Fig tree, Zone 5

[Norminn]

Well, I am an optimist, so I am trying. My brother-in-law is an expert gardener and has raised figs for many years....but he digs a trench and buries his tree each year. He gave us a small tree (much too late in the year) and I had plans to dig said trench in my garden but just ran out of time between family activities, cold weather and the difficulty of digging deeply enough. So, I did get down below the topsoil to find hardpan and rock....dug out a lot of that, screened out rock and stones, mixed in some sand and a lot of compost. Placed roots carefully, piled in the soil and then some shredded cypress mulch. Bound branches and wrapped tree with bubble wrap :o) Placed a chicken-wire cage around the tree, filled that with dry leaves (packed) and then wrapped the whole with black plastic. We had frost in early Sept. this year, so winter temps are anyone's guess. Has anyone else kept fig trees outdoors in Zone 5?

[Boron Elgar]

I grow mine in tubs and overwinter them in the basement or garage. I find it is easier than burying them. I tried the protection route or wrapping and mulching a few times, but it is trickier in tubs. I failed.

This overwintering inside works quite well. I am in zone 6b.

Boron

[Brooklyn1]

The secret is knowing the Italian winter wrap:

[Norminn]

Ahhh, I've read articles about NYC fig growers, but that is a good deal warmer than my Zone 5. My brother-in-law learned to cook and garden from his Italian grandmother, and "burying" the fig tree every year is now a family tradition at his house, followed by a feast! Oh, what good cooks! We tried to get the tree in spring, but schedules didn't agree, so we retrieved it early November! Soil still tillable, but to bury in in the recommended 2' trench I would have needed power equipment because the subsoil is so hard.

I have seen -25 temp in my area, but that was rather long ago. Coldest last winter was...maybe zero, briefly. Our summer was totally crazy; my lilac and mock cherry didn't bloom in spring, but in OCTOBER the lilac and poppies tried to bloom.

[Brooklyn1]

I live in zone 5 (northern Catskills), fig trees don't do well here no matter how cared for, even when over wintered indoors the growing season is really too short for figs. Years ago I lived in southern Cal, fig trees grew everywhere, could eat your fill walking down any street, persimons too... had to be careful not to get bopped by avocadoes. But here I grow cherries, apples, and all sorts of stone fruit... I'm hoping for a good crop of green gage plums next year. I love fresh figs (love em literally, nothing sexier than splitting open a fresh fig and diving in) but here I settle for string figs. If you like dried fruit these are the best on the planet, the figs are wonderful:

I've purchsed these several times, excellent: