The single most important and shocking thing about this Chicago Hardy fig tree is that it got through what passed for winter in this USDA zone 6a garden completely untrimmed and unprotected.
That’s not strictly true. It was unprotected, but it got trimmed by the resident rabbits. They left evidence.
When it snowed in January, there were fig bits sticking out above the snow. How untidy; the rabbits trimmed those down to about an inch above the snow. We had 3 or 4 inches of snow.
By mid-April, there were a few tiny buds on the fig at least a couple of mornings, but somebody ate them. Despite that, by the beginning of May there were more palatable plants available to eat, so the buds had a chance to grow.
It just needed a chance to outpace the rabbits.
The leaves started maturing from the baby yellow green to a more mature grassy green, and some little insect poked a few holes in the littlest leaves.
These shoots are shooting upwards now—the fig is beginning to look a little bushy.
It’s very exciting! There are so many other tasty plants to distract the rabbits, that this fig should be OK, if the weather cooperates.