I had a hardy Chicago for a few years that died over winter last year, and was thinking about replacing it. I kept it potted and move it in the garage during the winter which gets down to the mid 20s-low 30s on coldest winter days. It was hit or miss on getting many figs to ripen, a couple years I did ok and got 20-30 figs and other years it got too cold and they withered and died before many ripened, so I'm thinking I need something that ripens earlier and/or tolerates the cold better. 

Here are some of the other varieties I was thinking

VDB/Negronne- my top choice because flavor is supposed to be good and I read some threads saying it does ok in colder areas

Olympian- heard this does well in cooler areas and is easy to get, heard mixed reviews though on flavor

Florea- read good things about flavor and cold hardiness but its harder to find cheap and I wasn't really wanting to spend a lot in case this flops (I know I'm pushing the growing zone so I was just going to get something cheap somewhere like hirts or wellspring)

Desert King- heard this has nice brebas (how many exactly should I expect? some people sound like they only get a few), though I prefer darker berry flavored figs from what ive tried (which isn't many)




just wondering if people have any thoughts or input on these or other suggestions

Florea and RDB.  RDB tastes better so I would go with that if you can choose only one.  You should be able to get cuttings cheap.

Olympian ripens about the same as Hardy Chicago.  VDB/Negronne later.  Desert King may be able to ripen early but colder zones don't always have the best luck with brebas.

Long de aout is a cold weather fig so is Marseilles black VS. I live outside chicago both are doing great. First year trees both figged out just waiting for them to ripen. Im told very soon now.

from postings on first fig ripening dates, it sounded like RDB (i think that's same as negronne too right?) and hardy Chicago and Olympian are all within days of each other but i wasn't sure if some of those continued to ripen a lot better than hardy Chicago or if there was something more noticeably earlier. thanks for the tips on Marseille and long de aout

Ronde de Bordeaux is a good choice. Not the same as VdB, earlier than Hardy Chicago by a week. Also tasty and attractive fruit and leaves, a good grower. Not easy to come by a plant from nurseries, but usually plenty on ebay from reputable sellers, or,wait a couple months and folks will be pruning and sharing cuttings.

I can't add any advice for specific types as I am new to the fig growing scene this year, but I found this old thread to be helpful in getting an idea of what varieties I might want to look into a little more. 

https://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/best-figs-at-your-location-4800578?highlight=best+figs+your+location&pid=1295578021

There are a lot of pages, but on page 5 post #240 Dennis compiled what everyone said was their best for their zone. Granted every year growing conditions will be a little different and some of those are in ground not pots...Not sure how much it has helped me, as I have now added more figs that I'd like to try than I had before I found the post! You may find it some help, though you have gotten some good suggestions already.

I agree with Ronde de Bordeaux. Not only is it a prolific producer, but it is one of the first to ripen in the summer. Zone 5/6 usually means a late spring start and unless your fig is one to ripen early your season may not be long enough. One of my tastiest one also.

My RDB split like crazy this year with all the rain we had, it was early ripening. Taste wise Marseilles Black VS was outstanding and still pretty early ripening.

any thoughts on lattarula or white Marseille? edible landscaping sounds like they are the earliest in their descriptions and wellspring and hirts have them for ~$15 shipped, or should I wait and try to get cuttings for RDB or florea or something in a few months.

http://ediblelandscaping.com/products/shrubs/Figs/

Lattarula
"At our nursery Lattarulla ripens its yellow figs earlier then all others, usually starting in June or July. Because of fluctuating winter weather, these buds can become damaged and not fruit as much as in milder regions such as the Pacific Northwest. The fall crops are inferior fruit because they need pollination from a fig wasp that only lives in Europe in fig producing countries or parts of California. King fig seems to be the same as Lattarulla. Also called Danny's Delight, this fig has ripened its fruit near Lake Michigan outside. Figs are large, pale green to yellow, sweet and delicious. Fruits are well worth the effort since they are the first to ripen, usually in mid-June at our nursery. Success will vary in zones 6-8."

marseille
"Large yellow figs ripen the end of July on previous seasons growth. Very productive and early ripening. Produces an early main crop of short neck delicately sweet fruit. The plant slows it's growth into the fall and "hardens off" well. There is usually no young wood die back the following spring. Usually starts ripening a few weeks before Hardy Chicago and ends its production before Hardy Chicago does."

Good advice above.  IMO:

1.  RdB for Bordeaux berry flavor.  Ripens late August here in-ground.  VdB family (including Nero 600M, etc) are too late unless grown in a pot.

2.  Improved Celeste for sugar flavor.  Florea works too.  Both are early -- ripen mid August here in-ground.  Nordland is slightly later but also sweet and large.

3.  Any Mt Etna for figgy berry flavor.  Marseilles Black is great but also St Rita, Norella, etc.  Ripens early Sept here in ground, roughly 2 weeks after Florea.

4.  Lattarula / Italian Honey for honey flavor.  Ripens with or slightly after Mt Etna.  The Lattarula I know does not need the fig wasp; it is not a San Pedro such as Desert King.  LSU Gold and Champagne are probably too late, need too much heat.

5.  I'm not sure there is an Adriatic that ripens early enough.  Maybe Strawberry Verte.  I'm trying JH Adriatic but they are not ripening yet.  I grow Gene's Paradiso but it ripens late Sept and October in-ground.

Hello
You mentioned that you will be growing your fig trees in pots?  
In that case you have a lot of leeway in choosing varieties.  Only if you plant in ground is where you need to be wary of the short growing season and only a few fig varieties have been proven to perform well in zones 5 and 6.

Being in zone 5 the only fig types to avoid for container growing are;
- the smyrna and the capri types i.e. the ones that requiring the fig wasp to ripen.
- Also unless you have a greenhouse you are advised to avoid the late ripeners. 

That leaves you with a 1,000 fig cultivar choices so treat your self and get familiar with the various fig flavor groups and try and get at least one fig from each flavor group.  (sugar, honey, adriatic berry, dark berry and exotic berry)

your choice good luck.

I'd agree with Pino but with a caveat.  Growing in pots and protecting indoors, you can grow varieties that are too tender to be planted in-ground.  That makes Smith, for example, a possible choice.  But unless you jump through hoops (e.g., a greenhouse), growing in pots seems to add only modestly to the length of the growing season.  For example, my potted RdB was no different than my in-ground RdB.  So you do have to pay attention to timing.  As he says, you should avoid the late ripeners.  

If your few years old Hardy Chicago died during winter in pot,  Other varieties will die as well, you need to find a warmer spot to store your fig trees during winter.

A Mt Etna variety such as HC should not be killed by temperatures in the low 20's.  My outdoor trees survive 0 F and worse.  Is it possible that the pots just dried out?  Years ago I killed a fig in my 60 F basement simply by not watering it.

Gene Hosey thought Filacciano Bianco had the most cold hardy wood of any fig he knew. As it is known for its brebas that ripen in July and mine, at least, does ripen at least a good portion of its main crop, it lets you start eating very good to excellent figs in July. I really like this variety.

I'm in zone 7 but still grow everything in pots. I think all's fine until the temperature drops below 20F.

I posted ripening results that Jon has in his info area if you need to look at them. It is older and does not include everything I now grow, but it does let you see at what point certain varieties ripen for me here in Va, zone 7A

I recommend Florea, Ronde and Rouge de Bordeaux as well as St. Rita, Norella, Marseilles Black VS and other Mt. Etna varieties.
I get great feedback about Marseilles Monticello and it's very cold hardy.
I think Battaglia Green is a must have. I love Blanch de Deux Saissons. Longue D'Aout has been very good and all the Col de Dames are excellent.
I also really like Vasalika Sika, Adriatic JH and Green Ischia. ETC., etc., etc.

There are a number of lists if you are looking for cold hardy varieties. I grow at least 40 cold hardy varieties as my friends in the mountains are borderline zone 5/6.

Do you really need cold hardy varieties as you can move your pots to a protected area in the fall?

As others have suggested look for early varieties and don't fall into the trap feeling like you have to have Black Madeira/ Preto/Flat Black Madeira, etc. as these varieties need a lot of heat over a long period.

When researching varieties remember that certain figs are excellent if grown in - say - Virginia, but terrible if grown in Florida or Arizona. If possible buy figs from someone in the same type area you're in.

Keeping figs inside has certain advantages (I'm referring to my set-up);
One is the trees come out of dormancy without the damage from cold and windy nights. Late frosts are a non-issue and once the plants are set out they are in prime shape to start to grow. I feel like bringing the trees in for winter gives me about a 2 week advantage in the spring over inground trees. I have not done any peer reviewed studies so this is just my opinion, and folks growing inground may have opinions that differ from mine.

Anyway - good luck.
If you decide to visit Edible Landscaping remember I'm just 8 miles away.
My last overnight visitor says she wants to come back as the fishing is good.

BTW the reason I did not list Negronne (VdB) was that this year my Negronne was completely over run by European Hornets. They ate every fig (they are still at it) and bullied me away  as - yes I am afraid of being stung again (7 yellow jacket stings so far). I have dozens of other figs ripening including a bunch much like Negronne but these crazy big hornets are only interested in Negronne! I have never had this happen before.

When Martin(Dieseler) was here(f4f), he had mentioned Hardy Chicago was his favourite..... he had others like Sal's, VdB etc, all
pot culture grown.

What Pino said.... If you're growing in pots you have a lot of options..... Your Chicago Hardy that died - Was that one in the ground? How was it protected?

no it was in a pot in my garage over winter. it may have been due to not enough water like someone else speculated, it survived a couple years fine and I don't think it got any colder than usual. it don't think lack of cold hardiness was a big problem, I'm more looking for something that will ripen more reliably but still survive ok into the 20s in a pot. it had lots of figs on it every year but most of them just didn't ripen fast enough. 

Interesting... May I ask where you're located? The north-east had a pretty poor season all around. All the dark skies and rain earlier in the summer meant everything got a late start. I have a lot of figs that will not ripen this year because of it.... nothing to do with the variety...

Many varieties should withstand temps like that in a garage with no problem at all. 

It could be an issue of water as you mentioned. I've overwintered figs in my garage without watering at all. At most they get a cup maybe twice the whole winter.

I'd recommend starting your season as early as possible. You may need to do the shuffle.

Hi,
Sometimes little details make the difference.
Last Winter, I did a test: Pots inside the garden house and pots outside (sunniest wall) next to the garden house.
The ones outside were killed or died to the dirt.
All the ones inside made it without die-back except for 3 airlayers that apparently weren't old enough to go dormant.
Did you put your HC at the very same place ? Did you change it next to a colder wall ?
As for variety, HC should be good. If you want to try some other you could try: Longue d'aout and Dalmatie or Brownturkey . I have them and they are cold hardy down to Zone7.
In your zone, using pots is a must.
You then have to play with potting up, changing some pct of the dirt from the pot and root pruning. Not an easy game.
Good luck !