Fig trees in the Cottage Grove area - Ask Extension
I was curious if fig tree would grow around the Cottage Grove area, I am hoping to start an orchard within a couple years and was interested in figs. ...
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Fig trees in the Cottage Grove area #393767
Asked April 15, 2017, 12:43 PM EDT
I was curious if fig tree would grow around the Cottage Grove area, I am hoping to start an orchard within a couple years and was interested in figs. I've heard that some varieties do just fine here in Oregon, however there are some people that say figs will die if temperatures go below 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Any information regarding the difficulties if any, would be great. Thank you for your time.
Lane County Oregon
Expert Response
Greetings, and thank you for your question! Figs can do quite well in the Cottage Grove area. There are many varieties, and I'm definitely not familiar with all of them, so when you're making a selection, look for information about the USDA hardiness zone. The lower the zone number, the colder the temperature that variety will tolerate. Your zone is listed as 8b, which corresponds to an average minimum temperature of 15-20 degrees F, but that is an average; if you've lived in Cottage Grove for more than a couple of years, you probably remember temperatures well below that a few
years ago. If you can find a variety suited to zone 7, that will be more cold hardy (zone 7a average minimum temperature is 0 to 5 degrees F).
Steve Renquist, the Extension Horticulturist in Douglas County, provided some great insights (including variety recommendations) in a 2016 article available at the following address:
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/2016/08/don%E2%80%99t-be-fooled-figs-grow-fine-western-or...
years ago. If you can find a variety suited to zone 7, that will be more cold hardy (zone 7a average minimum temperature is 0 to 5 degrees F).
Steve Renquist, the Extension Horticulturist in Douglas County, provided some great insights (including variety recommendations) in a 2016 article available at the following address:
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/2016/08/don%E2%80%99t-be-fooled-figs-grow-fine-western-or...
