does anyone know how well following tolerate the cold? i keep all mine in container, so it doesn't matter, but i'm going to give some away to friends and others. want to know if they can plant them in ground in zone 7b.

ischia white

ischia green

col de dame blanc

calvert

pete

I only have info on the green ischia. There's one at Monticello against the Center for Historic Plants greenhouse that's been there for a number of years. It is fairly protected but your friend should be planning on putting the fig trees near a thermal mass if at all possible. The GI seems to be fairly hardy. I've had a number of figs in zone 7a and 7b and they seem to be fine if they are placed in a decent spot or protected.

Pete,
Of those varieties I have Col de Dame Blanc. I have only ever grown it here in Arizona. But I have observed this about it: it is one of my last figs to break dormancy in the spring. The other figs I have that behave that way are cold hardy varieties. Not saying that CDD is definitely cold hardy, just that it behaves like a cold hardy variety in the spring. Does anyone in a colder climate have experience with this one in ground?