I do believe that figs need a dormancy period, mine are in a unheated garage till about the 15 of April then they can go in the sunroom or outside. In your case you can leave them in the garage,they will loose all their leaves, then move the tree in your sunroom, maybe the end of Januari and they will take off from there. Also in your case you can grow any kind of fig, better tasting than the ones you are showing.

Good luck.

Thank you both!

The figs I like best and are used to eating are a green-skinned variety found everywhere in Croatia. They literally grow as weeds in the sidewalks. Temps there get below freezing, but not below 20F. I'm thinking the Italian Honey or Celeste would be most similar to what I am describing unless you have other thoughts?

Bob, figs do not require a dormancy period. Most here in SoCal keep their leaves year round and I've seen some trees that produce wonderfully. I'm hoping mine get that way eventually.

Suza, from what I hear those should both be good choices. I just had my first Brown Turkey today - the local farmer's market had a small basket of figs for $4. They were delightful with a gentle berry flavor. If this is a variety that many people do not like, I'm really excited to try my VdB in a few months - if the figs all ripen nicely!

Here's a great thread on another forum concerning what some very experienced fig growers have in Zones 5-6:

https://www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-home/182089-zone-7-and-higher-need-not-reply 

Jason you live in a great part of the country, you can grow just about anything there, not so here.

Negronne fig is very prolific, vigorous growing fig. Also Lattarula is performing well in containers for me:

Negronne has a problem with long intense hot sun exposure.

Suzabanana,

Figs growing everywhere in Croatia....Paradise! "Kako je divno!"

My Conadria fig has a large yellow/light amber fruit. It can fill a tea cup. It ripens early for me....one of the first figs ripening right now...ate my first one today, August 18...delicious! Its leaves have narrow lobes, looks like a food handling glove.

Pot cultured in a 10 gallon pot (no bigger needed), judicious pruning to keep the fig tree at no more than 5' tall, and root pruned every other year or so when it gets pot bound, and you will have a fig you will love like a family member.

Conadria is the best fig recommendation I can give you.

The trick is to have a place to overwinter it. UNHEATED IS BEST: garage, shed, fruit cellar, unheated sun porch....any place that can keep your fig dormant all winter. The temperature cannot go below 25 degrees F. or above 40 F. all winter.

Also, when new growth starts in spring, snip off the growing tips of new growth when the 7th. leaf on that stem is 2/3 to 3/4 its maximum, fully expanded size. You will force the fig tree to make a fig at the base of every leaf below the snip. Go by the size of the largest, older leaf lower down on that stem for comparison. You will encourage figs to form earlier, and ripen earlier! No wasted energy on excessive vegetative growth, or producing new figs all summer into fall, most of which will never ripen.

Any fig that starts forming at a leaf node after the 4th. of July in our climate, may not ripen before fall frost. It is just wasted energy for the fig tree. Figs do not ripen off the tree. Once frost hits, figs stop ripening.

You need full sun and the hotter it is the better. Figs can take all the sun and heat they can give them in our climate (your Boston and my Pittsburgh are just about identical zones/growing conditions, you're a bit warmer). If I can grow figs, anyone can.

I truly do not advocate in ground culture in our climates, even growing the Chicago Hardy Fig. There are too many negative factors that you have no control over, and must be dealt with which makes ground culture unpredictable , very hard work, and fraught with a lot of disappointments.

Moses