Despite a cold winter with single-digit lows (8 degrees) two of my figs, 'Celeste' and an unknown, made it through the winter with no dieback whatsoever, are starting to leaf out already, and both even have good breba crops developing. Meanwhile my 'Brown Turkey' is showing no signs of growth and looks like it had considerable dieback. I may just cut it to the ground to renew it, as it has several small suckers coming up around it.

Having observed these figs through several winters, I'm convinced that 'Celeste' is considerably hardier than 'Brown Turkey'. As for the unknown, I got cuttings from a friend in Beltsville, MD (outside the Beltway) who said it was at his home when he bought it (20+ years ago) and has only been killed to the ground once or twice during that time. I wish I could identify it, as it seems to be a very good fig--not just hardy but with excellent flavor.