The FIG!!!. Why?, if you grow them in containers, it’s high maintenance, if you grow them in the ground same thing. Anything else, yes. Way too many varieties to choose from. Every year something new shows up you have to have. Roots from inground tree’s could be easily 20 feet long. 5 varieties is good enough. My fig trained dog wouldn’t touch a LSU Gold fig, too bland. A Smith?, bring it on!
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You make me looking like a fig hoarder Bob at 150 potted figs.
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Tony, I had a large variety at one time, can do it any more. There are so many good ones now, you really don’t want to mess with mediocre ones. If you only want to use a small part Of your garden towards figs Than you limit your collection. We grow them just for friends here, so it’s easy to limit our tree’s. If you can handle a good amount of trees, why not. For me , it’s very confusing to collect the finest in figs, today is this one, tomorrow could be a different one. I have a hard time finding a somebody that wants them. Got a good selection of citrus, can’t find nobody to give it to, I mean, “ give”, no not sell!
I personally think figs need to grow in large squat containers, tree’s are up to 8feet tall, root pruning get to be a chore, don’t mind doing but still a big chore. I would rather drink a large pina colada.
It produces a light crop in 2019, today a decent amount of flowers.
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Which ones did you end up keeping as favorites?
I’m in the hoarder category with Tony. I’ve got somewhere around 100 now. Each year I manage to get rid of a few, but somehow my total keeps going up. Figs are like the mythical Greek Hydra – for each one I get rid of, two more appear in its place.
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I think you need to grow Col de Dame Grise to change your mind too. I don’t get too many to ripen but it’s so good!
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Andrew quit tempting me.
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wish i could grow them here. too damned cold! i love figs but never had a fresh one only dried.
I got 3 Smith, 2 Violette de Soleis, Chicago Hardy, Negronne. My in the ground Chicago Hardy is about 40 years old, my first figtree.
I don’t know if any of you remember Vern 2006, another dedicated fig guy. From Arkansas, big collection.Old gardenweb.
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I wish you would have posted this sooner! Monday i bought a Chicago Hardy at Lowe’s. I saw it and it was clearanced down to 2 bucks. I thought i might be able to mess around with it and bring it back from the verge of death.
I’ve never tried to grow a fig, but i thought for 2 bucks ill give it a shot. It will be containered its entire life due to my cold, long, snowy winters.
It might be ok.
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How do you plan on overwintering those? Almost need like a semi heated garage? set the tstat at about 35F to 40F.
What size pot is best? I’ve got a 6ft tree in a 7 gallon. I have a lot of various pot sizes…but once into the 25 gallon range they are beasts to move around.
All my 150 potted figs are around 7 years old. I overwinter them in my unheated tornado shelter and the average temperature around 25 to 30 degrees at underground level with 16 inches thick of cement.
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I went from 25 to 20 gl last year, next winter, January going to 15 gl, squat containers. They are 16” wide, 12” high. Heavy pruning, stumps left at only 12” high. Only do 3 at a time. It’s like starting all over.
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When it comes to fig trees it depends on the variety, how many you have, how old they are, and what climate you are in how high maintenance they are. I’d never get a fig tree expecting to keep any of them now that I have grown 7 varieties in the ground, and I am more experienced. All fig collectors eventually get rid of most of their varieties if they have a lot more varieties than me, it’s hard to predict what is best in your area, and preference can be a deciding factor as well, I am not as picky as a lot of other people yet I do like variety. There is only one variety that I have that I 100% know for sure I am keeping, and one that I am definitely getting rid of.
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Tony, that is going to give you a lot of bottles of jam, wine, cake topping, don’t forget sauces for your pork chops. Did I miss something? Yes, send out invitations.
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Do you use a pully system to get them out or just hire some neighborhood muscle? 
Carrying mine up my basement steps was enough for me … I watched a youtube video of some dude burying his in a coffin sized hole in the ground…should work. Maybe i’ll throw a temp gauge in there. I know a guy in Milwaukee that would overwinter banana corms in the ground using foam boards on top of them.
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I used a dolly to move them.
I got a homemade setup for easy sliding. Dollies are same height as my homemade lowboy trailer, being pulled by my Utv.
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Yes… work smarter not harder 
I got so sick of moving around container trees that i just got rid of most of them. I have a little dolly i use to move them around but its really not big enough for the 20+ gallon potted trees.
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Great spirit! Congratulations! 
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