Who says one must live in California to grow figs?

Hubby planted figs in large containers which he rolls outdoors in late spring, and back indoors in early fall, making certain to avoid freezing or even light frost. Our trees have survived this way for years now, and all of them produce fruit in summer, and often during the winter months indoors. However the winter figs lack sweetness and aren't worth keeping. Possibly it is the lack of heat that contributes to a super-bland winter fig.

We do know of a man in St. Louis who planted his fig trees directly in the ground and they survived nicely, even producing good crops of figs. His secret was that as fall approached, he would bend down the branches and heavily mulch the entire thing for the winter. We don't have the nerve to try it, in the event nighttime temperatures are cold enough here to kill them. Since they grow so well in Missouri's Ozarks, they would grow even more easily in Arkansas.

Once I was sun-drying some figs on an outdoor window ledge and happened to glance out one September day only to notice a Monarch butterfly had landed on a fig. That butterfly apparently loved it, as it remained there ingesting/imbibing for the longest time I have ever observed one Monarch feed in one spot. Finally after about 12-15 minutes, the butterfly continued on its trek.

Check out the two attached pictures, one of which is a closeup. Dried or fresh, they are very sweet and this writer actually prefers them fresh.