Hi groweverything. If you have some rooted and hardy to zone 5,... I'd love to set up a trade! Email me if you see anythinmg of interest from my trade-page. Thanks! Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: My Trade Page

Well, the secret is that it's not much different than how high-density apple orchards are trained in cold climates, only we use much higher-vigor rootstocks. The Ontario Ministry of Food and Agriculture has a good slide show on the attached link of how to achieve this. Here is a link that might be useful: Training new trees

Lapins, Royal Ann, and Brooks are really more "semi-low-chill" cherry varieties than true low-chill. They can fruit in zone 10a, but typically produce fruit every other year (or the fruiting is not consistent, there may be some years without fruit) and do not fruit as profusely. In a warm climate, it can also take a few years longer until a young cherry tree begins producing fruit. With something like Royal Ann, you might see just 3 cherries set fruit in the fourth year after planting, it will be 2 more years until you see anything significant. This may not be suitable to every home grower but there does exist some special chemical treatment strategies for cherry trees that can be applied to try to partially compensate for the inadequate chill. A 200ppm solution of gibberellic acid, sprayed onto the bark of a cherry seedling can help bring it out of dormancy. The gibberellic acid has to be continually reapplied, and should not exceed this concentration (otherwise the plant may stay in dormancy, strangely). In my experience, the treatment is a lot more effective if applied into a cut or break in one of the main branches. The initial first shoots that appear may send out deformed leaves, but the appearance of this first growth will help stimulate a second wave of buds to break a few weeks later, which will produce normal leaves. There is another rest-breaking chemical, Thidiazuron (TDZ), that can be used in conjunction with gibberellic acid (although it is even more expensive). From what I have read, TDZ is most effective when applied BEFORE the plant experiences chill, and reduces the necessary subsequent chill requirement. Both of these chemicals are fairly expensive, so the small quantities need to be applied with care to the tree to maximize their effectiveness. One of the main ways to try to counteract lack of chill hours in warm climates is to try to minimize as much as possible the higher temperatures on warm winter days, because these can seriously detract from winter chill accumulation. In other words, it may not be so much about making sure the plant receives chill, but rather preventing the plant from experiencing warm temperatures when it is in dormancy. You can do this by providing partial shade, or in drier climates misting the leaves during a particularly warm winter day.

Personally, I would seek out local favorites that are known to work well in your locale. Figs are all over India. Reach out to friends and neighbors to see what they are growing. Perhaps they will let you taste some, and you will get an idea of the flavor profile that you prefer. They may even offer you cuttings as well. I haven't had a fig that I didn't like, so I don't think you can go wrong either way. Not having a fig tree would be the biggest mistake.