Picked up a 2 yr old Hardy Chicago today. It's 3.5-4 ft tall with 2 main trunks, in a 3 gallon pot. Any advice? Should I plant it in ground or stick with pots? Border of zone 6a/6b

Thanks!

I'd say give it a shot in the ground. If you keep multiple trunks it will have a better shot at surviving the winter.

How thick are the trunks?  You might be better off growing it in pots until at least 1 trunk is more than 2" thick.  I'd air layer a branch so you have a back up.  When you do plant it in the ground bury it deeply so that you have nodes a foot or more deep.  That'll protect it from winters like this last one.  If you plant it this season wait for this next cold front to pass then get it in.

Trunks are 1.5" thick. Thinking I might leave it in a pot this yr then possibly plant it next season. Should I up pot it in the meantime? 5 gallon?

Pot. All my figs are in pots. Almost 300 of them. Only takes a couple hours each year to move from back yard to garage. Last winter was brutal around here but all my figs were snug and safe - if not warm.

 i put my HC in ground last week, here in 6a.

the rule seems to be until they hit 2.5cm caliper you must provide winter protection, so i'll wrap for 2  years.

Hi Anthonym81,
How green are your thumbs ? In a pot, you'll have to keep it at sight for watering ...

So I would go in ground - as soon as night temps are above 5°c .
How is your dirt ? I would open a bigger hole and replace some dirt with compost - that will be good for draining and fertilizing the tree .
The compost being dark, it will bring some °C to the tree .
As for winter protection, you'll need one whatever you plan to do as you're in Zone 6 .
With winter protection the tree will produce more - and that is what you want ... Mooooooooooore !
Just my opinion, and you're free to take the best decision for you :)

Thanks everyone for the advise. The soil here is very rocky. Drains decent though. Btw Bill from Bill's figs in NJ is awesome. That's where I picked up my Chicago. His collection and knowledge is second to none!

Until this past Winter, I was all in favor of in-ground planting, especially since I have had such good luck with my in-ground HC here in central Maryland. Right now I am JUST seeing my in-grounds breaking dormancy (HC and Celeste) and I REALLY had them buried. My container plants are all leafed out, many with multiple figs dangling. I'd say, get urself a nice HC, a nice moveable pot and take good care of it, and it will be less trouble and reward you well.

Pictures show all: top left is a potted Conandria, bottom left a Negronne with many figs, right hand side my pretty large 4-5 year old in ground HC, just barely breaking dormancy.

Wow Mark your containers are looking good. What size pots do you use?

I would definitely up pot and go with 5 - 10 Gal depending on how big a hole you're willing to dig.  Be sure to have a back up.  You will never get as many figs from a potted plant as an in-ground plant.  You'll have a lot fewer if it dies to the ground so I put a rope light around my fig plant (I started after the first 5 degree night though, this year) then wrapped it.  I turned the light on any time the temp went under 17.  This year it probably was too late.  I'm leaving the light outside and next year it will get done in time.  I would not put a 1" diameter plant out in the winter and expect it to survive, even wrapped.

Thanks. I think I'm going to keep it potted until at least next season. Now to find a decent 5-10 gallon pot. Or maybe make a trip back to Bills for one of his self watering pots.

decided to up-pot the Hardy Chicago today.  Not as root bound as I thought it would have been.  
Also included a bonus pic of 3 cuttings I've been working on from my families yard in Brooklyn, simply known as white and black!
 

Hi everyone.  Off topic from the original post, but I figured I'd post pics of the progress from the cuttings I rooted from my family's tree in Brooklyn.  How much of a difference 3 months and some sun makes!  Each of the them are now 2..5-3ft tall!
I know it is very hard to ID trees in general, let alone only only using leaf patterns without an actual fig, but is anyone willing to take a guess?  One produces white figs and the other 2 deep purple/almost black with a very sweet red/purple inside.  They have been passed through my family and I believe originated from Napoli at some point. 

 
     

Anyone willing to take a guess at what type of trees these are? Maybe Brooklyn Dark and Brooklyn White?

Good looking plants. They have grown well this summer

Good work. They are nice healthy looking plants!

It seems to me that some Italian immigrants in the 50s grew 2 basic figs.  a white and a dark fig for starters and to me they look very similar. 
I doubt that all the immigrants brought fig cuttings.  If they had the ones from southern climates would have brought cuttings that couldn't grow in the cold zones. 

The fact that so many of these fig trees look similar can't be a coincidence.    I wonder if they all came from the same 2 mother plants (dark and white) brought to America?

They look really nice and healthy, good growth habits, please keep us updated on details. Thanks.

Thanks guys. Pino, I agree. My part of Brooklyn was filled with immigrants from Napoli. It's common practice for a cutting to pass from one neighbor to another. The resilience to cold is amazing on this breed. We always referred to them as white and dark. It would still be nice to tie it to an actual name. As the trees mature, they do resemble the typical Brooklyn Dark/White I have seen floating around this site. I am far from a trained eye though.

Forgot to mention there's 4 or 5 figs on each tree. Highly doubt they would ripen or taste good since the cuttings are only from November, but still inspiring to see.