Hello, I'm a new member living in the Piedmont region of NC (6A). This is my first post.

A central spot in my orchard has opened up, and I'd like to plant a full-sized fig tree there. Below are the fig trees I have on hand to select from. Can anyone advise me on which of these might and might not thrive here?

• Flanders
• Peter's Honey
• Italian Golden Honey
• Celeste

If you're in the piedmont of NC which is probably near Morganton or Black Mountain or Granite Falls, you're gonna have to really winterize just about any of those fig trees.  Out of that bunch, Celeste is your hardiest.  All will die back every year to the ground and come back except Celeste.  It will not die back.  Peter's Honey and iGH are a few of my favorites.  Get Peter's honey.  I will grow well for you but I recommend wrapping it with 2 or 3 frost blankets when the temps drop below 28.

I'm in Charlotte, zone 8a and all of those grow very well in my climate but every 5 years or so we're hit with temps that drop down to 10 or 5 degrees.  Without winterization, figs will die to the ground and some may not come back.  

I should have been more precise in the description of my location. I'm actually in the Triangle, just north of Chapel Hill. But I'm sure your advice is equally valid here. 

Thank you. I was actually going to choose, randomly, the Italian Golden Honey, wondering if it was more winter hardy than the Peter's Honey. I did have a Peter's Honey planted in this location; it was killed by winter temps in the single digits. I'm getting ready to replace it now. I created a fence around the the plant before winter two years ago and packed the fence with leaves, hoping to protect the fig that way. But it didn't work, and the plant hasn't grown up from the roots, as I was hoping it would.

I've never tasted the Peter's Honey fig, and I'm glad to hear you like it so much. Sometimes I wonder if I should just go with the Chicago fig. I remember several years back many people touting its cold hardiness, but I was never able to get a sense of the quality of its flavor. I wouldn't be happy if I had a tree that survived our winters, but whose flavor I wasn't enthusiastic about, for example, the Brown Turkey, whose flavor really doesn't agree with me.

I am curious about the Flanders fig. I don't think it's been tried much in the South (but maybe someone in this forum from a similar zone has tried it?). I don't know if its flavor is equal to the others I've planted. I do like the sweetness of the Celeste, although I don't think it has much complexity.

Hey Adam,Glad you joined us.  I have 32 Trees in the ground and the only one I have ever lost was "Peters Honey" My fault I did not protect it....I agree with Dennis about Celeste (Very tough tree) Peters Honey is very delicious! Hope this helps! : )

It sounds like Peter's Honey is a favorite. I guess I'll give it another try. Thanks so much for helping me think this through. I'll also be sure to invest in some frost blankets.

Is the Flanders a recommended variety? It was suggested to me by the owner of a nursery, and I'm going on that recommendation.

My Flanders has never fruited for me but maybe this year.

Peter's Honey is one amazing fig and worth protecting every year.

In the South Brown Turkey is King and Celeste is Queen :)  I have no idea how Peter's Honey tastes like but if Dennis and Frank say it's good, then it's definitely worth planting in your orchard.  If it were my orchard and I were worried about die back I would go with Celeste but I believe if you plant your tree deep enough and mulch like crazy with some good organic, aged wood chips, leaves, straw or whatever you can find you should be good with any variety that is known to be somewhat "hardy."  Maybe you should consider finding a spot for all those trees and keep some of them short with pruning.  

Thank you all so much for your friendly advice. It is really nice to have some guidance and not to operate purely by intuition.

Here's what I did today: I planted the Peter's Honey in the orchard as deep as I thought was advisable to give the roots some insulation from the winter. I will grow the Italian Honey fig in a container, as well as the Flanders.

One more fig matter I am unsure of: My VdB, Verte, and Celeste figs all died down to the ground this winter, and are now growing back as many-stalked shrubs.

Should I encourage them to grow as shrubs? Is there an advantage to that in this area? Or should I consider training them to one stem and growing them as a tree? The mature celeste I inherited at this house was grown as a tree, and it was a very handsome 10-to-12-foot-tall tree. (It was unfortunately split down the center by a neighbor who accidentally felled a full-grown long-leaf pine right on top of it.)

Hey Adam,

 I live in Spartanburg South Carolina and most figs will die down to the ground for the first 3 to 4 years and when they come back I only let 3 stems grow.Fig trees have a long juvenile period and are much hardier once established.The fig trees I have that has never died back is LSU Scotts black,LDA,Tena,Sals,Ventura.Hollier.The celeste trees I have  died back the first 3 years but survives winters now.The key is be patient and let them get stronger year after year.2 year old wood is much stronger than 1 year old wood.I plan on putting all my trees in the ground and wait on them.

Adam, it's up to you how you want to grow the tree.  True VdB at UCD is a dwarf tree, around 9 feet tall with loads of fruit.  I let some of mine grow as a 3 or 4 branch bush making sure there is enough air in the center to allow air.

Same here Grant.  My LSU Scotts Black and LSU Black, Sal, Ventura, Hollier, Malta Black, Desert King, Improved Celeste, and others never die back.  And now, its the first year my Black Jack and Improved Brown Turkeys did not die back.  TO me, the key is the size of the root system.  I use to  have a huge Ronde de Bordeaux years ago.  The 5 degree temps 2 years ago wiped it out but it has come back from the root ball.

Last year, Marius placed his Vasilika Meisi rootball and stump on eBay for 45 bucks.  I bought it, placed in a 26g self watering pot (SWP), covered it with weed guard and added a layer of hydrocorn.  You should see that due today!  I placed it in full sun and just left it alone.  That hydrocorn provides a lot of heat to the root ball and that dude just took off!  And I haven't even fertilized it yet!  I'll post some pics tomorrow.

Hardy Chicago tastes great.  You were wise to bury your tree deeply.  The more underground wood there is the more likely it will come back from a freeze.  Here in Z6 there's a group called The Giving Grove.  Their PH trees are in ground and fruit every year.  If you want to google them you can ask them how they protect their figs.  My HC is not protected.  It dies to the ground every winter (so I take dormant cuttings in Nov or Dec) and the underground wood sprouts in April - May and it fruits every year.

Good Luck!

I pruned all my figs to three stems today. For some reason, pruning to three main stems feels like a better growth pattern here than one stem. I can't say why, just a hunch. Hopefully I'm right about that. Thanks for the advice.

I'll definitely contact The Giving Grove and ask about fig winterization. I'd really like to keep the established wood alive through winters. 

If you all were to recommend one or two more figs for me to try (probably in containers), which would they be? I've got Celeste, Peter's Honey, Violette de Bordeaux, Verte, Flanders, and Italian Golden Honey. I'm willing to get one or two more figs to put in pots for our patio, and really don't which varieties to consider beyond the ones I've got.

That's a good line up you have , all of the flavor profiles are covered and most are hardy. If you are going to pick 2 more for pot culture I would pick 1 exotic flavor and a Mt Etna type to round out your collection.I vote Smith( Very good reviews) for the exotic flavor and Hardy Chicago for the Mt Etna type just in case you decide to stick it in the ground. 

I like that reasoning. Training to three branches seems like a sound practice in this area. Thanks for the good insight. And thanks for the varietal recommendation. I probably will try a Chicago, and will look further into the exotics.

I just received my Flanders fig, and am going to pot it. I've seen so much advice online about fig potting soil. I know figs don't necessarily want or need rich soil, and I know the soil needs to be good and permeable so that the water seeps down rather than runs around the sides. But I really don't know which mix of the several I've seen recommended are really the best for the plant.

Is there general agreement on this forum as to the best mix?