Please don’t forget about making fig leaf syrup, suitable for topping pancakes and waffles! Our friends to the south have popularized the process.
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That one is new to me. I’ll check it out.
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Ironically, in my location ‘Chicago Hardy’ never dies to the ground, yet it never manages to ripen its figs before the season ends. Granted I’m pretty far north (Washington state). If you’re in a cold, but southern location ‘Chicago Hardy’ might be able to ripen fruit after dying to the ground because you’ll have a longer, hotter growing season. However, if you’re further north I’d recommend focusing on only the earliest of the earliest ripening varieties unless you’re gonna use a greenhouse to give a head start.
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Interesting. I wonder how my outdoor potted figs will do when it wakes up. Most potted figs went in the greenhouse and stayed above 17, but a few figs (a Marseilles from a new source, a Chicago and a “lost label mystery”) were left out. The coldest I got so far was Jan 22-23. It dipped to 9.7 in my yard and was below 15 for 12 hours. I probably had longer spans below 15 if I combed the data, just looked at the coldest night. The next day reached 34 though.
I bought a thermometer that records so I can begin to better understand my climate and what causes damage.
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A greenhouse would also probably be a benefit during the growing season. Last year I left some of my fig cuttings in all summer. It got wicked hot, but the figs seemed to love it, as long as I watered constantly. They grew much much faster than the outdoor figs, especially during the spring and fall when outside was low 80s and the greenhouse was high 90s.
Note I did open the ventilation on the sides when it was hot outside. I doubt they’d enjoy 130, but they do seem to like 100.
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I have two in-ground Chicago Hardy figs in southern Michigan zone 5/6. It is planted near a south wall and dies back to the ground or near the ground each year. This is only two figs after heavy trimming. I get a decent number of large figs now. Not an abundance, but a few dozen.
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In my experience, 17 F is 100% OK for dormant trees. 10 F is 60-40, roughly. 0 F is an impenetrable boundary, assuming that the trees aren’t buried in a snowdrift.
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The sap acts as a phototoxin-it is supposed to react on your skin on exposure to sunlight. I have heard some claim that the sap alone affects them but the phototoxin effect is the scientific explanation
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Pruning my trees this year some sap ended up on my face near my eye. I gained a healthy respect for the cuttings I was making. It was a slow itchy burn, less painful than pvc primer but not advisable.
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Florea fig supposedly can take to -5°f without dieback from what I’ve read from other people. True or not I’ll find more out when I get my own started.
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I grew Florea here in the ground for 12 years. It was the first fig I bought, based on cautious advice from a very knowledgeable grower that it might do OK in the ground. I covered the tree most winters, which means I don’t have a ton of data of my own. But the grower I purchased it from, who got it straight from the original source Herman/Vasilie, tried for many years to grow it unprotected in the ground – without success.
So based on what I know, I’d bet that it is not hardy to -5 F. The roots will survive but the tops not.
That said, I love the variety. It is tough, vigorous, productive. It might be reliably hardy down to +10 F or even +5 F. I just think anything near or below 0 F would be lethal.
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Florea is on my want to try list…but that’s an easy list to get on .
I am thinking about planting a test plot of different varieties once I’ve got my collection going and see who does what at what temperatures. The thermometers that link to your phone are so cheap now I’d recommend everyone get a couple. It’s very interesting to be able to see what temps you hit and for how long. I should eventually get a pretty complete data set. Some years (like this one so far) we’re within a gnat’s wing of zone 8a, and it’s only one night that keeps us out of 8. Some years were close to zero multiple nights. I’ll likely have hardiness data for 3 climate zones if I track a decade of unpredictable va winters lol.
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I planted an Olympian fig this year and it took -5 with only a few inches of dieback. The plant itself was less than a foot tall.
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-5F, that is impressive.
Did you have protection for the cold around it?
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I’m jealous! And that cheese and table spread looks delicious too!
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I share @jrd51’s love of Florea, and I grow it in the ground and unprotected in what has recently been re-designated from Zone 7b to 8a in NC. That’s based on averages, though. I’ve regularly had winters with lows in the single digits (deg F), but not below zero in over a decade. Most of my figs have a lot of dieback when the winter lows are in the single digits, and Florea is no exception there. My Chicago Hardy (and similar “Mt. Etna” types) typically have less dieback than Florea every year. But both varieties consistently produce a crop in the subsequent summer/fall on new growth from the surviving branches. I think Chicago Hardy figs “harden off” better than most fig varieties - they don’t grow as vigorously in the fall, and the more mature wood is less sensitive to cold damage during the winter. Florea and Chicago Hardy don’t taste the same at all, but I would rate a good Florea on par with a good Chicago Hardy in terms of flavor. Both are among my most productive fig varieties. What makes Florea special is that it invariably ripens the earliest main crop figs of those I grow. And when you haven’t tasted a fig for quite a while, those first ones are really nice!
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JesseS grows florea just south of me in z5 and he gets regular crops by protecting them with mulch every winter. i planted one barkslip gave me years ago but it died.
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No winter protection
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I agree that this is their strength. I screwed up and kept some potted figs in growth mode in the greenhouse too long trying to ripen figs. I wasn’t “just” being greedy, but mostly impatient since it was two varieties I had never tasted. Welp a bad freeze hit and killed all the fruit/defoliated the trees. The Negrone/Petit Negri (not sure if one is more correct) died back about a foot since it was in full growth mode. The Chicago hardy seemed to harden off instantly and instead of the new growth turning dead it seemed to just turn woody. I’ll see when everything wakes up, but I think the Negrones right beside my water barrels will end up with a foot of lost growth while my CH seems to have survived all the way up to the apical buds.
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I find that Florea gives me more ripe figs than Hardy Chicago. Florea does require a little protection, but so does HC for me.
By a little protection I mean that I take my largest tomato cage, place it over the fig. Prune back anything too large and fill with leaves, then wrap the cage. The leaves should stay dry over the winter.
Strangely enough, Florea is not great in a pot for me, though. For me LSU tiger, Celeste and a few others outperform it in a pot.
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