Thanks Jordan. Hmmm, so they're really selling a fig type touted to grow (and one would assume also produce fruit) in Chicago but only if it's in a pot and overwintered in protection? That would be a shame. And false advertising too, I would say. But that certainly happens all the time, so you may be correct.

Hi Jordan,

Thanks for this reply also, and it's good to know about your experience with this particular type of fig, even though your zone is a bit higher. 10 x 10 foot plants, that's inspiring, but I may not achieve that size with the die back.

Question: what's this about rot? That's a different issue from dieback due to the cold.

I found a page about the Chicago Hardy fig on the Missouri Botanical Gardens web site MBG site: Chicago Hardy Fig that says the plant will produce figs on the new wood that come from the ground. There's even a photograph. But like you it also says that protection is needed.

Wrapping the tree is not something I really want to do. But covering it with some mulch inside a cage put over the crown is possible. Or covering the mulch with plastic. What do you think?

Wow, thank you soooo much Jordan! With all the info you've given me, I think I know what to do to make sure the trees survive the winter. I certainly will protect them over winter. Maybe some day I will want to attempt the wrapping so there is no dieback -- the article you sent will be my reference, and your 10 x 10 trees my inspiration!

Lina

Last year in a flower bed I had some salvia farinacea victoria blue, which is hardy down to zone 7. As a test to see if I could get it to overwinter, I piled up some tree leaves (probably about 8 inches high) and made a sort of wall around this with branches to keep the leaves in place. It worked! The salvia returned this year. So a bit of work like this with the payoff of having the plant/tree survive is worth it. I just don't know if I want to go to even more work and do the wrapping, but who knows, maybe in a few years for the fig trees...

The old Italian method is to bury them in a trench. I can confirm this works with subzero temperatures with no damage (we hit -2F here)You first dig a trench about 1.5-2 feet deep and bend the tree into the trench. I covered the tree with a tarp first. Then cover back over with soil. I also added about a foot of leaves ontop for added insulation. I did this with dessert king fig and un-named variety I collected out of NYC. For Chicago hardy I have one that have grown unprotected and it has reached about 6ft in about 5 years. However this past winter was harsh and it had died halfway so now its about 3 foot tall.

*I want to add that in order to tip the fig into the trench you have to break the roots with a shovel on one side of the fig.

Viper

as a young child in the early 60s at grandmothers house in Chicago 2 blocks west of Midway airport she had a a tall fig tree in yard.

Each season my uncles would dig the trench lay down the plant tied up with burlap then covered with boards. and dirt it looked like a large fresh grave The boards made it easy to dig up without hurting plant in spring.

My cousins and family were usually there at the time getting in way or watching Uncles.

Grandma was from Sicily and my Father from Bari all long gone .

She and Dad were the ones that inspired me as i loved the figs during Sunday visits when in season and Dad would bring home the figs of all sorts from his Club .

Never cared for the white ones and to this day eat and grow the dark ones .

Ah where did the time go it seems not so long ago i miss them all much.

Best

Martin

I learned from a blog I forget which....but in the blog the guy was doing the trench method in Minnesota and was still able to grow them.

If pruned back heavily in late fall/early winter, then covered heavily with composted material, straw or the like, could this not provided adequate protection? My undertanding is that figs most often produce great fruit on new growth so cutting back heavily wont really harm fruit production. In this case what'sMr's the point then of burying a mature tree? Am i missing something? I am currently in southern Italy and I am inspired to grow a fig when i get home (southern Ontario, Canada z5a) as i am surrounded by countless fig trees! They grow like weeds here - literally. Even out of rock walls.

Upstate NY here

They 0 will do better in the ground protected than in a container unless brought in, but unless you do the whole wrap or bury thing, it will succumb one winter. For reference, bad winters here can have -10-15 F for days, sinetimes without snow cover. Warmer winters, it won’t go below zero F much. Unfortunately, wrapping is often fraught with rodent problems.

I have one in ground down from 3 original. I prune to keep low to the ground, cover with leaves, carpet then tarp over a frame.

Fun as an experiment, but overall disappointing and lots of work.

The ones in galvanized tubs that I store in a 40 deg cellar over winter do so much better.