not aware of any fig tree growing in any zone 6 areas, outdoors, unprotected.
Below is a big fig tree in zone 6 NJ that is not protected. Some people do not know since you have little experience growing fig trees in cold climate. They do not know how fig growers grow their fig trees in Northeast.
There are also many other fig growers who has successfully grown figs trees unprotected in zone 6. There are many in New York City. There are also many in Philadelphia though that is more in zone 7. Some trees are just huge.
Here is the situation. Someone (does not have name) just joined forum about one year ago. In PNW zone 8. Not sure how long he has been growing fig trees. But the experience is with 40 fig plants. Then he kept making blanket strong statement that “Zone 6 is decidedly marginal for cultivating figs, whereas zones 8, 9 and 10 provide much more ideal conditions.”
As I stated before, USDA hardiness zone is not the deciding factor. PNW zone 8 may not get the heat to grow fig varieties that we can grow here in zone 6. Not all zone 6 and not all zone 8 are the same.
I think I’ve made my points super clear. Do not make such blanket strong statement that can’t be supported.
Wow, that is a bit nippy. You must be slightly inland, no?
It hit -30 last winter, although that is rare. I’m in the Shuswap region, central BC and pretty far north from Victoria. I think the hardiness zones map of BC might be optimistic. It’s really only May through September that are good for growing here, and some years May can be quite chilly.
My other suggestion is to consider a greenhouse. If that’s feasible for you it is a game changer. You can do lots of passive solar techniques to keep the temp close to freezing without even using a heater. I use bubble wrap and filled rain barrels to keep it around 40 for a low all winter. In a zone 6 you’d likely need another heating source, but with the passive solar it won’t be too much extra that you need
Been thinking about a greenhouse, but that’s a project for much later. I do have the space.
What types of figs are you considering? I’m sure you can get lots of cuttings from people on here if you ask. I have dozens of you’re interested. Just send me a direct message.
You’d have to be in Canada yourself, right? Cross border shipping of plants and all that. If so, definitely. I’d be happy to take recommendations on varieties that like shorter growing seasons and living in pots.
I recently got a phyto certificate for some avocado trees someone was bringing to Vancouver Island and it wasn’t terribly difficult, though the total cost was a bit high unless it’s something you can’t get anywhere within Canada. So it’s possible at least! Here’s a thread I started about that process:
I have been picking more than one pound a day figs from one mid-size in-ground tree. And I get more than 60 fig trees in ground for various experiments. More are coming up with the honey/sugar figs. Adriatic figs will be later.
Growing fig is a hobby for most of the people here. I do not look to sell figs as a business. So I do not need a two story fig tree that is very hard to pick.
Glad you have a lot of success in growing figs in ground. Princeton NJ is zone 6b/7a, much better than a true zone 6a like mine.
There are several members here who are in the same zone like yours who have success planting fig in ground. @BobVance and @PharmerDrewee are two of many.
Once it comes to 6a, I have not heard much of figs in ground thriving esp. without winter protection.
@SMC_zone6 has done some experiments growing hardy figs in ground. I am awaiting his results. Most zone 6a and lower can grow figs with winter protection in various form, me included.
I’m actually more inland from Princeton. I’d say it is 6B. I’m near Sourland mountain.
To me, I’m first a gardener than a fig grower. I’m into gardening more than 25 years ago after we bought the first single family house. That was the old GardenWeb days. Then this forum was founded after the demise of Gardenweb.
It is just a lot of fun in fruit growing.
Nope, I’m not in Canada. I’m much further south in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. And I also half ass maintain a food forest in Mendocino County, California on land that’s been in my family forever.
I hadn’t even thought about the regulations for shipping to Canada. I don’t know if I’m being really naughty but I exchange seeds and cuttings with people in Europe and Australia all the time by just not declaring what’s in the package. I don’t ever send citrus or avocado cuttings or seeds because I’m paranoid about spreading diseases, but I feel like the other stuff doesn’t pose too much if any risk. The specimens we exchange are plants like peas, lupine, cannabis, strawberries, cactus, onions, those kinds of things. Maybe I shouldn’t be doing that.
Honestly, getting fig cuttings shouldn’t be too difficult for you. If you are ever in Vancouver you can find some massive fig trees to take cuttings from. I just read a cool article about an Italian immigrant who planted many of the prolific fig trees in Vancouver:
https://montecristomagazine.com/magazine/spring-2022/secrets-vancouvers-bountiful-fig-trees?amp=1
And I’m sure there are other Canadians on here who would happily share fig cuttings with you. There are some awesome specimens that grow really well in this region.
For any one interested.
I’m in zone 6b NJ
Here is my desert king fig tree. I cane prune it.
I get about 200 to 250 figs off of it mid July.
The buckets contain all of the growth that fruited this year.
I do protect it in the winter with a system I developed that involves that wood frame that stays in place year round.
