I've got a black mission fig that I planted this spring, which is growing really well so far. I live in Knoxville, TN in the river valley at the base of the Smokey Mountains. This area is borderline between zones 6 and 7. I've got an unheated garage and plan to make room to bring my fig inside the garage for the winter. In another tread about growing Apache blackberries in a boderline area, I suggested an idea I plan to use to protect my muscadines vines this winter. I have 3 of them in containers, and they're too big to bring inside for the winter. If you don't have a basement or garage where you can put your fig for the winter, you might try this idea to give your fig some extra protection from the cold. Rose growers in the north have long protected their plants by building a cylinder of chicken wire around the plant and then filling it with dry mulch such as leaves or straw. The top and sides of the cylinder are then wrapped in plastic to keep the mulch dry, with only the bottom portion left uncovered with plastic so that some air can circulate to keep the mulch dry and prevent rot. If you use plastic on the top to keep the mulch dry, you must leave the bottoms uncovered so that air can circulate. Some people say to use burlap or something porous and never to use plastic, but they are often in climates where all winter precipitation is frozen. Burlap would keep snow from wetting the mulch, but would not keep rain from soaking through. Either way the mulch must stay fairly dry, otherwise it will rot the plant you are trying to protect. Southern gardeners have long used this same idea on a larger scale to protect tender hydrangeas and gardenias during the winter. This protects the limbs from cold dry winds as well as keeping snow from breaking the limbs. The biggest problem you might have with figs in a container outside during the winter is that the root ball might freeze in a pot that is exposed to the cold. If you don't have a garage or basement where you can bring it in during the winter, you could dig a hole to sink the pot into the ground for the winter to give the pot some protection from hard freezes. Even if that part of your yard does not get enough sun to be a place you could grow the plant during summer, a protected place on the east side of the house could give the fig a better chance of survival during winter. There is some contradictory advice on what exposure is best. North and west exposures are often bad because of the cold prevailing winds are often from north and west. South and west exposures are often bad because a few sunny days can fool a tender plant that spring has come and encourage the plant to bud out in February. Overall an east exposure during the winter may be the best compromise. The north side of the house can be good, if there is something that blocks the north winds, such as a hedge or fence. I used to live in Atlanta where I grew gardenias in pots on the patio of my condo. Most of the winters in Atlanta were mild, but we could get 3 or 4 nights each winter with temps near zero. On these extra-cold nights, I would pull all my tender potted plants on my patio up against the sliding glass doors. I would cover the top and outer side of the plants overnight with a mover's quilt. The heat that escaped through the glass was enough with the plants covered by the quilt to keep them protected overnight, when other gardenias planted on the grounds would get their end bitten back by the cold. I saw another idea on television that I thought was interesting but have not tried. I was watching 'Gardening By The Yard', which I find funny and interesting. He was doing a show on micro-climates in your yard. He interviewed the head gardener at one of the large hotels in Las Vegas. The guy said that tourist expected to see palm trees to go along with the sun and sand in Vegas, but the desert can actually get fairly cold at night during the winter. His solution to protect his tender palms was to decorate them with small Christmas lights. He said that for palm trees the main protection was needed for the trunks rather than the fronds. He used the tiny lights to wrap the trunks from the ground up to the top. They were really pretty and looked like glittery barber poles. He said that beside looking festive in the winter, the electricity going through the wires generated just enough heat to keep the trunks warm enough overnight when temps dropped below freezing. My guess is that a fig tree would look quite cute decorated white or coloured fairy lights. If you had an extra-bitter cold night, you could cover the lighted plant up with a blanket as well. In the fall most years, we will get a frost followed by a few more weeks of Indian Summer. I always have a large patch of tomatoes in a raised bed that I want to protect for as long as possible. For the past 2 years, I've covered them with a blanket just before dark and put a shop light with 100 watt light bulb shop near the base of the plants. Last fall we had about 3 nights down to 25 degrees, and that light bulb was enough to protect the plants with the blanket until temps rose the next morning. By protecting the tomato plants for 3 night of below freezing temps at Halloween, it warmed back up enough that I had fresh tomatoes for another month. It was really great to pick fresh tomatoes and bell pepper for Thanksgiving dinner. The link below is one I found that has lots of different figs described. There are lots of varieties that are more cold hardy than the Black Mission that is normally stocked by nurseries. For people that have never eaten a fresh fig pulled from the tree, they have no idea how good they really are. I like dried figs, but most fresh ones you find for sale are not very good. Fresh figs pulled from the tree are heavenly. Good Luck with your figs, Greg Here is a link that might be useful: descriptions of lots of different figs, including cold hardy ones

Fruit tree roots aren't particularly invasive. But any tree, if it gets big enough, could lift a concrete sidewalk. They shouldn't damage any foundation worth a lick. If you plant a lot of trees close together and summer prune to keep them small that would give you lots of fruit and limit any potential for damage. Check out the Dave Wilson website on backyard orchard culture. I can highly recommend Dave Wilson's Arctic series of white nectarines starting with Arctic Star and proceeding thru Arctic Rose, Arctic Jay, Arctic Queen, and Arctic Blaze. You can buy all from Bay Laurel Nursery. There are many other good choices of nectarines, persimmons, and pears in the bay laurel catalog. Order in mid Nov while the selection is good. If you like white nectarines you will like the following pluots: Geo Pride, Flavor Grenade, and Flavor Finale. These will give you later fruit than the nectarines. For early fruit get a Tomcot and Robada apricot. Also early would be a couple sweet cherries on Giesla 5 rootstock. You could plant 20 or 30 trees in 100ft and have fruit all summer and fall. The Fruitnut

you can grow alot indoors if you are dedicated enough. if you want something simple i would suggest maybe starting off with a citrus, a lemon tree is pretty hardy.

Havnet tried that Jeff-yet. Ethan,two of the three types didnt survive the winter-they are MAGNETS for slugs and snails. The last one is about 2' tall and when I do plant out will make sure all is cleared around it. My neighbors hedge of Dragon fruit is surrounded by bare soil on one side and asphalt on the other. ALL the succulents are doing great.The dwarf Euphorbs have tiny trunks and bloom.