Fig Trees in Winter

Fig trees go dormant, and that gives cold-climate gardeners options. You can store potted figs somewhere cool and protected, or protect in-ground trees outdoors with methods ranging from wrapping and insulated structures to bending, tipping, or burying.

There isn't one best method. Choose winter protection to fit your climate, your property, the way you grow the tree, and how much lifting, wrapping, bending, dragging, and schlepping you're willing to do.

Fig tree ready to be tipped to the ground for winter protection.

This fig tree is ready to be tipped to the ground and protected for winter, one of several methods I use in my Toronto garden.

Choose your winter route

  
          Your fig
        
          Starting point
        
          Potted and movable
        
          Let it go dormant, then store it in a cool protected place. Aim roughly for 0-7°C (32-45°F).
        
          Potted but no garage or cellar
        
          Look at insulated outdoor storage, a shed, balcony box, cool greenhouse, or another protected microclimate.
        
          In ground, winter is only moderately cold
        
          A sheltered site plus wrapping or a temporary insulated enclosure may be enough.
        
          In ground, colder winter
        
          Consider bending, tipping, burying, an A-frame, or another method that brings branches close to the warmer ground.
        
          Not sure
        
          Start conservatively with more protection, then learn from growers in conditions like yours.

What temperature should dormant potted figs have?

Keep dormant potted figs cool enough to stay asleep. A useful target is about 0-7°C (32-45°F). Warmer storage can wake trees too early.

Don't fixate on one hardiness number

Fig hardiness isn't exact. Variety, plant age, dormancy, wind exposure, how long the cold lasts, sudden temperature changes, and microclimate all matter. For an established dormant in-ground tree, about -10°C (14°F) is a useful rough guide, not a promise.

Articles: Fig Trees in Winter

Featured

These Espaliered Fig Trees Make Winter Protection Easy

Here's a way to grow figs that makes it easy to protect them for the winter in cold climates.

Potted Figs Waking up Early? Here’s Why, and What You Can Do

Your potted figs are leafing out early... When fig trees come out of dormancy early, you need to know what to do next so that you can still harvest figs. Find out what to do—and how to avoid figs waking up early next year.

Watering Dormant Potted Figs...and Getting it Right so They Survive Winter

Pointers on how often to water potted dormant figs over the winter.

Figs and Winter Temperatures

Find out what you need to know about fig hardiness and winter temperatures so you can figure out what sort of winter protection (if any) your fig trees need.

What to do with a Fig Tree in Winter

Find out what you can do to protect a fig tree in winter. There are lots of ways to do it, and the right choice will depend on your situation.

Explore all fig-growing topics →

Ready to go deeper?

Fig Camp & Fig Masterclass

Learn how to grow figs in pots or in the ground, ripen more fruit, and get your plants through winter.

Find out more about Fig Camp and Fig Masterclass →

Grow Figs Where You Think You Can’t

My complete guide to growing figs in cold climates and pots, from choosing varieties to conquering winter.

Find Out About the Fig Book →

Grow Figs Where You Think You Can't: Growing Figs in Cold Climates and Pots

Coming Soon

Grow Figs Where You Think You Can't: Growing Figs in Cold Climates and Pots

$49.00

REVISED SOFTCOVER EDITION COMING FALL 2026

The completely revised edition of Grow Figs Where You Think You Can’t has grown from fewer than 100 pages to 320 full-colour pages. It draws on years of growing figs in Toronto and on ideas shared by inventive cold-climate and container fig growers around the world.

If you think figs are only for Mediterranean hillsides and sun-drenched patios, think again.

In Grow Figs Where You Think You Can’t, horticulturist Steven Biggs shows how home gardeners are harvesting bowls of ripe, honey-sweet figs in places where winter routinely reaches freezing temperatures and colder.

This is a practical guide to growing figs in cold climates and small spaces. Whether you’re gardening in Ontario, Idaho, Pennsylvania, or anywhere with real winters, you’ll learn how to make figs work where they shouldn’t.

Along with the key concepts, you’ll get real-world strategies from growers who are doing this successfully.

The original edition of Grow Figs Where You Think You Can’t won a Silver Award of Achievement from the Garden Writers Association, now GardenComm.