Hello!
Chicago Hardy Figs are probably one of the most cold hardy figs. What makes them cold hardy, is the ability of the tree, to die back to the ground level from freezing, and regenerate all new growth in the next growing season, all while still being able to produce a main fall crop. Figs can produce two crops, the early berba crop, and the later main crop. Every type of fig is different in the way and time it produces, between these two cropping options. The berba crop is from small immature fruits pollinated and carried over from the previous year. While the fall crop often referred to as the main crop is all flowered and developed that same season. Some fig varieties only produce mainly berba crops. While the cold hardy varieties sometimes can produce berba crops, the cold doesn't allow the immature fruit to carry over winter, so the productive varieties must produce a strong main crop. If you're in an area that pushes the boundaries of what the woody tree tissue can handel temperature wise, the benefits of cutting your tree down to the ground in late fall and early winter. Is that you can mulch over the stump and
roots to better protect them from cold. It also keeps the cut wounds smaller, and easier for the tree to close without rot issues. When pushing the boundaries of survival for the Chicago Hardy Fig, growing a bush styles fig tree is the only option, as the freeze will kill the previous years growth. Even if you successfully grow it tree style, at some point, unusually cold weather will cause sever damage, creating a bush like tree. The bush like tree is just the chemistry responce of continually bening cut back or frozen back. The annual fall cutting it down, is a preliminary way of dealing with the impending problem, while alowing you to mulch over the stump and roots for better cold protection and better regrowth the following spring. The tree will continue to grow stronger
underground, and get better at regrowth with age.
If it were me in regards to your pruning questions, I would prune off only the dead. You can just trim off whats obviously dead, down to buds orientated to help it grow in a proper structure for this year. If your climate will allow your tree to grow as a tree, then grow it as a tree. But if complete die back is inevitable, I wouldn't let your trunk
wood go much beyont this next growing season, before cutting it down. Mulch over the trunk and roots every fall to protect them, and know if it grows without the dormant fall cut back. At some point, you will most likely be cutting freeze damaged deadwood, down to the ground in spring. The yearly cutting back in late fall, is like pollarging at ground level, and when pollarging its important to do annual pruning, and when training, to keep the cuts not much bigger then 1 inch. Those principles help protect the heart wood from rot, but in this case its the underground trunk mass and
root structure you want to protect from rot.
Thats my 2 cents
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