I am interested in what varieties you grow in the 5 gallon pails & how many figs they produce. I have plenty of room to bring pails in during the winter. We have our porch ferns in our unheated attached garage & they are still green. The shop garage (shop is unheated) would be colder.
Per weather info I looked up, we rarely get below 12° although we did get into single digits last month during the frigid cold outbreak. If we ever did get to zero or a bit below, it would probably only be for a couple of days.
In a 5 gallon pot you want to keep the trees small, prune in the winter to about 40 inches tall with perhaps a schedule of 3 or 4 short lateral branches. (There are youtubes on this) Keeping them short also makes them easier to move and store in a Dark place overwinter. (You do not want them to break dormancy in January or February and begin to bud out!)
Production depends on fertilization. The Millenial Gardener has a good schedule for fertilizing I have used the fertilization schedule shown in this video with good results.
Millenial Gardener Fertilizing figs
I once had about 30 varieties. These are the ones that I retained after giving most of the others away. (They are all common figs, no wasp needed for pollination)
Campaniere
Cavalier
I 258 (Italian 258)
LSU Tiger
Improved Celeste
Borjasotte Gris
Any of the figs shown above could be grown in pots. I 258 and Borjasotte Gris are probably my favorites.
Another good choice...Violette De Bordeaux... would be another good choice.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Youtube as a resource. There are a large number of videos showing fig varieties. Figaholics has a large number of variety reviews:
You can see some of these varieties in this video : (I 258, LSU Tiger, Improved Celeste, Borjasotte Gris).
Youtube Peaceful Heritage Nursery cold hardy figs
I know you want figs in pots, but for anyone else looking at this they should note how he grows his In Ground figs for production; He prunes the main stem low, bending or training 3 lateral branche with weights, then allowing upward scaffolds to form on those branches.
You should also note that he provides fencing on the sides of his greenhouse to protect the figs from raccoons and opposum that I know you have in the Shannandoah valley. Be aware of these animal thieves before you invest a lot of time and money on your figs! An in-ground that survives the winters and gets large may allow you to out-produce their predation. (Look at the time! Good night!)