Originally Posted by Herman2
Burying the tree is ,best and my opinion the only way to get ripe fruits ,in zone 5 or colder.
Other wise the tree will not die but will start from soil level every year and so be late to ripe,possible never ripe.
You can bury using the method of cutting half roots on one side and tilting tree on opposite side and place a plywood in top and soil in top of plywood.
That will make your tree come out of Winter with all wood intact,and Breba fruits on already starting to be visible,and those fruits will ripe in July.
Grow a cultivar with two crops and cold resistant like Takoma Violet and yes  you will be successful.
Leaves ,tarp,are not enough in zone 5 or colder,that i can tell you for sure.

Originally Posted by rcantor
You might want to keep back up plants in pots should your experiments be unsuccessful.

Originally Posted by jdsfrance
Hi figgygoose,

IMO, packing in straw is calling for rodents to come in, especially at winter time - they seek for hides and sheltered areas .
I pack them with dirt from the nurseries, because dirt won't attract rodents that much. And dirt holds the warmth acquired from the sun hitting the dark colored trashcan during the day.
I don't cover the top of the trashcans. I don't want to cook the trees. Even here, during the winter, I get some sunny days. During those days, the protected trees can get hot and cooked.
I'd rather use a higher container be it a trashcan or a 200L barrel, and fill it with dirt from the nurseries. You could pile two containers one above the other. Just stack them so that the top one doesn't slide and fall.
I would top the trees so that they fit inside the container.

Here on some of my trees, I used a dark plastic bag that I put over the trees . The bags had holes to keep some airflow .
One bag once had no holes, and I got lucky I caught the problem on time, as mold was starting to set in inside of the bag.
Here I can unpack my trees by the 1st of March, and I rush to unpack them. They really need the airflow.
This year, I left some empty trashcans longer around some trees to protect the stems a bit longer. But by now, all trashcans are removed, and the trees can breath as they want.
So far, so good ... This past winter (it is Spring already :) ) was luckily a mild one .

Originally Posted by pino
Definitely some great information on the links to Japanese fig growing.

Keep in mind Japan is somewhere zones 8-9.  To duplicate these practices in Zone 5 - 6 will require a greenhouse or some very creative thinking.

I tried a 1' below ground level espalier last year. Figured would be easy to protect for the winter. 
Unfortunately you need very short people to pick the figs and the fig branches/cordons were at the right level for the rodents and rabbits to munch on...lol
 

Originally Posted by alasnofigs
In 2013 I planted a couple of Chicago Hardy figs on a southwards facing slope with full sun exposure on our property in Michigan. Normally it is a 5A winter here, but the winter of 2013/2014 turned much colder with minimum temps of -27F and almost 40 nights below 0F. Much to my surprise, the above ground growth died, but the roots survived and by June were sending up new shoots. By August developing figs appeared. However: The limiting factor turns out to be the length of the effective growing season, not the winter's low temperatures. The nurseries do overlook some petty details. By the time the green figs are approaching full size in September, days are often in the 60's, nights in the 40's and there isn't enough warm weather and/or sun left to ripen the figs. October brings a frost and that's the end. We haven;t had any success with figs ripening after picking. Forcing earlier development of the shoots isn't feasible because of the risk of late spring frost. Probably the only way to get ripe figs would be to enclose the plants in August and create a hothouse environment until October frost.