Fig tree suckers at base of trunk remove or leave alone?

The subject says it all. I purchased two different varieties of fig trees. These are between knee and waist high. They came with suckers (or what I call suckers). I planted them as-is, but wondered if I should prune them back to the main tree trunk or leave them alone?

I included two marked-up photos highlighting the suckers on each tree. I'm new to using the snipping tool in Windows marking up the pics, so forgive me if the line is too narrow. I already figured out how to make the lines thicker, but I think what I posted here will suffice, except they turn out to be small in the actual post. There is one sapling coming out of the ground with a bud on it and the other 3 suckers are ones with a leaf.

If you use CTRL+ a few times, you'll enlarge the page along with the pictures.

Thanks!!!
Donald

I can't imagine them being hardy in your zone having lost young figs in N. GA.. I read that diehard fig lovers in cold zones will grow them in pots and bury them in shallow trenches covered with straw in winter.

Figs are somewhere between shrubs and trees. I have six producing Celeste and Brown Turkey figs and only prune branches in the way. Two are around fifteen feet tall so there is fruit to share with wildlife. I'd remove the lowest branches just to make it more accessible later and prevent rooting/spreading at the base. What varieties did you plant?

These are varieties supposed to be cold tolerant to 10 below zero Fahrenheit. I don't remember the varieties though. They are two different varieties to increase yield, but I'm growing them more fit a low height tree for some shade.

Sorry for the late response but I'm not getting notifications from here when I get a reply.

It appears that Chicago is a hardy variety as is Celeste. The roots can survive as much as twenty below but not the branches. I've had Brown Turkey freeze and it has taken years to regrow and fruit.

I don't recall DG ever notifying people about posts. You have to check in to see if there are new posts on your thread watcher. They do notify you by email after several days if you receive a private message.

Apparently you don't get email notifications. I had to check in and click on view my watched posts to see this reply.

I visited a fellow here in zone 6a, and he has an "orchard" of figs in his front yard that overwinter in the ground. However, in late fall he cuts them down almost to ground level and then covers them with a very thick mulch kept in place with wire cages. His fig plants by midsummer are 5-6 foot high shrubs, big bushy rounded things, covered with fruit. He's the local fig enthusiast, and his wintering care is plainly what makes the difference. I want to say these are Lattarula. I don't think any fig will do well in the north if it's just left to die back untended. It may survive a few years but I doubt it will thrive or produce much fruit. He has others in pots he lets go dormant in the fall and then when temperatures go to about 30 F, moves them into an unheated garage area that stays just barely above freezing. Violette de Bordeaux is kept that way. This fellow trims all his suckers off on the potted trees and grows them as single trunks. The bushes are pruned so only a few of the strongest shoots are allowed to grow. Nothing is left with all the suckers; his opinion was that it reduces the size and quality of the fruit, with too much energy going into a lot of little suckers that won't be productive.