17 or negative 17?
My low here in Maryland was 9 F this past winter.
And a few new ones, I find them very easy to root plants. Could one of these be the illusive arctic super hardy fig?
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Nice collection!
It went down to negative seventeen degrees Fahrenheit in Febuary 2016 where I live. The figs outside that seem to have survived were all Mt Etna type figs- Sal’s GS, Marseilles Black VS, and a couple other un IDed ones.
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Wow, you have a big collection of figs! That’s me in a yea if I don’t get rid of some. What area do you live in. Can you get figs on second leaf? That’s where I am at now.
FYI I started a new thread for 2016 on this.
but I neglected to point this old one to the new one - oops!
I am measuring hardiness this year by how many inches up the highest buds are. Hardy Chicago is winning, it is budding 2’ high.
I’m in Zone 6A officially but I always lean zone 5 so I don’t screw myself. 
I’m kicking around the idea of a Chicago Hardy Fig for fun, it would be in the ground though, not doing it in a pot. I place a weed barrier down at time of planting, put in some compost at that time as well then stake & fence it from deer.
These are our recorded lows for Jan thru March for 2013-2017. Would you bother?
January 2013, 0
Feb 2013, -1
March 2013, 5
January 2014, -4
Feb 2014, -5
March 2014, -14
January 2015, -10
Feb 2015, -9
March 2015, 5
January 2016, 1
Feb 2016, 7
March 2016, 3
January 2017, 6
Feb 2017, 12
March 2017, 5
You might want to grow one for a year in a five gallon pot or bigger. Bring it into your garage over the winter and water once a month lightly. That way it will have a good root system when you plant it in the ground and get an extra whole growing season before the winter. Then It will grow good for you if it dies back to the ground.
I wouldn’t bother with those lows. Pot or bust!
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I agree with Scott. Even if they survive, they won’t be the nice beautiful poms that you can buy from the supermarket. Not even close.
I’ve had a Chicago Hardy in ground for the last three years and it’s survived -16. No protection except snow cover. It dies down to the roots every year and comes back but not very vigorously. It’s only been able to produce a few figs after so much winter damage. I plan on protecting it starting next winter. I’m still hoping to find a truly hardy fig – maybe Sodus Sicilian, maybe some local finds I came across last summer – that can work for growers in the north.
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I live in zone 6B officially but I am in a frost pocket. The lows around here are very similar to yours and I have been able to over winter a hardy Chicago by burying it. I need to mention that although the low here in Utah is similar it doesn’t stay that cold for long periods of time and has wide fluctuations in temperature. This makes so the ground doesn’t freeze that deep. I tried wrapping them for a few years but they always died. The problem with wrapping them was they would come out of dormancy and get moldy after the temps went back up, then later freeze when the temps dropped back down. For example today it got over 70 and we are nowhere near the end of winter. I found it better to keep them in then ground to keep them both alive and dormant until the appropriate time. I usually dig them up when the peaches are in bloom.
I appreciate your honesty guys i’ll pass on messing with all the tropical stuff. Im gun shy on apricot & nectarines as well. I’ll stick with cherrys, peaches, apples, & pears.
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I grow mine in containers, and I like it a lot. I get hundreds of figs. It for sure is the most hardy tropical plant I have ever seen. In pots it’s not work. So I grow them. But everybody has different needs. My in ground cherry trees require a hell of a lot more attention than my figs. Figs are the easiest to grow fruit tree I ever grew.
SMC,
How are your figs i ground? Would like pto hear your report.
Did you cover you in ground Chicago Hardy? How does it do now?
My in ground CH Was protected this past winter so it did not die to the ground. Due to our colder than normal May, it has not taken off but it has done well all things considered.
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I didn’t treat my figs all the same this winter, so I’m not sure how helpful my experience will be, but I’ll share it anyway.
The three different ways I managed my figs were: 1) unprotected, 2) covered in a regular gardening pot (these pots were just placed over figs upside down and with a rock on top so they wouldn’t blow over), and 3) covered in a gardening pot and then completely covered in mulch. All figs were cut back to about a foot above the ground. All were placed in the ground last spring and entered the winter two years old, some from cuttings some from air layers. It was a mild winter with a low of only -1.2
Covered in a pot and mulch: Yellow Lebanese, Makedonia Dark.
- Both of these figs survived fine with no die back.
Just covered in a pot: Black Zadar, Nero600, Sal’s Gene, LSU Champagne, Black Bethlehem, Nordland, Stella, Florea, Lussheim, Sunfire, RdB, Brooklyn White, Staten Island Bomb, Malta Black, Dark Portugese, LSU Tiger, Gino’s.
- It looks like most of these survived but all died back to the ground. It’s still a bit early to tell but I think Black Zadar died, and maybe Sunfire too. I’m not sure. It’s been cold recently and not everything is fully awake yet. The one notable exception from this group is Staten Island Bomb. That one seems to have suffered no die back and is really taking off. It shows a lot of promise for being cold hardy in this area with minimum protection. I’m really excited about it.
Unprotected: Unk Teramo, Red Lebanese (Bekaa Valley), Red Italian, English BT, Pakistani Brown, Yellow Greek, Mike’s Czech.
- Too early to tell with these. I’ll update when I know what made it and what didn’t.
This summer will be another test to see what comes back from the ground and is able to ripen fruits. There are a few more potted ones I’ve already planted out for another round of winter testing, then I’ll just keep what works and forget the rest. My plan is to grow out the winners like they’re not-quite-hardy raspberries – keep a tight row of them that I chop back low each fall, cover in mulch, and then grow out again in the spring.
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Thank you for the report. I have not heard of most of the varieties you are growing.
Hope they will taste good, too.
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my in ground Hardy Chicago fig was completely cover under heavy straw，under tarp. It starts to grow, and marble size breba
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Scott,
The burying method worked for me this year by accident! I decided last year I wanted another brown turkey and thought it was to much work to take cuttings so I bent a branch over to root it by burying it. Guess what was still green this spring? Yes the entire branch I buried. The fig did die to the ground. It was a warmer winter than most. I also have a second fig tree :0)
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