So... I may be considering a relocation.. from zone 10a to 6a. To be honest, I don't know much outside of SF and LA. I know that daylight hours are significantly longer in the summer in the areas to the north of the US. Does this affect growth of the fig tree at all? Does it allow for faster ripening versus a place like California? Or is the difference negligible? I understand that trees come out of dormancy later, but does the tree just take off because of the daylight?

The longer summer days up north might help speed ripening a little. It does on some other fruits. But ripening is more about temperature, both day and night, than anything else. The issue in colder climates is that the growing season is much shorter. This takes a huge bite out of the length of harvest season. In LA the harvest season will be several times longer than in most 6a climates.

Thought this would be obvious, but...

If you move away from So Cal to anywhere else in the U.S., your fig growing situation is almost assured to get worse, other than possibly being able to afford more land. 

Even that thought you have about maybe the daylight hours being slightly longer is not going to account for much.  First of all, some places that are zone 6a might not be that much further north than L.A. 

But let's assume it's someplace like N.Y or Connecticut, which is somewhat further north than L.A.  Because they get a later start, most of the main crop figs there ripen around late august or early september.  So on August 21st, for example, you're only 1 month away from the fall equinox (day/night equal length).  I have no idea when figs ripen in So Cal, but I'm guessing it's more like June or July.  I haven't looked it up, but I bet a June 21st (summer solstice) day in so cal is longer than an aug 21st day in N.Y. 

The real problem with zone 6a, though, is that there is a significant probability each winter that the tree dies to the ground and has to start over in the spring.  So then you grow in pots, which is a hassle (to move in and out of garage each fall/spring) and also limits growth to some extent.

So you can still grow figs, but it's going to be more labor intensive and likely less successful. 

Day length less important than amount of sun and temperature.

The days may be longer up North, but the sun angle is much lower. This means the sun is providing far less energy. If you don't believe its much of a difference, compare 12 hours on a Northern European beach with no sunscreen to 3 hours in Costa Rica without it. You'll be hurting much more with the latter.

[QUOTE=Cheekyjen]So... I may be considering a relocation.. from zone 10a to 6a.  [/QUOTE]

Are you *MAD*???????????????????????????????????????????       :)

Have you ever dug your car out of snow?  Have you ever driven in snow?  Have ever seen or heard of snow?  As a resident of 6a I'm here to tell you that it was 50 today but tomorow it will be 20.  If you've ever gone into a walk in cooler this is cooler than that.  It often gets to -5 F here. 

The situation is much worse for figs.  Besides what you've been told there are many figs that won't ripen here either because the season's too short or because there's no wasp here.

If you do come to my neck of 6a I will take you coat and cold weather gear shopping.  There are little heat packets to keep your hands and feet warm.  There are even battery powered heated gloves and socks.  You have to be sure your skin doesn't shatter.

What's snow?

It's short for, "is no", as in, "There snow business like show business"

Cheekyien, would love to trade locations with you if I could afford it.  I live in zone 6a and fig growing is a real challenge here. 

Daylight length doesn't help up here and figs ripen much later than California.  Most figs main crop don't start to ripen until September same time as yours are starting to finish for the year.

The long daylight in April/early May doesn't do anything for in ground fig growing since the figs are still covered or buried until end of May.

If you are moving to zone 6a the real question you should be asking is how to come up to speed in growing figs in containers.  This way you have lots of options and different figs to try growing.   Once you get the feel of growing figs here you can start experimenting with in ground fig growing but be prepared for lots of limitations compared to where you are.

Good luck and see you when you move up.

Here's a recent video from Virginia, most of which is zone 7

I live in zone 8B, and often fantasize about moving to the tropics because I can barely take our winters here.

I hope the weather not withstanding, that the move is worth it to you, I wish you the best of luck.

Thanks everyone... it would be silly to NOT move because of figs... but if you couple that with veggie gardening... the thought has crossed my mind I'm trying to find the light in this situation and I guess I must work another angle.

If you move, you'll get to experience glorious autumn foliage, and the beauties of spring. Plus, you'll be able to grow fruit that requires long chill hours. And you'll have the opportunity to wear all sorts of fashionable hats and scarves. How's that?

Ditto everyone above. Jon is right. It's the warmth, not the light the starts the tree up in the spring. Longer light exposure can compensate a little for greater light exposure, but don't count on much. Even so, I have been surprised by some figs ripening into October, though this is suboptimal.

The French say "Il n'y a  pas de rose sans epines."  There is no rose without thorns. The winter can be a drudge, but I love the glory of springtime and measure the year by the seasons.

As for figs, try some in pots. Try some in-ground to see how they fair. Many advocate a southern exposure close to a wall.

I  Lived in Anaheim Ca,and in Sacramento Ca,and I live in NJ now and i never noticed any difference in the length of daylight.
But One fact is for sure,for fig tree growing,California is number one and zone 6 is number last.LOL.!
Of course ,sometime people need to relocate for serious reasons,like i did(survival), otherwise ,do not leave California.

It has all to do with warmth. Check it out and put a potted fig in a dark but warm place during winter and it will bud. No daylight needed to start the process.

Figs thrive in a Mediterranean climate zone and some parts of California share this climate zone. Both night and day temps are important. If you have like day temps in the 90's and drops to low temps at night as you can encounter in more desert like circumstances, it already reduces the number of varieties that are suitable for fig growing.
The same with warm and moist climates, not ideal for figs either.

Driving around in southern France, Spain and Italy and paying attention to fig trees I would encounter, and that's something figgies like us tend to do, makes you realize that it is the perfect climate for figs.
Long, warm and dry summers, from mid-may to end of October, with little rain is what they really like.
I was in Murcia, Spain last summer and noticed several fig trees along the road in the most barren situation and they all flourished, bearing tons of fruit.
On every local market place, you could buy figs and for 2 euros you would have a few kilos.
Every farmer would have at least one huge tree on the compound, much like the apple or pear tree in my country. 
  

[QUOTE=Cheekyjen]So... I may be considering a relocation.. from zone 10a to 6a. To be honest, I don't know much outside of SF and LA. I know that daylight hours are significantly longer in the summer in the areas to the north of the US. Does this affect growth of the fig tree at all? Does it allow for faster ripening versus a place like California? Or is the difference negligible? I understand that trees come out of dormancy later, but does the tree just take off because of the daylight? [/QUOTE]~i live in 6b and grow 23 diff varieties of figs,plant hardy chicago,florea,or brown turkey  out side winter cover them for winter,and the rest keep in pots or planters cold shed them for winter you will be a northener then ,welcome,LET IT SNOW ,LOL ~!~ 

I once read a column written by a famous biologist/environmentalist who said that we should all refrain from planting flora which is not suited for our climates and soil types.
In my climate this means we should lose the potato (from Central America), the tomato, peppers, all hard fruits except apples and pears and many more. Can you imagine, it would be pretty dull around here in terms of eating.
Plant imports are going on in Europe for several hundreds of years, even more thanks to the Romans.

By flora I mean plants in general speaking, not a specific fig variety.