We are in Annapolis, Maryland, and are having success with out figs (3 Hardy Chicago, (2) Brown Turkey. There were NO figs…until we read that you should protect the bushes during the winter. So I bought cage wire and used clothes pins to hang burlap around the figs. My wife is congratulating me for having more than a couple dozen figs this year. I think that the winter protection was the vital ingredient that I had been missing.
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Here in NW DC numerous figs grow in-ground as trees with no winter protection evident. They were all killed ot the ground in the polar vortex 0f 2013-14, but no obvious damage since. However, though nominally in 7a, the city is a heat island, so likely 7b or 8a i practice.
It partially depends on whether the tree v. shrub distinction is based on height or number of trunks. My LSU purple is over 10 feet (and would be higher without pruning), but it is multi-trunked. Far too big for winter protection above ground; I throw leaves over the roots.
Last winter was so mild (low 22 here) that there are many brebas on the trees (usually killed by cold). My Violet de Bordeaux is the same size and age as the LSU purple and has dozens. The LSU purple has a few, I think due to variety (one source says LSU purple doesn’t produce brebas!), not to cold.
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@robertbirder What’s your favorite fig for taste that you grow in ground in DC? I’m roughly same zone due E of you in Talbot County.
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@Bill @robertbirder
Thank you both for sharing! That’s very encouraging! I too have a few brebas for the first time on my CH this year.
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@hambone, taste is subjective, but my favorite here in NW DC is Texas BA-1, purchased from EL. Texas BA-1
More commonly called Smith.
I have not noticed any obvious difference in cold hardiness among any fig varieties in myyard or neighborhood. All were killed to the ground by the polar vortex in 2013-2014, Since then no serious cold or obvious damage (except a wind-exposed street tree) in any winter.
Unless you are in Zone 9+ (CA or FL) you need to live with occasional extreme cold. the year following the polar vortex the trees grew back but no figs. Wrap or bury your yung trees if they are exposed to winter iwnds…
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@robertbirder Do you have Texas BA-1/Smith in-ground?
Do you wrap your in-ground trees for winter?
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Two thoughts -
- Figs are not hardy in zone 7. Period. If you’re lucky and get a string of warmer years, and are in a good micro-climate, you might get one that reaches tree form. But it will die or be severely damaged sooner or later. Your best chances of reaching tree form are by planting a seedling fig and not a cutting. Seedlings are way more vigorous than trees from cuttings and grow much faster. Normally people don’t want seedlings because the fig quality may be sub-par or they may not be common figs, but since you say you want this for ornamental purposes, fig quality should not matter.
- I grew figs in zone 9 and had a few seedlings reach tree form. One of them had very good fruit and it was very frustrating because it was difficult to reach the fruit and much easier for birds to reach the fruit. One had mediocre fruit so I didn’t care about picking it, but the birds still loved the fruit, so they spent a lot of time in the tree eating and pooping. Tree form figs from seedlings can get very large very quickly and drop a lot of fruit. For a while they can outgrow most trees you can think of.
Bottom line -I would never want a tree form fig again.
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I have seen in half dozen yards/homes here in zone 6 having fig trees 8 and 10 feet high.
(But, most are multi stemmed…having at some point been frozen to the ground and came back).
Somerset, KY
London, KY
Berea, KY
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What about a small tree? As some others note, a fig will not reliably survive in Z7 without winter protection. That protection must have a heat source, but the ground would be sufficient – if your cover has a decent footprint and is open to the ground. The protection should be air-tight. To prevent the fig from getting too hot on sunny days, there should be a reflective out layer (e.g., mylar). To prevent the fig from getting too cold on frigid nights, the cover should provide some insulation under the mylar.
Tree size is limited only by the size of the cover. I use a cover that is basically a 4’ tall x 3’ wide cylinder, so each autumn I prune my central leader to ~3 1/2’. Three or four forked scaffolds are kept to ~1’. With two fruiting shoots per “tine” on each fork, that’s potentially 3-4 x 2 x 2 = 12 to 16 fruiting shoots, each of which typically bears 12-20 figs each season on verticals that are 4-6’ tall. So that’s roughly 150-200 figs. In late summer, you have an attractive tree roughly 4-6’ wide and 6-9’ tall. After autumn pruning, it’s back to 2 - 2 1/2’ wide by 3 - 3 1/2’ tall.
You could go bigger but there’s really no advantage in having single big tree vs multiple smaller ones.
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@hambonw, I don’t wrap my in-ground trees for winter, nor have I seen any of the many fig trees nearby wrapped. But they are in urban yards, surrounded by ;large trees, houses, garages, etc. which break the winter wind. I would wrap if planting in an open field.
I do bend first-year trees to the ground (the trnk is thin enough to be flexible) once dormant (hre in DC late November/early december). I then cover with a couple of inches of soil, place a rock over the top end to avoid pop ups, and mark with a stake. I haven’t seen any damage, but have not experimented to see if really necessary, but have tat first-year trees are less cold-tolerant.
Under these conditions Fig trees in Zone 7 do fine. But due to global warming, the city is in Zone 7b, not 7a, as well as protected from winter wind.
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Top photo Texas BA-1/Smith (green with purple streaks), LSU purple (purple)
bottom photo LSU purple on tree, planted 2013. height about 10 feet.
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@robertbirder Your in ground Smith is the furthest north I’ve heard of. Well done challenging the idea that it’s a fragile pot-only fig in Zone 7.
Do you taste caramel in your LSU Purple?
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Here’s a current photo of Texas BA-1,about 8 feet. I call it a tree, but it has 3 trunks. Like LSU Purple, it dropped nearly all its breba (overwintering) crop. Figs are very sweet; people who like more complex, less sweet flavor might prefer LSU purple. alas, I can’t taste any of the specific flavors people write about figs (or wine, or…!)
I mail-ordered the seedling through in 2013 from EL, which is leas than 100 miles south, and over 1000 foot altitude, likely coder winters than here. EL claims hardy to Zone 7, but I doubt any claims of fig winter hardiness are based on data; there are no trials, no patents, etc. Perhaps theirs is a cold-hardy strain? It took 5 years to fruit, maybe from the polar vortex in its first year here. Also, the neighbor’s house in the photo is only about 10 feet away, perhaps warming the soil as well as blocking the wind.
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For the record as a DC native. I can affirm the heat island is DC is great for figs. Fig are an extremely common yard tree here and you see them everywhere. No one protects them and aside from the Polar Vortexes really suffer much if any dieback during winter. My black mission fig has been growing well for 20 years aside form the previously mentioned polar vortexes. Sadly most of the figs are terrible. No one knows what was planted 30-40 years ago and they clearly were not the best cultivars. But they do grow well.
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When do your Texas BA-1 figs normally ripen and how many hours of sunlight does the tree get?
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The structures that block the winter wind alas also reduce the summer sun, and the trees get about a half-day of sunlight. The Texas BA-1 had about 100 fruits last year; an 8 foot tree in full sun should yield many more. However, the late-August/early-Sept start to the season is late enough that the birds are mostly done raising their young, and much less interested in eating my fruit, unlike early summer when they would get every last blueberry if they weren’t’ netted. Also, the squirrels that ordinarily eat the breba crop have moved on to acorns.
I agree with LordKiwi that fig trees are abundant in DC; those I’ve tried have been tasty, however. The main crop that ripens in our stifling summer heat is much better than the few brebas I’ve been able to beat the squirrels to, probably because brebas grow in late Spring. Perhaps I have lower taste standards!
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There’s an established one in Mount Vernon, too. I’ve not been able to take a look at it, so have no idea what it is. It must die back a lot, but it apparently bears well some years. I hear that the current owners (the fig was there when they bought the place some years ago) have made preserves with them before—but mostly the figs end up on the ground and in the bellies of local dogs, who relish them.
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IMO, not protecting fig trees in winter in Z7 is playing Russian roulette. We shouldn’t celebrate just because the gun didn’t go off this time.
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The ones in Berea are on the garden tour (not every year they have one) and also on a KET program (but you’d need to recognize them as they are not mentioned).
There are some in Corbin, too…belonged to an Asian lady that either died or moved on.
Have not been back to see them. I’ve eaten from the tree in Somerset…at a private home overlooking Lake Cumberland…a bit of a microclimate. (As there are also some beautiful camellias in some lake front gardens.)
I’ve tried pot culture unprotected…have only one surviving to date.
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