I don't grow them personally but about 15 years ago I watched a gardening show (forget which one) and the gentleman grew 2 in his back yard. In the fall, he would dig a large 'grave', line it and bury the trees for the winter. He would trim the tops and then cover them with a quilt. To much work for me! There is another gentleman in Orillia that grows a potted one. He has it growing outside all summer (gets about 11 figs each year he told me) and in the fall he takes it indoors and overwinters it there. He said he doesn't have any problem overwintering it there. Hope this helps.

My cousin has a fig tree in Duncan BC, it is huge and the figs taste wonderful.

I've heard of someone growing it in Brampton,On. I think it's quite possible.

When I lived in Toronto, I had friends that grew figs outdoors in their gardens in North York. If you google 'growing figs in North York', you'll see that someone held a workshop on just this point last year.

I overwinter my two fig trees in a shed that is kept just above freezing. They must be kept cool, but never frozen. If you have a cold basement that should work.

Check out Steve Biggs online. He's a "garden writer" that grows figs, I think he lives in Toronto or the Greater TO area.

http://www.grow-figs.com/

I saw figs in Victoria, BC. They grow very well there and produce a crop. As for southern Ontario, figs need protection. A gardener in Sarnia lays his trees to the ground and covers the trunk and branches with fall leaves.

I'm in Montreal. I rented an apartment for a few years in a small house owned by an elderly Italian couple who kept the backyard to themselves to garden in. I think they installed a patch of old world climate back there somehow. They had a beautiful fig tree (~10" tall) planted staright in the ground, draped in a grape vine, surrounded by a bountiful tomato and pepper garden. They didn't do much of anything to protect the tree over winter, though the yard was very sheltered on all sides by low concrete structures, thereby blocking wind without blocking sun. I'd go back and ask them for advice, but they were mad as hatters.

I did some research about figs in Canada and the west coast is where you'll see fig trees loaded with crop. It's amazing what they can do on the west coast. There are bay leaf trees, 30-foot palm trees, huge laurels, huge rhododendrons, tall bamboo!, redwood, eucalyptus and of course figs... with a second crop!? I can't find much about Ontario figs but they need forms of protection. I'm reading about climate and the west coast winters are much milder than Ontario's but the coast has cooler summers than the BC interior and southern Ontario. But in pure irony bamboo and palm trees grow with ease on the BC coast. They have grapes and wineries on Vancouver Island. Rosemary is evergreen there.

I like video evidence. Videos of figs on a BC west coast island or palm trees swaying in the wind in Vancouver tells a bigger story than was ever told before the Internet existed. Retiring gardeners should explore the west coast online at the very least.

Here is a link that might be useful: Figs galore in BC

The Hardy Chicago fig, is hardy only to Zone 6. Maybe you could create an appropriate micro-climate in a sheltered spot of your yard.

Reuben McTabe, I'm curious as to where in Montreal this couple lives.

If you are planting close to a structure, in a southern exposure to exploit a microclimate, I would be concerned with damage from invasive fig roots. Have read mixed ideas about this, so to play it safe, I have one in a pot and the other well away from the house. They do fine in wine barrels but will need more protection from Winter cold than in the ground.

This is a 20 year old fig from cutting beside my house in Halifax , Nova Scotia. never used to cover much until I added a musa basjoo 3 years ago and it used to die back to about a foot or two. Now it is much larger and I cover with bags of leaves to about 3 ft tightly packed once frost gets the banana top.. This spring it was basically alive to 5ft give or take. now about 8 ft. This is not Chicago hardy...

Soon.

After mild winter of 2016 fig has become much larger.Minimal die back...

I also grow a number of bamboo species. Fargesia murielae has been the best for here. I have also a picture of a trimmed low hedge of Sasa pygmacae . Both are over 20 years old. The later is a spreader and very aggressive.

Wow!! Jay what zone do you consider yourself in? I have two fig trees that I bring inside to overwinter. I'm in Manitoba and consider my area to be zone 4 to 5.

Halifax is considered zone 6b but because of the close proximity to the ocean there are microclimates so site selection is important. Our worst season is Spring or lack of which is tough on some plants The fig doesn't die back to the ground( I use bags of leaves ) but the fig is very large now so it depends . Also it does not leaf out until almost mud June here.