Hello everyone!I'm new at growing figs but two years ago I decided to buy a couple of trees that were being offered locally:one Hardy Chicago and a Brown Turkey.I overwintered them successfully in my basement and last May I bought two more of the same varieties and planted them all outside and they took off like wild fire.HCs are now over 1.5m and the BTs are a little bit shorter.We've had a cold winter with temps around -20C so far and I've noticed a bit of damage on the BTs but otherwise the wood is still green.I hope they make it through the rest of the winter since I gave them no protection whatsoever.I knew I was taking a chance but they weren't that expensive.Anyway, I'd like to try different varieties like Florea,Laradek Brown Turkey,Marseilles VS Black and Blue Celeste and others that you think or know do well in this climate.I live within 1Km of Lake Ontario so I believe I'm closer to a zone 6a than 5b.Any help or info on this topic is appreciated.Thank you.

                                                                                        Manny

welcome to the forum manny

you experiment is going to be interesting in the spring, all of mine are in pots, inside.

i was skiing out there in kirby today, not much snow but cold

john

Thank you for the welcome John.I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

                                                                                            Manny

Welcome to the forum Manny.
I hope your trees make it. It will be interesting to see what happens to them.

Manny, I'm trying an experiment too. I have an unknowns that I'm leaving completely exposed to the elements.
Post your results, there'll be some interest in.the outcome.

Hello Manny,

Welcome to the forum community.
I am in the Catskills region of New York, and plan on growing several varieties in ground also, though with some protection. If you search for "Japanese fig espalier" you will find a pruning technique that would work quite well for colder areas, with an easy means for winter protection.

Good luck

Hey Manny - I'm pretty close (in PTBO), so I'm really interested in hearing about the results of your experiment!  Welcome and be sure to keep us updateds.  I'm kinda new to this, and my plants are pretty small, so I don't have much to share yet - but I should by next year.  Good to see someone else close by.  :)

Thank you everyone for the welcome and suggestions.I'll let the community know how my experiment is going.
                                                             Manny

keep us updated .
i am in zone 5

Hi Manny
I live close to you and close to the lake Ontario Zone 6b and I have grown figs in the ground for many years. 
Unfortunately I have bad news for you because all the varieties I have ever seen; if you don't protect the young fig trees for the winter they will die off at least the top will die for sure. 

It may not be too late to provide some protection for the bottom of the tree so that the roots survive and next summer the tree will shoot out new branches.  However you will only get 1 or 2 ripe figs this way.  Even if the fig branch still look green at this time after the many days of -17C we have had it is surely dead it just hasn't started decomposing because of the cold.  If you take a cutting now and bring it in it will start turning reddish brown and it will not grow. 

There are some reports from Sweden that they have some older fig trees (after they are protected the first5 years) that can survive -16C but reading trough their details they say that even those lose the tops in some years and grow back from the roots.

I will now stop sniveling about our temp lows in the mid 20's.

It'll be -30C (-22f) here by the end of the week.    Good luck getting a truck battery that won't split open, let alone a fig tree that will survive in the ground!

  - Scott

hiya, manny. i'm in 6a but ive read lots about microclimates. i've enclosed an area with a 6' high wood fence which theoreticly should
give me a microclimate closer to 7.

you  probably don't wanna build a fence, but you can get micro climate effects by planting in the most protected areas you have.

for myself, i've eliminated these high winds that bring sub zero F temps here.

Pino is right stating
" Even if the fig branch still look green at this time after the many days of -17C we have had it is surely dead it just hasn't started decomposing because of the cold.  If you take a cutting now and bring it in it will start turning reddish brown and it will not grow. :

I tried Hardy Chicago in ground with protection last winter in Zone 5a. In spring when I removed maple leaves covering the plant, I jumped with joy because the stems looked fresh green. However the joy was short lived when the stems gradually turned brown and dried up.

But that was zone 5a. Good luck in zone 5b/6a.

Welcome and good luck.

Thank you for your suggestions...I did leave them unprotected last year and they died back to the ground when we had a couple of nights in February around minus 21 C or so and winds at 90 km/h.This year I barely protected them(two with burlap and tarp and the other only with a tarp).Hopefully they'll make it through...I think I'll keep protecting them for the next 2 or 3 years and then probably try again...It's probably a losing battle but you never know until you try it and see it for yourself.I'd never expose any rare varieties to this unless I had extras and I knew they were fairly "hardy".

Sounds like you are protecting them! 
You can add little improvements to the winter protection year to year.   I have had my fig trees growing in the ground since 96.  Some years are better than others.
The worst that can happen is that the figs will die back.  Just cut off dead branches and they will grow more in following year.
Susie mentioned putting a 6' fence around them to increase the zone around the tree. 

I'm in zone 6b and outside unprotected here I have rdb, hardy chicago, mvsb, sals g, adriatic (does get some winter damage) I am happy to say that I have a nordland rooted that will be joining them in spring along with others.

Wow!Never thought RdB would be hardy to Z6.Dave, obviously you are doing everything right.Do you protect them during the first few years, prune them every 5/6 leaves,etc...?Let us know how you do it please.We are now having very cold temps in the Toronto, Ontario area(around -18C/0F).What about you in your area?Half a zone can really make a difference...

Our temps here are crazy a few weeks in the 20s a day or two poping up in the 50s then a a fewdays below zero. This is the midwest winters. Now on my rdb I have noticed dieback on the thin sucker like branches. Don't see any damage on the larger though I must say to gift cuttings I have trimmed them to a node or two above soil line, about 6 inches to a foot. I am planning to not cut it back as far in the future. Another thing is I my bed. Tilled very loose and deep with lotsa compost and wood chips tilled in and top dressed with a few inches of compost and cypris mulch. Theroy being the roots will go deeper and wider with ease. Now rdb is a very fast grower and by the end of next season it will be atleast 6 foot tall again.