I live in a zone 5 area. Unfortunately I realize no matter the fig, it will at the very least die back to the ground. I know that Ronde de Bordeaux is relatively cold tolerant and is an extremely early ripening fig. I was wondering if anyone has grown it in zone 5 and actually had time to harvest? Thank you!
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I think that the only chance you have in zone 5 with any fig cultivator is following this personâs green house head start method Fig Trees after a Late Frost - YouTube
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Youâre probably better off trying Improved Celeste or Florea. In my experience RdB can be shy to set fruit after winter injury.
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What about hardy Chicago fig.
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Yeah I totally agree with this. The Mt Etnas and Teramo could work but without a head start would be somewhat marginal for zone 5.
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Ronde de Bordeaux is not cold hardy, not for my zone 6a even in pot. I made a mistake by leaving 2 of them with other varieties of potted figs in my garage. Both died back to the ground while Chicago Hardy has almost no dieback branches.
RdB does grow back set fruit just in time to ripen in Sept, not ideal for my zone.
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Thank you for that information Tippy! I will plan on treating mine gently if the cutting ends up making it.
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If you take a look at @ampersand Kelbyâs top links in their profile, youâll find a cold hardy figs document. That will get you started in the right direction. In z5 you almost certainly will have to cordon initially and protect with bags of leaves or mulch (add rodent controls) or something similar unless you select varieties specifically with the intention of early harvest after dying all the way to the roots each year.
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i have a Chicago hardy growing against the south wall of my house in z4a. planted it 2 springs ago. 1st summer it grew well but fruit didnt ripen. buried it in the snow. it died to the ground. grew back last summer to 5ft. with fruit. again they didnt ripen. found a writing from a guy that grows figs in ground in my zone for a breba crop. in the fall he takes a spade and cuts 1/2 the roots and then bends the tree to the ground and covers with leaves and lots of snow. come spring he rites it, mulches it well with compost and waters it in. i did that to mine last fall and in about another week ill be standing mine back up. if it makes it, ill let you guys know what happens. we hit -40f 3xs last winter but i insulated it well and covered with 6ft. of snow. hopefully it will be good. when does a breba crop usually start to show and ripen?
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Steve if you can get figs to grow in ground, the majority of us certainly have some things to learn. I really hope it works out.
Edit:
If you DO get a breba crop and you didnât have dieback on your âupright canesâ, because, letâs be honest, although they arenât actually canes they might as well be the way they function, that would imply to me that wind dessication is far more influential than actual air temperatures in killing figs. If that is the case, maybe we should try just saran wrapping uprights each year for âprotectionâ.
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You could try searching the ourfigs.com forum. There are a lot of folks from colder zones who have experimented with finding cold hardy fig varieties, and techniques for protecting in-ground figs overwinter.
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it sounds to good to be true but i figured id try it. only paid $10 from TSC so nothing gained , nothing lost. wished i had wrote down the site i found the info about cutting the roots. he swore it worked in n.w Montana which is even drier than here with much less snow. i actually blew snow in it so it was alot denser than reg. falling snow. weâll see. 
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'Sweet Diana (unknown) can survive a -30F freeze unprotected, itâs unusually cold hardy, yet will it produce in zone 5 without a major head start, I am not sure.
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where did you get the info. on it? any idea who carries it?
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Most places that sell it are local nurseries with no real online presence, I have never bought from the following places, yet they sell it, within 4 years from now someone I know online is going to be able to provide cuttings of it, yet there would be that wait if you donât get it one of the following places, the first website has contradictory information about the hardiness
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Here is a description that I wrote up after going through the confusing facts, and after asking NYCfigs about the cultivator 'Sweet Diana (unknown)' (Celeste like) / Bountiful post area / Bountiful Figs
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Per the sites you posted, the variety can handle 0- 5 F which is USDA zone 7. I am not sure where you got the info that it could handle -30 F. It wonât even make it in my zone 6a.
There are always someone or some sellers claiming their figs are very cold hardy. In reality, it needs a lot of winter protection to keep them from dying.
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Actually re-read what I wrote, you clearly responded before I added the link at the end
Jean-Talon appears to be cold hardy. Itâs origins trace back to a tree that was growing in Montreal. I had it overwintering in my unheated garage which got really cold this winter but the tree doesnât appear to have taken any damage.
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Actually I just found a more well known source with âSweet Dianaâ They will likely have some tiny trees of it available May/June
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@disc4tw Wind dessication is definitely the thing to watch. Most of the time my Chicago Hardy fig has been fine, other than my hacking. When it has dried from wind, I have had to regrow it from the roots.
This Sweet Diana fig sounds tasty, but much too small for me to bother with.
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