OK... I've officially had enough!  This is what we're dealing with now:

 



Come on... make me jealous.  Where is the absolute fig paradise in the US.  I mean in ground, no protection, grow any variety and not worry about too much rain etc.  Where is it!?

I won't say it's the "absolute" fig paradise, but here in South Florida the rain shovels much easier than the snow up there! :)

Fresno Ca. No winter and hot summers

Los Angeles for sure! It is a bit dry this year but has been quite warm. See the babies bathing outside:
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/some-progress-from-paradise-6758455
Just hop on a plane and fly either West or South!

Feel bad for all the snow bound.  Beautiful weather here.  Every day we get a text from JD's sis in Chicago showing the thermometer... -18 degrees, etc.  We don't take a shot of ours showing 79 degrees F.  I won't show all the fig trees coming out of dormancy or the peaches and apricots blooming......

Spring is coming!

Mmmmm... I Love It!  Keep it coming!

El Paso, Texas.

Hot summers. Mild winters. Low humidity. 10" annual rainfall. Cheap land!

my back deck. lol

...looking at land for sale on realtor.com in all these wonderful places.

Aloha, everyone!  Well, I have to say it's pretty nice having spring/summer year round, especially seeing what's happening on the mainland.  Although it did get to a chilly 68 degrees last night ;)

Nate

Lucky Nate!

I change my answer to The Big Island.

Detroit,,, sometime in June

James,

Only if it's a leap year. Otherwise the dates vary.

Pretty much anywhere in Southern, CA that is below 2000 ft elevation everything is this range is zone 9a to zone 10b. If you don't mind hot most places of Southern, AZ below 2000 ft elevation all ranging from zone 8b to 10a. Central to South FL all zone 9a to 10b. If your looking for affordable and not worrying about water then FL would top the list.

Advantages of CA, low humidity in summer time perfect climate for figs.

Disadvantages extremely expensive for what you get. Water costs a lot, and in drought.

Advantages of AZ, nice climate for figs lower costs of land compared to CA.

Disadvantages extremely hot in summer time, water access and price can be an issue.

Advantages of FL, plenty of water able to grow mangoes and other subtropical fruits with ease (in zone 10a-10b). Land affordable outside major cities.

Disadvantage, humidity, pets, and diseases. Takes more management and the right fig varieties to produce nice crops.

Personally I would not live anywhere besides these three regions. I would absolutely hate having to deal with snow and not being able to grow subtropicals.

I'm with you on the Big Island, James!  Absolute paradise, as far as gardening is concerned.  The land there is much cheaper than most anywhere else in Hawaii, and the soil is prime for agriculture.  And to top it off, you can surf and ski all in the same day.  Well, at least in the winter time.  Aloha!

Nate

Hawaii is great too! However island fever and high cost of living are going against it.

I always thought that the only USA Fig Paradise (climate+wasps) is in California.

I am really concerned about the fresh food prices high rocketing in summer, since all the blooms are frozen again, not good for economy at all :(
So, California, once again, has to feed entire nation... or China will, LOL

Madera is slightly better for figs than Fresno, but only slightly.  Madera is fig capital USA.  Land and water are pretty reasonable.  Igor thinks LA is fig paradise but he hasn't found it yet.  Summer days are longer the further north you go.  He's getting good growth now but lets see who is getting the best figs in July! :)  I'm very content where I am at, 150 miles north of Madera.   It's not quite as hot as Madera but my body likes the cool evenings.  I lived in Fresno for six months and I prefer opening my windows at night to cool down the house vs. running the air conditioner all night.

I have never seen figs damaged in winter here.  I believe Jon wrote somewhere about figs being killed by winter cold at Wolfskill one year.  I recently asked Howard about this and he says none were killed but that there was bark damage to many trees one winter.  I don't get quite as cold as at Wolfskill, but pretty close.

I posted a photo in another thread about giant fig trees last year at http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6118440.  The largest fig tree recorded in the USA is in Porterville with a trunk circumference of 150" while the trunk of one near me is 126".  Porterville is southeast of Fresno.

I do not believe there to be any gang influence at all around my place, still a small community.  I have seen some things tagged but am pretty sure it's from folks passing through the area practicing their trade.  I haven't seen any tagging for at least five years around here but 15-20 miles away there is plenty.  Fresno and Madera has a lot of gang influence.

So Cal is the fig paradise?  How is the water situation there?  What about Louisiana?

Louisiana similar to FL, I would think. I hear the home and land prices are very reasonable in Louisiana.

Figs do not like too much water... 

Yeah figs don't like it too wet, but if you got sandy fast draining soil and room for containers you can control the moisture better.