North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[martha_davis@highstream.net]

Hardy Chicago fig at the Chicago Botanic garden (zone 6 I think) is planted at
the base of an east facing wall with no protection dies back to the ground 
most
if not all winters. It sets a lot of fruit. The person in charge of the fruit
and vegetable island said that it never ripens, though garden volumteers saw
figs and assumed that they ripenend and told me that they did.  It might be
possible to get it to ripen in just the right microsite, but I suspect that
this variety needs to be protected in Chicago.  It is certainly not a no care
easy fig in zone 5.

Martha