I have read a couple of accounts of forum members overwintering fig trees in their living room, etc.  I assume there are many places in the world where temperatures don't drop sufficienly for fig trees to drop all of their leaves as they do here in the northeast.  I think Jon has mentioned that his figs (outdoors) haven't gone dormant in some years.

This leaves me wondering if dormancy is necessary for all figs, some figs or no figs.  Is it dependant on the specific variety? And so on. 

Jon, if my recollection is correct and your fig trees didn't go dormant, was there a discernible difference in the productivity or anything else the following year?

C.J.(who is considering ovewintering some youg fig trees in the living room)

Mine do better with a good sleep.

They can be kept indoor if they're little and winter storage is too cold. however what ends up happening when you take them out in summer they would go through a shock and they may delay its growth. If they go dormant they will grow vigorously the following spring.

Dormancy is also caused by the amount of daylight. The shorter the days coming will also cause a warmer weather fig to go dormant, its not just a temp factor.  I think fig trees do much better if they are aloud to go to sleep, Just my opinion. I have left young ones growing over winter and they produced well the following year, but seemed to shut down earlier. Ciao

I think it is best for the the vigor and production of tree to go through dormancy. Some say 200-400 chill hours is all figs need.  With that being said, some climates just do not afford temps below 42*.  Here is a quote from Ken Love in Hawaii

Mine all go "dormant". However, newly rooted cuttings and small trees seem to hang on to some of their leaves longer, even through the winter here. Some trees keep some leaves all winter, and while they might not be fully dormant, they are also not active. Grafting this Spring on small plants with leaves still on (so not "dormant")  was not as successful as it would have been if done when they are actively growing, so the presence of leaves was a seeming indication of non-dormancy, but the plants were still nearly or practically dormant.

Many trees were not fully dormant, and many definitely still had green wood at the end of January 2010.
As little dormancy as my trees get, they seem to be fine with it. I think most literature would support the idea of some minimal amount of dormancy being good for the tree, even if not required in the way an Apple or other fruit requires chill hours to fruit successfully.

Have have kept a few young fig trees indoors only because they were too young to take my chances in letting them go dormant for the Winter.

Though they didn't grow at all during the time they were inside till about late Feb. or early March. Nature has its ways of doing things. I think I may have saved them at the time from dying.

My Sals Corleone stayed by the window sill all Winter when I first got it. Didn't grow an inch and next thing you know, It grew like crazy but the fruit production wasn't that great.

Last Winter I stored it in the garage with all the other fig trees and it produced pretty well this Summer in my opinion.

I think your question would be a matter of personnel preference, If you have that one hard to root, find or get fig trees then it would be safe to say go ahead and store it indoors for the Winter. By next year it would have grown and save a few cuttings for insurance and store it while dormant.

My Father told me that Florea fig produced the most abundant fruit harvest,when the winter was longest and coldest.
So dormancy and cold are important for fig trees to produce at their capacity.

I heard the chilling requirement for figs is something low like 100 hrs at 30*-40* F.

None of the trees I kept in my warm house over winter due to their young age and rarity produce fruit for me in the summer.  They like a little sleep, but try to wake them up as early as possible to start building those heat units if you live in the northeast.  You can get them going surprisingly early if you employ a few tricks.

Good luck

Yes you heard right but that is the minimum requirement,for minimum harvest.
The more continuous dormant days with low temperature the better for production.