As a cold climate fig tree grower, it is my dream to find a fig tree that will survive a cold winter in ground without protection.

The tree doesn't have to be handsome. The fruit doesn't have to be unusually big or especially tasty. Provenance doesn't matter at all. I just want to find a tree that can take the cold of a Zone 6 winter. Maybe one's out there. Maybe not.

There are a lot of varieties that we think of as hardy--Celeste, Sal's, Brown Turkey, Marseilles VS, and so on. Maybe one of them is the tree. But my guess is that the hardiest tree out there won't be a named variety. People who care enough to know the variety names of their fig trees don't usually leave them outside without adequate winter protection. Trees are more often put to the test when the original owner of the fig tree stops caring for it--whether because of moving or health problems or whatever. (see e.g., http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/nyregion/thecity/01feat.html). I'd bet that the best places to look would be in immigrant neighborhoods that have recently begun to gentrify.

Anyway, I pose this challenge: who can find the fig tree growing in the coldest USDA hardiness zone, that is in ground, outdoors, and unprotected? In the event of a tie, we can check historical climatological data. The fig tree growing in the spot with lowest average annual low wins. Espaliered trees don't count.

I am prepared to offer as a prize some unknown cuttings from two very large (but winter-protected) fig trees growing in ground in my neighborhood (hey, it's the best I can do). I encourage my fellow cold winter growers to add to the bounty. Extremely cold hardy fig trees have no commercial agricultural application and are of interest only to the hobbyist. We can't expect UCD to do the work for us, and unfortunately, it seems unlikely that Cornell or Penn Sate will ever open a fig tree breeding program. It's up to us.

My neighbor Don, has been growing two unknown varieties in-ground here in zone 6b for at least five years now.

Just the middle of last month (Nov.) he gave me a few starts of each one which I promptly planted in my yard. These are my first fig trees ever. They are one yellow variety and one brown. Maybe by late next year I'll have gotten them identified, with the help of some fellow forum members.

I'll be posting pics of them when the time comes.

It's my neighbors fault that I am now diving headlong into figdom. Guess I'm left with no choice but to see just how deep the rabbit hole goes!

Matt, I'm also looking for figs that can be grown out side without winter protection, in our cold zone 6 in Connecticut. When I say cold I mean cold. It got down to minus 11 degrees Fahrenheit here last year. after doing research for a year on which figs were available. We ended up planted last summer, Marseilles Black VS, Ronde de Bordeaux, Sal's Corleone, Hardy Hartford and Brooklyn White. Two years ago we planted Violetta. Five years ago we planted one of the Hardy Chicago variant. We received cuttings this last fall of Atreano and Danny's Delight. In checking the historical weather data for Pittsburgh I find that your weather station is reporting a low of only minus 7 degrees Fahrenheit for Pittsburgh and that happened January 16, 2009. I'm thinking you already have the hardy fig your looking for, Marseilles Black VS, In talking to Herman2, he told me that Marseilles Black VS has been growing in Columbia, Maryland without winter protection since 1947. The weather station for that area is indicating that it gets colder in Columbia, Maryland then it does in Pittsburgh, PA. Also, Bass of Tress of Joy has found several unknowns in the Bethlehem area that were unprotected when he found them. The Bethlehem, PA. weather records indicate that Bethlehem also gets a lot colder the Pittsburgh. I intend to add Bass's Bethlehem Black to our test plot this spring. My correct email address is robertcharper at symbol gmail.com Hope this information helps. Bob 

I have the same interest in cold hardy figs.  I have some of those R. Harper mentions plus two unidentified figs that have been growing unprotected in the Tulsa area.  One of these has a history that goes back at least sixty years in the Tulsa area.  Coldest temp I have recorded here, thirty miles S. of Tulsa in a rural area, was minus ten F. 

I have the unidentified figs in pots now, but they will get their tests when I have cuttings rooted for spares.  Only one of the two has fruited for me, but it makes a really large, nice fig. 
Ox

I can help in the final verification of hardiness of your cold hardy fig plants here in Zone 5 north Ottawa where we get a few weeks of -15F to -22F almost every year (January & February) if we ignore the low spikes of -30F in some years (excluding wind chills). 

Last summer I started some cuttings from a tree in Clifton NJ (zone 6) that was left unprotected for years and was hardy. Also there are several large unprotected trees in NYC.

Joe

I hope that Matt is right and maybe somewhere out there someone is already growing a fig that would be hardy in western PA.  But good luck finding it.  Think microclimate.

By the way, western PA is pretty cold, definitley colder than Columbia, Marlyand.  Check out this USDA Zone Map: http://www.aston-simms.com/DSN/wwwastonsimmscom/Content/Images/USZoneMap.jpg (click on it to zoom in)

Hey guys. Glad to see there's some interest on this topic. Pittsburgh does get pretty cold. We charted a record low of -22F in 1992, and we hit -7F last year. Our average annual minimum temperature between 1997 and 2009 was about +0.5F. We're generally a few degrees colder than the eastern half of the state. I think we might be in a lower zone than Boston.

I have heard some rumors of large, unprotected fig trees in Pittsburgh, but they are definitely hard to track down. My neighborhood has a decent sized Italian immigrant population, so there are a lot of fig trees around. I have an elderly neighbor who stopped covering her tree a few years ago (I convinced her to cover it this year). It dies down to the ground, but it sends up 4-6 feet of shoots and ripens some figs. All of the other fig trees I've found are winter protected.

Looks like Saxonfig and Oxankle are the early leaders in the hardiness challenge. Ottawan, if you can find an unprotected tree growing in Ottawa, you deserve special recognition. Outstanding achievement in the field of fig hardiness, perhaps. I hope we can find some more. I might place some fig wanted ads in church bulletins this spring. I'm thinking Greek Orthodox churches and Catholic churches in historically Italian neighborhoods.

Robert--I grew Danny's Delite from cuttings this spring. Edible Landscaping says that it's the same thing as Lattarula. It was fairly vigorous, but it was the only fig I grew that didn't bear any fruit. It dropped its leaves on time, but the terminal nodes never really hardened off. Celeste and Brown Turkey MD (probably Marseilles VS) were much better in that regard.

This is not fair. Here I am in zone 37, or some such thing. I have trees that are hardy here. But, no, you guys have to jump immediately to zone 6b and shut out everyone in zone 7, 8, 9, 10,13, 24, and 37. ;-))

wahhh wahh Jon... it sucks to be you, growing bananas and figs in the ground all year. haha. If only I had your climate!

Jon dont feel bad im on the other end.

Yeah Jon, I used to live in zone 37&1/2 (well zone 10 anyway).
And yes, I may be able to find a few nice varieties of figs that do well here but I sure can't grow citrus & mongoes in my back yard here in 6b.

That type of fresh fruit is one of the main things I miss about S. FL. There's nothing like eating a fresh, fall-off-the tree-ripe mango. Or walking out my back door in Dec. and picking a sweet ruby red grapefruit.

All of the fruit trees in my yard was probably the biggest selling point for me when we bought that house. We had 3 types of oranges, a grapefruit, 1 lemon, 1 tangerine, loquat, 3 types of mangoes, 1 rose apple, papayas, bananas, coconuts, and a few more that I planted while living there.

I had started getting into the more tropical types of trees such as Jackfruit, white and black zapote, guanabana, sugar apple (annona), mamey, breadfruit, durian, and a few others that I'm sure most have never heard of. It was fun playing around with some types that are tough to keep alive even in that zone. Kind of like growing figs in containers I guess.

I'd heard about some guys doing pretty well with some types of figs but never tried my first fig tree while there....what was I thinking? 

I agree with Jon this contest is discriminatory and unconstitutional. I will seek a Cease and Desist court order on these grounds. Lol

Ha! That's good stuff Sal. Had I not just posted the above I might have chimed right in with something like 'the gavel will soon fall in favor of the southerners!' or some such.

Oh, but you were serious....so..uh..sorry 'bout that.

Ugh, durian.  I was wondering what that smell was ;)

I always look for fig trees that survive without protection here in eastern Pennsylvania. I like to visit those areas that were settled by immigrants. I found Dark portuguese in the Portuguese section of Bethlehem, pa where it survived over 60 years. Brooklyn white from Bayridge area in Brooklyn. As well as few Italian, Greek, and Syrian varieties. Those trees may have been benefited from the micro climate.

I doubt that any fig tree will survive without any damage in temperatures below 0°F if it was planted in the open without any protection, or without the benefits of microclimate.

I agree with Bass as no fig tree will survive in my area without protection darn it !
But one day down the road i wont worry about storing them in garage !

LOL;
These guys living in sunny paradise griping because they are cut out of a "cold fig" search!!!!  I should be so lucky.  

We may never find a tree that can survive unprotected on the plains of N. Dakota, but we may find one that can survive if planted on the S. side of a barn.   That one tough tree, in the hands of one of our members, will  spread all across the continent.  Then we will be looking for the one descendant of that tree that seems to produce the biggest/juiciest, best tasting, and earliest ripening fig. 

Or we could ask some enterprising young molecular biologist to insert a fish gene into our trees and make them frostproof.  The figs would be impervious to frost but would smell like the dickens if not eaten within the day. 

The hunt is on.  Stay after it fellows; sooner or later that one tough variant will appear.

Ox

I have one of my negronne/vbd in a 25gl pot.

Before that I had it in the ground about two feet behind my house facing the south for a couple of winters unprotected.
The first year I planted it in the ground the main stem/trunk grew well over 12' with out branching. I cut it in half and the bottom half died off after the first winter but the tree its' self came back.
Same thing happened the 2nd winter ( unprotected ) and popped right back.

Last summer I transferred it into the 25gl pot only because I didn't like where it was placed.

I have several more negronne/vbd in pots and considering the summer we didn't have they were the best producers.

You know i have been thinking about the subject since it was posted.
Now i'm noo expert but do have a bout of common sense hit parts of my brain every so often.
I would think to find such a fig one could possibly locate the "real deal" in a part of a country that has figs growing there already and then venture to where parts of that country are just plain cold in a search of this cold type .
Negretta Fig is said to grow in rocky areas and on hillsides in Northern Italy if memory serves me correct  and tolerate the cold how cold im not sure, its a wild type of fig that was sent to the states i had talked to the person that sent it via email in the past but not sure how cold tolerant it actually is as mine is small and i dare not leave it outdoors in my climate least not yet until i can propagate off it then just maybe i could try but that would be some years down the road.

Good Post Ottawan.
Thats what i meant about finding a fig plant in a natural habitat if i may call it that then testing it elsewhere.
Just curious do you have any idea what the extreme low winter temps might be in that area?
I have heard of skardu black not sure if i ran across last season on ucdavis site or jons.

dieseler
Skardu average minimum in January-February is around -10C (14F to 15F).

I Do have Skardu Black,and is hardy Indeed.
Last wi8nter,,was ,8 F,and it was in Third year,still small in size yet,it came trough the winter with no damage.
I would also Recomend Florea,for People that said that they do not expect the best in taste.
Florea is also excellent tasting,in dry Climates,with cold winter,but not in rainy sogy climates.
It was my Father tree,on Paralel 44 in Romania Europe,Zone 6 ,but much colder than here in New Jersey,with usual January Nights,of -25 C,about-10 F
It also have ripe main crop fruits,on 25th of July,about 3 weeks,ahead of any cultivar I know.
H2

Well, Herman that is very good information to grow both Skardu Black and Florea in Ottawa where the last 3rd part of the January experiences -25C regularly. I guess some protection will help. The early ripening will be a bonus+.