Here on my 0.28 acre Maryland “spread” I have one fig in the ground (Mildenhall unknown, a green/golden fig) and four in containers (Ronde de Bordeaux, Hardy Chicago, Celeste, and Violette de Bordeaux).  I’m hoping a potted Marseilles vs Black will arrive soon as well.  Anyway, I have one nice spot for another in-ground tree (and perhaps a 2nd spot depending on how much I want to squeeze in with other fruit trees).  My original plan was to grow the container figs for 2-3 years, see how they do, and decide which to put in the ground.  But now I’m getting impatient to fill that empty space in my back yard landscape.    So my question is that given the characteristics of the varieties that I have in containers, how well each of these varieties do in container culture vs. in the ground, and given my mid-Atlantic location/winters which one (or two) should I choose to plant in the ground?  Whichever varieties do not go into the ground will be maintained in containers indefinitely, unless for some reason they don't do well for me.  Thanks in advance for your advice and insights.

Steve

P.S. Kathleen Black is on my wish list if anyone's interested a trade...

Funny, I was about to suggest KB as an in ground for you.

Why dont you just partially bury the pots where you want to fill the spots this way you can get used to them being there and your not married to those spots ??

Anthony - good point - the advantage of doing what you suggest is that I could fill in the landscape while but not fully committing to putting a particular variety in that spot on a more permanent basis.  I'll definitely consider it but would still like to hear other's experiences for in-ground vs. container for these varieties.

I am in VA and what I have done is potted up my plants that I want to test in certain areas and then bury them in a mound of mulch. The bottom gets the wicking benefit of the earth as well as the nutrients that gradually break down on that spot so when I do pick the final spot I have good soil to put it into.

Marseilles VS Black, Kathleens Black if you get one and of course VDB would all be very good choices.   

Thanks for everyone's comments.  I think the best course of action is to give my container figs one more year to mature and evaluate and then plant one of the them in the ground next spring.  In the meantime I'll partially bury one of my larger container figs (maybe VdB) in the spot that I have available in the backyard.  In the meantime I hope to receive and start growing MvsB and KB soon so that they can be considered in the running for the spot for Spring 2013.  Then I'm done collecting - hah!  As an aside, I really appreciate the generosity of the community which has enabled me to build up a collection.

My VdB is very agressive!  Not only has she given many of her children in the form of air layers, dormant and green cuttings, she has found her way out of her pot drainage holes, and into the ground where she has anchored herself.  She is getting very big, as is her daughter who has done the same thing.  It will be tough to move her when we purchase the acreage we want, but even if she kicks and screams, she's going with us, and she will be at the head of the fig orchard in Fallbrook, CA.
Suzi

Suzi, yes my VdB pot has one hole in the center of the bottom and several other holes along the sides of the edge of the bottom.  Roots that come out along the side holes can be severed with a spade but any roots that come through the center hole could be a problem.  So I will need to block off the center hole somehow or I will probably end up with a tree that doesn't want to come out of the ground.  Good luck finding your acreage.

I would let VdB get as old as you can before planting it in the ground. Mine is scheduled to be dug up and repotted this fall. I put it out as a one year old plant 2 years ago and it gets damaged in the winter, not as severely this winter, but it still died back some even with protection. I pinned it to the ground and covered with thick oak leaf mulch.

It is harder to dig out roots growing from the bottom of the pot, but not impossible by any means, especially because you dig up yearly. If you have sandy soil it will anchor itself much more deeply though.