Figs!

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Okay, been thinking about this. Is there anyone here in a similar climate to mine Zone 6a who has a hardy fig tree growing outside in the ground all year? I know it can handle the heat... it's the cold that worries me. Regular cold, not so much, but when we do the occasional below zero dips it causes me to think I must do them in a pot.

Though I'm not in your zone, I have the Brown Turkey variety growing in the back yard. We had an exteme freeze last year that took out a huge bottlebrush growing about 12 feet from this fig. It didn't seem to phase it. I had figs last spring into summer. It will probably be a bumper crop this year, if we don't get another ice storm. I'm praying for mild winter weather.

[Jeff214]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Okay, been thinking about this. Is there anyone here in a similar climate to mine Zone 6a who has a hardy fig tree growing outside in the ground all year? I know it can handle the heat... it's the cold that worries me. Regular cold, not so much, but when we do the occasional below zero dips it causes me to think I must do them in a pot.

Not that I'd recommend it but my celeste was okay in northern Atlanta (zone 7a) in a pot. It grew and fruited fine. I only brought it inside when it went below 10 oF (which it does occasionally in hotlanta). Not sure about zone 6a...

I keep reading about some anecdote of a fig tree growing well in Chicago... but might be an internet forum legend!

[WaterWitchin]

@ES That's a fun story about Italians in NYC. I told Italian husband about it, and he had relatives in north California who do the same. My two have been wintered in the garage, one for four years now, and they come back out just fine. It doesn't get to freezing in the garage (very well insulated even though detached from house). It would just be cool to have one in the ground, and maybe larger and more figs.

@Dusty You're in Zone 9a or b aren't ya? You don't count. Stick to your Deluxe Fancy Nuts potting.

@Jeff214Pretty much think I'd better stick to growing mine in the large pots and move to garage in winter. Just gets too darned cold here. Not for long time periods (couple or three days) but last year we had five days where temps never got up to 0F. Too cold, pretty sure.

[My Green Pets]

WW, I planted a little Chicago Hardy sprig in my Kentucky zone 6A yard 4 years ago and it is now an absolute monster. I cut it back to the ground in December and by the next fall it's 12 feet tall. I shudder to think what it would look like if I didn't take it down every year. I'll attach a photo. Unfortunately I didn't live there long enough to get any figs, my family member who moved in after me never even bothers to go look.

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Okay, been thinking about this. Is there anyone here in a similar climate to mine Zone 6a who has a hardy fig tree growing outside in the ground all year? I know it can handle the heat... it's the cold that worries me. Regular cold, not so much, but when we do the occasional below zero dips it causes me to think I must do them in a pot.

[WaterWitchin]

Love it!! Imma plant my this year new one in my sheltered spot this spring and see how it goes! That’s the input I wanted… zone 6a success! It’s a pretty darned good microclimate in the area I want to try. What’s to lose? A one year old tree?

I’m feeling it.

[Fuerte Rav]

something different today:
had lunch out, fancied a pizza, went for house special, the topping was goats cheese, dates and figs!
It was certainly different, a bit sweet, but very tasty.
🍕

[Diane56Victor]

Your lunch sounds wonderful!
We have a couple of potted figs that are doing well.
Photo shows the white fig in front, that has the bigger fruit and the odd one is very close to being ready to eat. Had one fruit the other day, tasted like sweet red jelly. YUM
The Brown Turkey fig is in the background, this plant is a few weeks behind in fruit production, but that is a good thing as it extends the time we can eat them.

[estación seca]

I just posted a simple fig recipe here.
Figs stuffed with walnuts

[Clawhammer]

Well I'm up to 12 figs, most in 10 gallon pots, and I just had to lug them all 100ft to the garage because of a surprise deep freeze... Glad I grow orchids in the basement!!

[Leafmite]

I planted a Chicago Cold-Hardy fig outside last summer...I am hoping it will survive the winter. It did produce figs this past autumn but something (or someone) ate them before we got to pick them. If it didn't survive the winter, I will try again and winterize it better this time around.

I chose a LSU Purple and a Petite N. for houseplants as they do not need a cold period and produce while small, perfect for indoors. I get figs two or three times a year from these. I can affirm that both of these can grow and produce figs in a window without ever going outside. (I love not having to worry whether bees will come in time to pollinate flowers...a worry I always had with the other fruit trees).