About two weeks ago I went to look at a shrub border at work where I had put in about 12 one year old figs last year.
I meant to dig them up for storage over Winter or protect them in place somehow, but just never got to it and had totally written them off.
After this past tough New Hampshire Winter, I was amazed to see that some were sending up shoots !

        

They were given no protection at all and are at the top of a southeast facing slope.
Two of the ones showing the most regrowth are Excel. 
I need to check my map to figure out what the rest were , just haven't had the chance.

Wow that is amazing!

New Hampshire... It's cold up there

Amazing, especially since you guys had some epic cold spells this past winter.  I've found that excel figs are one of the most resilient of all figs.  Congrats, Kerry!

Thank you Kerry!  Love to see hard winter trials, intentional or not.  I know at my house (just over the border in Maine) we had -6F on 12/14/13 with only a dusting of snow over the ground.  Then we got 10" and maintained that or more throughout the winter to help protect against the -17F nights that followed.

So did you also have many that died?  Will be very interesting to see which varieties pulled through and which didn't.

I'm happy for you.  Being underground or under mulch makes a huge difference in fig survival.  Snow is even better.  But if I were you I'd move south  :)

Bob , that move is under consideration , but won't be possible for quite a while.
Greg , I think I planted between 12 and 16 plants , I'll have to go count the dead ones ,check tags and check the map.
As I recall the snow cover was much less than I expected the few times I looked at the area during the Winter. It is a little windy there.
I didn't pay that much attention because I thought there was no chance of survival at all.

Kerry,
Thanks for sharing the info and pictures.
What were the container sizes of these transplants? or What were the sizes of the root mass?
Thanks.

Pete , they were transplanted out of 1.5 gallon pots well filled with roots.

Thanks.
I'll be watching to see the names of the other cultivars that survived.

Subscribed.  Need to follow this for the list of survivors and casualties.

Happy for you Kerry! 

A side note, that Verte I bought from you a couple years ago is rocking!  It stayed in a container it's first year.  I set goals for it since it went in ground late last summer, and every day I stand in the same place, and look at it's progress.  It's first goal was to reach the bottom of the deck.  Then the deck floor.  Then the bottom of the railing, then the bottom of the railing on the other side of the deck.  Then the bottom of the seat of the chair on the deck.  It's almost there.  It's like it grows an inch a day now that the weather is warm.  It never went dormant, Kerry, so maybe it's one of the others you put it in your little hedge.  It doesn't seem to mind cold weather.  It's ultimate goal is to block the sun from the dining room window, so that tree is destined to be a big tree one day.

Good luck with the rest of your survivors!

Suzi

I love to hear success stories in cold climates.  Seems like an against all odds situation.  Thank you for sharing.  I will look forward hearing what other varieties are extra tough. 

Hooray!!!  Those look great!!!

Went to work early today so I could have time to check on the surviving/resprouting trees.
Originally 14 were planted and now I see more have started to come back with sprouts , so all but 3 have started to regrow.
Here is what survived in order of pictures below :
Lyndhurst White , Giant Black German ,Excel, Excel ,Salem Dark ,Sweet George , Sao Miguel Azores Dark ,Gino's Black
Sprouting , smaller than the others so I missed them at first, but no picture : Desert King ,and 2 Sal's EL (GS)
Those that died were :Vista , Gino's Black , Sal's EL(GS).

        

You just never know.  Off topic, but we planted a few cuttings for the Pakistan Mulberry, really far from the house and down low on the hill.  They did get drip irragation.  One is just a monster!  Alive and well.  The others are pretty dicey.  JD went down to cut the water off, and he saw big green swelling buds on one.  So  They all have their own timetable. 

Your dead may rise!

Suzi

Hi Kerry, again, thank you for this super information.
You gave me a fig labeled "Azores Dark" last spring.  Is that the same fig as "Sao Miguel Azores Dark"?  If so I think I've gotten each of those varieties from you except Excel!  Very excited :)
My assumption is that these varieties have a great fighting chance trained in step over espalier form up here for us with a mulch raked over them in the fall.  Do all of these varieties ripen ok for you in NH?                 

Amazing Kerry !

Suzi ,
Got to love those mulberries !
Greg ,
yes that is the same AD , I just put in the full name in case anyone else had gotten the same variety from Dominick.
Something he got from another grower in Mass.
I haven't gotten fig from the AD or Excel yet , but they were young plants.
Of the rest my favorites are Salem Dark and Gino's Black.

Update wanted- Did any of those fruit this year?

Some of them formed fruit , but none of them ripened fruit.
Regrowth in general was just ok.
I think I'll leave them unprotected again this Winter to see if they make it through .

Still impressive that they survived at all.

Some of these survived, enough to come back from the crowns at least, another bad Winter here in NH with no protection.
Azores Dark set fruit early enough that it may ripen a few.

          

Kerry,

I think that is proof positive of the power of karma.  I hope it follows with you for a long time.

I wondering if putting pavers around them would help them survive or warm them up earlier in the spring.

I am amazed at how tough these young trees are. It gives me hope to put a few in ground in my 5B location. 

Bravo Kerry,and thanks for the update on these zone 5 suvivors!

hi drivewayfarmer,
Time to buy some cheap 80liters/20gallons trashcans to help protect during the winter. That is my way of doing.

Thanks James !
jdsfrance , I purposely left them without protection this past Winter just to see how they would do. I might protect the Desert King this Winter to see if the breba will survive with protection the way I cover my in ground figs at home , with bags of soil mix and Tek-foil material.
What surprises me most this season is that the best of these plants have already surpassed the growth they made last season , which wasn't much really.
I imagined there would be a gradual decline in growth getting wacked back so hard for 2 serious NH Winters.
This is at work , so it is nice of the owners of the garden center to let me play around with this.