Henderman said:I got a Chicago Fig to grow in my hoophouse...
I think you are asking about a Ficus carica 'Chicago Hardy' (AKA 'Bensonhurst Purple') fig. Sometimes called a hardy fig, but all figs need some protection.
They are rated for a hardiness zone of 6, and I think your zone is colder than that. How cold does your hoop house get? In other words, do you heat it at all in the winter? Your coldest winter temperature in your hoop house (and not the zone you live in) will determine what your fig will do if left unprotected, or if your protect it.
Here is a video link from youtube to a video by Logees Greenhouse, where I bought my fig mail order from 12 years ago:
"How to Put Your Fig Tree to Bed (Get Ready for Winter!)"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
I love my Chicago Hardy Fig! I get buckets of figs grown in my backyard in Salt Lake City, Utah (zone 7b, 5 to 10 °F/-15 to -12.2 °C) without any winter protection. Some years, it dies back all the way to the roots, then regrows each spring- and I get less fruit. If the winter doesn't kill the branches, they leaf out quickly in the spring and give me more fruit. At first, I kept it potted and brought it into an unheated garage each winter when the leaves dropped. It got too big after a few years! Then, I planted it in the ground, used a tomato cage with burlap and mulched it heavily with leaves. Hard work, and, it got too big! Then I decided to see what it would do each winter. I made tons of cuttings, and saved a few (for protection if it didn't make it) but it did, and it's been super happy for 12 years. Now, it's a 7 ft. tall bush each summer.
Henderman said:It's gone dormant now and I'm not sure how to manage it. Do I cut it back? If so, how far?
So, the bottom line:
1) the warmer the fig can stay each winter, the more fruit
2) It will always go dormant in our climates. Any frost kills the leaves and it usually goes dormant then.
3) I don't prune it in the hopes the branches won't freeze so they'll leaf out in the spring. Research figs to learn about their two crops. Consider winter protection options discussed in the video link above.
4) If it is too cold, and yours freezes and kills the roots, you've lost your fig. If it's potted and left out in the severe cold, it can't handle as much cold as a fig planted in the ground and heavily mulched. Like I said, I'm in zone 7b, and mine is in the ground, in my garden, so I don't know how cold yours would get...
And, a word of warning about figs...
They are the last to pop out of dormancy each spring. Don't dig it and toss it! You always think its toast, then BOOM! Leaves! And figs! And, yes, I still often keep a potted cutting in my unheated garage, "just in case."
