Herman, this is a goldmine of information!  You have given me hope that I may be able to put trees in the ground...as long as I protect them in Zone 5b.  It will be 2-3 years before anything I have (that I am willing to gamble with) is old enough, but I AM going to gamble when some of mine age some more.

Thank you for all of your hard work and you generosity in sharing you information.  This is a tremendous shortcut for people like me.

C.J.

Hi Jenia:I forgotten to say,that Jurupa ,I have for 5 years ,never fruitted,so I left it unprottected to die,and punish it,and it survived just fine.
It is only one foot tall bush,never died to ground and never grew,as it should.
I am wondering what it will do this year.
I have a hint I will have a few very large fruits out of it,this year.
H2

Thanks for this listing Vasile. It is a true help to fig growers to the north of you especially.
Best,
Kerry
NH z5

My locally found fig seems to have come through the winter this year with little of the over-zealous protection I have given it in previous years.  Herman you're quite brave, I wish I had left it unprotected this past winter as we had a mild winter (relatively speaking) and it would have been a good test.

~Chills

Herman, out of the first 16 figs that you did not cover at all, which three would you select as being the best tasting?

Herman,

Do you still have your Barnisotte?

If so how did it do this winter?

I know that in the past you have spoken highly of this variety.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with all of us.

Joe

Herman thank you for posting this great info, Herman if you dont mind me asking how thick is the diameter of the trunks of your non protected plants? And how much of the new growth do you leave on when pruning.

Thanks

Herman:
Thanks much for this information.  Since I have some of the varieties you listed I am very pleased to have your experience to work with.  I suspect that with very minimal care, perhaps leaves heaped around the base of the trees, your hardy varieties will survive here too. 

Would you tell us please, what was the coldest temperature your figs had to endure this winter?  Just how cold did it get? 
Ox

Coldest This winter:10F
Barnisotte Black(nero):Have 3 in trial:So far they are not cold resistant,and die to ground.
I have 3 from 3 different sources,so possible 3 strains,and all are dead to ground,yet they were young plants.
My non protected plants are 2+ Inches thick,except,Lindhurst white,wich is very young!
H2

Ouch, Herman!!!  10F is cold, but we pretty regularly get colder than that.  I suspect that I will have to cover my trees indefinitely.  I am going to continue cutting back to a size that will fit in a barrel for at least another two or three years before I try leaving any of them out. 

Chicago Hardy may be an exception as I have several and can spare one for an in-ground test.  This is particularly of interest since I have seen so many comments to the effect that C. Hardy can die back and still produce a crop on the new wood. 
My potted CH's are making figlets now.

All of them get sunshine today as we are not scheduled for any freezing weather for at least a week.
Ox

Any opinion on the (UCD) Diredo fig (hardiness)?...
[E: I am not 100% sure yet, but initial observations
seem to indicate that it may be a top-hardy-dog?]

Thanks Herman for posting this information. I would review the situation next year. For me this winter has been mild compared to the last few years.

Ox, I have also read in many different places that Hardy Chicago can be top winter killed, and then come back, and ripen a main crop of figs.

Our Hardy Chicago is between 6 to 8 years in ground here. Half the time it has died back to ground level. Each Spring it would indeed re-grow, and produce a main crop of figs. About two or three.

In our case we felt that statements suggesting that one could plant Hardy Chicago and not protect it, and then harvest a good crop, was not true. 

I have also read a lot of articles in blogs, and magazines stating that Hardy Chicago was the most cold Hardy fig available.

We did not find this to be true. At least not in our zone 5 location.

In my opinion, to many people write articles base on them selves reading a hundred articles about a subject, and have never really tested what they have read them selves

The other  thing we noticed is that Hardy Chicago, in our location needs around 8 hours or more of direct sun light, each day. Or it simply will not produce anything more then a few fruit per year.

Bob Zone 5 Connecticut

Wish List: Any figs that have been growing unprotected in a northern zone 5 location, for the last 50 to 100 years.  

Bob,

     I came to the same conclusion about my tomatoes and eggplants this year. They did not perform as advertised and I had distributed enough seedlings to realize that difference in reports back to me reflected the difference in the amount of sun they get. Cooler climate might mean slower metabolism and so compensate by keeping the factory open longer by supplying sunlight longer.

Bob,

When I lived in northern Massachusetts (border of zone 5 and 6) I had a Hardy Chicago growing in the ground with winter protection.  In order to get it to ripen figs before the cold weather came I had to pinch the growing tips in June, otherwise the figs would only start ripening as the frosts started.

Interestingly, now that I live in Arizona I still find HC to be one of the last figs to set a main crop.  In my opinion Hardy Chicago wants to put out a lot of vegetative growth before it starts to produce fruit.  However it does respond well to pinching and the fruit are delicious.

The unknown that I have from Clifton, NJ (the one I've been calling Joe's Jersey) is just like Hardy Chicago in terms of the leaf shape and fruit, but from what I observe it is healthier and produces more fruit that ripen earlier in the season.  At this point in time I believe that it is probably a strain of HC that is healthier and more productive than the one that is currently in trade.  The original tree has grown unprotected in Clifton, NJ for over 30 years.