Dunno about Z5, but Z6 should be a close stretch to what we have now.
Do you know if any work is being done on cold hardy figs by the propagation scientists?
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Not in my life time but my zone will rise from 6B to 7B in 30 years if you believe in climate change
If you really don’t want to do pots just grow figs that reliably fruit after dying back in the winters, 6b is doable if you accept that they will dieback regularly and mulch the roots heavily
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What fig is the most reliable to achieve good tasting ripe fruit after a winter dirback
Here is a decent list I made of cold hardy figs. There is as much variety in flavor as I could find. Some are extremely productive, some are really split resistant, some are extra tasty, some perform really well after dieback
Bari, Niagara black, Sodus Sicilian, Ciccio Nero, Lyndhurst white, Verdolino, Kesariani
Makedonia dark, Florea, Colasanti dark, Malta black, Irene’s Black Greek (expensive)
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I am in zone 6B, southern Indiana, about 30 minutes from Louisville, KY. I ordered a Lola Martin fig from Gurney’s this spring, which they state has survived -5 degrees with very little winter dieback. We shall see. I planted it in a sheltered location away from north and west winds and in the crook of a deck and its ramp which form an L shape on the southeast side of the house. Maybe this area will provide a couple of extra degrees of warmth.
It has grown nicely this summer. It was just a small stick with a few leaves when I planted it in June, and is now well over two feet tall. I do plan to surround it with straw bales filled with some type of insulation, maybe leaves? for the first couple of winters. I will probably cut it down to about a foot tall and hope those above-ground portions make it through the winter with protection. If they do, I will try it without protection the third winter and see how much die back there is.
There must be a few other ever-hopeful dreamers out there because I had trouble getting it last year as they sold out. I almost didn’t get it this year as they had to have it sent from some place in Florida and it did not get here until June.
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Not too far from you in New Albany, my neighbor had a giant fig tree with the trunk as thick as my arm. I thought maybe it was hardier, but I think it was able to get really big because we had a few years with mild winters. The last couple years weve gotten polar vortex and its been killed back to the ground every time. Keep in mind this fig gets no help at all in terms of pruning or winter protection. Very tasty fig though. In good years they dont mind me grabbing a few.
I hope yours grows good for you and has some true hardiness.
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Thanks. I hope so, too. If it proves to be as good as claimed I will let everyone know. I suspect that it will be like your neighbor’s though, doing good in mild winters until the cold one comes along every couple of years. It is nice of your neighbor to let you grab a few. Being originally from Alabama, I do miss my figs and muscadines!
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That’s easy, unfortunately I don’t live in zone 6B
How did the Lola Martin fig do for you?
Based what I’ve observed, fruiting after die-back works well if you have a long season. For example, my brother-in-law in North Georgia gets frequent winter die-back but then huge late summer crops. But if you’re in a short-season area – like me in RI – the new growth will set few fruit and will ripen fewer.
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Who is “they” ?
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Probably they THEY. You know, the nursery people. The university people. The fruit breeders. They. 
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Seems more likey that someone/s on this forum would accomplish this. Breeding for cold hardiness isn’t complicated, it just takes a long time. Just look at the Seattle avacado project. All it takes is one serious person, and others will volunteer to help.
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Cold hardy figs already exist for zone 6 and a few will survive z5 if protected in winter.
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I’ve swinging the idea around in my mind to do some fig breeding (already have a tiny edible persistent caprifig growing) with the goals of both producing lots of figs after dying to the ground in cool/cold areas and just increasing their cold hardiness with the hopes of possibly eventually having true zone 5 hardiness figs. But for me it would just be smaller scale and just making crosses between to roll all the desirable traits into one and plant mass planting rows in my garden to thin with the cold down to the best via protection after the target temperature I want to test them with has been achieved, and then use anything superior in the next generation of crosses.
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I’ve grown figs for 14 years on the border of Z7/Z6. IMO, this statement is either false or misleading. A Zone 6 winter with low temperatures at ~ -10 F will kill all fig varieties to the ground and kill most trees outright. Technically, some roots may survive and sprout new growth, which will then be killed the following winter.
If you think different, name the varieties.
I agree that well-protected trees can survive. The requirement is that the protection is strong enough to keep temperatures around the fig tree well above 0 F, e.g., `15 F.
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