180 Fig Varieties Despite Chilly Winters: How One Grower Beat the Cold

Written By Steven Biggs - Fig Expert

Wondering how to get fig trees through the winter in areas where the branches die back with the cold? One option is to grow them in pots that you store in a protected space.

In this episode, we chat with Bill Muzychko of Bill’s Figs in Flemington, New Jersey, where figs die back without winter protection. Bill Muzychko grows over 180 varieties of figs—all in containers with reservoirs. Hear how he feeds, prunes, and overwinters his potted figs trees.

If the idea of containers with reservoirs interests you, here’s an article that explains how to make your own.

Steven Biggs - Fig Expert

Recognized by Garden Making magazine as one of the "green gang" of Canadians making a difference in horticulture, Steven Biggs is a University of Guelph-trained horticulturist, former college instructor, and award-winning broadcaster and author.

He has been teaching gardeners how to grow figs in cold climates since 2011. But his interest in figs took off much earlier, in 1993, while working at a nursery with the UK National Collection of figs.

He’s the author of the first book about growing figs in cold climates, the award-winning Grow Figs Where You Think You Can’t. His articles about growing figs have appeared in Fine Gardening, Garden Making, and Edible Toronto.

When not in the garden, you might catch him interviewing fig experts for his Fig Culture podcast.

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