Fig trees are marginal in zone 7. In zone 6, with no protection, my guess is they'd die back to the ground almost every year. There are many ways of protecting them. Burying is labor intensive, but effective. To do that you have to somehow lay it sideways and cover it with enough dirt that it doesn't freeze hard. I've heard some people who plant it sideways and then gradually bend the trunk down over the course of a few days, and then tie it up and bury it. Seems like a lot of hassle to me.

Many folks grow fig trees in containers and reap large harvests. If you get a 10, 20, or even 30 gallon container, this will support a good sized tree, and you'll get a decent amount of figs.

In the Down river Detroit area (warmer than the rest of this SE Michigan ) I have seen fig trees slowly bent over until they were laying on the ground. The common practice is to cover them up with old carpet ,pile the fall leaves on top of the carpet and then cover with wire mesh to hold the leaves in place. The tree gets heat from the ground and the carpet & leaves insulate it to keep the heat in.
In the spring,uncover and slowly put props under the tree till it is standing.

bellmart.....

Possible...of course it is...advisable, no. Why? Planting your tree in-ground, in your zone will be a gamble each season, and all it will take is just one bad winter, and your tree will be either be damaged, or dead. Don't believe the label that came with the tree. Even a "Hardy Chicago" can be damaged, or worse.

If you have an unheated garage, plant the tree in a large container, and store it in your unheated garage for the dormancy period. If you must plant it in ground, you ARE better off burying the tree each year, under a protective layer of earth, and snow, and then uncovering the tree for the spring growing seasons. This is a lot of work, especially as the tree becomes larger. So is covering your trees. Search on this forum for growing trees using either methods. Much has been written about each strategy, and the risks.

You will have the most cultural control by growing your tree in a large container. You will get dozens of figs each season with either method, but growing in a container minimizes the risk of losing you tree to harsh winter weather. My trees have been containerized since 2007, and I am blessed with dozens of properly ripened figs each season. You also will be able to control water at the roots when the critical ripening-phase of your figs arrives. Again, this forum will have plenty of information about this also. If you are concerned about the weight of a large container of growing medium, use a dolly to roll your tree around. Trust me...it saves the back pain, and prevents hernias.

You haven't mentioned the size of this tree. If it is nothing more than a small rooted branch, it will need special protection, until it puts on some age, and the soft growth hardens. Let us know more details, and even better, show us a photo of the tree.

Don't worry about growing your tree, but be concerned about how you will keep your tree alive over the coming winter(s). Upstate Rochester, NY is not the same as the sun-baked countryside in Spain, or Italy.

You WILL be successful growing your new tree. Ask all your questions to the forum members. We want your tree to grow and thrive, and we will not allow you to lose your tree. Check with us, and often.

Hope this encourages you, and helps with your concerns.

Good Luck.

Frank
Bronx, NYC

Thank you all for your help on the subject. I guess I was hoping for an easy way to plant and care for my tree but after listening to everyone's input, I've very sadly decided to return it.
Our garage barely has enough room for our vehicles along with some other odds n ends, let alone a large container and cart. Oh well, at least I can still get my figs in the grocery store.
Regards.

I would like to know when you can transplant a fig tree in Rochester NY?

Bellamart,

You may still want to give fig pot culture a look, instead of in the ground. I bet you have a cold place to store a fig tree you have not thought of yet. You don't need a lot of room. You don't need light, just a place that stays between approx. 25-40 degrees F. during the winter to keep the fig dormant.

Here are my reasons pot culture over in ground culture would work the best for you:

1. Any variety, even the most winter intolerant ones can be grown. Since the fig is winterized in an unheated location: garage, shed, summer porch, fruit cellar, etc., its winter hardiness is irrelevant. This opens up a huge selection window for you.

2. Why pot culturing figs is so important to you living in a short growing season climate is that you can select the earliest ripening varieties, which may be the least winter hardy ones, which lack of hardiness, again, is irrelevant. Growing under the same conditions otherwise, a pot cultured fig will ripen its figs quicker, than if it was growing in the ground. This ensures a successful ripening of your crop. There's nothing more disheartening than having not yet ripe figs never ripening because the weather is closing in. All that work for not.

3. Portability is a great advantage over growing in the ground. Select the hottest, sunniest spot for your fig(s). This may be a: cement patio, car pad, deck, roof garden...where you cannot plant a fig into the ground. Figs can take all the sun and heat you can give them. Just faithful watering is required.

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A 10 gallon pot is the largest size pot you will ever need. Even a fig that grows 20 feet tall in the ground in California can be pruned/trained to a modest 5 foot beauty in your pot. Pot cultured productive varieties routinely yield 200-300 figs a year on a mature tree. A gallon size purchased fig, given proper care will be mature in about 4-5 years. An immature fig tree produces lots of figs!....just not at their mature rate.

The only drawback is that you have to be adequately read up on figs and their management under pot culture. This is fun and enlightening to me, but too much work for some folks. These type of gardeners just want to plant a fig tree in the spring, forget about it, and later harvest figs. No effort. Pot culture figs is not for these kind of folks.

Moses

I have not read through all the response but I have 17 hardy chicago figs and they get killed back to the ground every other or so years. They come up from the ground and shoot for the sky. They start producing figs at every leaf node. My biggest in ground fig will put out about 300 figs this year The next 2 will put out 100+ each The remaining 11 in grounders are just getting started and will put out 50 at best. I have 3 potted fig that will have about 30-50 figs. Go ahead and plant it and after frost trim it back to a foot tall and cover with 2 feet of leaves for insulation

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Myriam, How did your trees do last year? Did they make it through the entire season? Only a few more months until the growing season is upon us again, and I can't wait!

I have a number of Chicago hardy and some other unknow fig that came from Italy given to me as a cutting. All in the ground. Zone 6b. They have been there for years. All still alive. I pile rocks /stones at the base of the plants. Keeps the heat in. I only covered then with blankets and tarp the first year and that was 8 years ago.

Ty, my figs did well last year. Better than I thought they would. They are looking really good this year. I put them under a portable greenhouse (bought it at Aldi’s last fall) in March. It protected them from our crazy March and April weather. Looking forward to some figs!

My Chicago Hardy would of been over ten feet tall if I had not kept cutting it back. When I left it uncovered it would grow back from the ground level with leaf protection but would never grow fast enough to give me ripen fruit by summers end.

So I would protect the tree itself every year with insulation and it did well with lots of fruit.

This year, it croaked for no reason, possible root bugs or animals. Who knows. Never again for me . I'd rather grow them in pots.

Good luck)

I don't dare try to winter them over in the ground here in the Finger Lakes. The climate is changing and we are experiencing more freezing and thawing than we did in the past. Or at least it seems that way. We lost potted trees to repeated freezing and thawing that caused the trunks to split at the base.