Figs are a subtropical plant from the Mediterranean region and need some special care to flourish in Maine … but you can do it! The easiest way to grow figs is in a container. You should bring it inside in fall after leaf drop. maintain dormancy. Unheated cellars work great. Potting mix should be well drained. A common recipe is 3 parts pine bark fines, 1 part peat, 1 part perlite, 1 part compost, and 1 pint agricultural lime per 5 gallons of mix. Additional micronutrients (greensand, azomite, etc.) can be included at a rate of 1 pint per 5 gallons of mix. Figs are heavy feeders and should be fertilized once per month from bud-break in mid-May until mid-July. Five gallons is the minimum size container. Many fig growers have their plants in 25-gallon pots. Setting the container into the ground will allow roots to spread into surrounding soil and reduce watering frequency. If you have an ideal microclimate, such as a heated greenhouse, in-ground planting is possible. In-ground plants may also survive a zone 5 winter if layered to the ground and buried with 1 to 2 feet of insulating material such as wood chips.