What is the reason for the fridge step?
I don't think the figs need the cooling period like the seeds of some stone fruit like peaches and nectarines.

Aaron, for the statement "place the bag in a dark warm place (in my case it's the pantry behind the kitchen)."..... How warm do you meant ? In F* or in C* ?
Because in my country, it's pretty hot.... Not only warm.... So could you explain more the warm term in here.....
Thanks


Ong


Jakarta, indonesia

you can got 100% without the fridge. it just takes some time check and making sure mold and excess moisture are controlled. problem usually comes from the cup. of course, some cuttings will not root no matter what you do to them, but most will. i'm thinking about waxing the end of green cuttings. 

Thanks a lot Aaron!! I am going to do it just like you, because I have never had 100% success! Thanks for Posting!! : )

Shoebox and moss at 75+ degrees is 100% for me or darn close to it.  The cup stage is where problems happen, getting roots is fool proof. 

to answer all questions with just one mail .
the drastic temp change is what cuttings need to have another burst of growth.
also when it's wrapped in wet NEWSPAPER somehow the chances of mold are slim to none, some scientist friend of mine said it could be the ink...(i don't know ...maybe they put preservatives in ink) but it works.
forget cup stage guys, if you got roots and the green leaves are getting ready to grow just plant it in Miracle Grow in a 4" round or square plastic nursery pot. for colder countries place them in the window cell, otherwise they just do fine outdoors here in Los Angeles.

cup is not a require stage. baggie isn't even require. they are just for piece of my mind. i like to check on progress. some just stick their cuttings in grown and end up with a tree.

I have used newspaper and you get 10x the mold issues with it compared to moss.   When you are putting it in a 4" pot that IS your cup stage....you just are not using a cup:)   While some varieties are very aggressive and hearty they all are not.  What you can get away with on an aggressive variety would be death for a less vigorous type or a plant with serious FMV issues.   

WillsC: I just realized you are in Florida... Heat+Humidity=Mold, Los ANgeles is a different set up. we will all get different results no matter what, don't you think?
         Re: Cup stage... i thought most people use another cup to use as a cover to provide more moisture and protection also. i never needed that extra TLC for my cuttings here.

no humidity dome typically indicates there is enough moisture in the air. whatever works.

Aaron,

When you put them in a ziplock bag to root wrapped in wet newspaper or moss the humidity inside the bag is 100%......does not matter if you are in CA, FL, Utah or New York....it is still a warm 100% humid environment.   Like I said it all depends on variety.  Just because your way works for you with the varieties you grow does not mean it will work for all varieties.  Not all the fig varieties are the same....some root easily some do not.  Some grow great others do not.  I don't care what you do unless your name is God there is no way no how your are going to get a 100% success rate on fig cuttings.......100% to root sure or almost anyway but to grow....nope sorry.  

Btw I do not use domes on my cuttings either as you can see in the picture unless they need it....but I do keep my plant room at 60%+ humidity. 

That looks some serious work WillsC, I notice the straws lowered to the bottom of each cup, is it to reduce moisture in the soil? Love the way you set up the cloning area.
I don't pay so much detail into the setup, maybe it's the areas we live in, it's easier to grow here. And I do take note that the varieties I have chosen , without even thinking, may be the major contributor to success.
thanks for sharing the pix, very informative.
What varieties, to your opinion, are harder to grow? Maybe I can try them here in LA to see how they take.

Aaron,

I have 4 of those racks in a U shape so can hold 150 cups.   Have about 40 or so new varieties currently in moss or cups and another 60 or so varieties in ground so about 102 total varieties currently but I am just a newbie at this.  Yes you have perfect growing conditions for figs, of course you also have horrid traffic, taxes that are sky high and air that is heavily polluted........I have humidity and mosquitoes lol  it is all a trade off.

The straws go to a reservoir and are called mini sips.  You can do a forum search for the thread on it that was posted by FMD.

There are just so many variables, cutting size, freshness........all I know is losses are all a part of it.

How big is your property my fried? are you planning to grow all of them in the ground?
that would be one  Fig Paradise , LOL

Three acres.  But I have many other fruiting plants.  

I envy you, mine is only 14,800 sf, and my space is limited to put all the trees i grow in the ground ;/

100%  tells me you haven't grown enough cuttings.

it's never enough, LOL
you should know that by now BLB

I've had good success  putting the cutting with roots directly into a pot that it can grow the whole season without having to repot in a larger pot.  It eliminates the chance of loosing a cutting when transferring them at an early age. I use mainly trade gallon pots for this.   For me I've also found rooting cuttings and potting them in the Spring when the inground fig trees are starting to bud out has worked good for me.

It always works for me. Must be a weather issue.

Aaron,
Thanks for sharing your info.
What is the specific "miracle grow" product that you refer to in your posts?  <There are several different types available...>

I'm new to cultivating figs, but have used the "baggie method" <documented in the forum archives> with a similarly high (over 98%) pre-rooting success rate for several hundred cuttings of 60 plus varieties. I've used similar procedures and I have tried newspaper, but have stayed with Mosser Lee Long fibered Sphagnum moss for the pre-rooting in bags. Pre-rooting by varying methods works because it provides the optimum environment for the highest success rates in small volume plant production.
 

BTW, the refrigeration of dormant cuttings seems to help with rooting in my experience (it probably stimulates cellular chemical changes in the cuttings). To get a 300 hour (sometimes recommended) dormancy period, the cuttings need to be refrigerated for only 2 weeks minimum.

I have also tried the pre-rooting in <Seedling Plug trays with 7 inch high humidity domes>, similar to Root riot method <documented in the forum archives>, with equally high pre-rooting success.
 
The main factors to remember are Temperature and Humidity <documented in the forum archives>, 72-78 deg F. and 85% - 90% Relative Humidity. Maintaining this ambient environment results in the fastest pre-rooting with the minimum amount of mold growth. BTW, the measured humidity in a plastic bag of damp sphagnum moss with rooting cuttings, at 75 deg F is approximately 85 % RH.

As mention by a few other members <and documented in the forum archives> the up potting is usually where the problems arise. Maintaining moist soil or potting mix, without water logging for the first 2 months and keeping the ambient temperature above 70 deg F. usually guarantees a very high growing success rate, in my case above 90%. I <sift my potting mix ingredients> to eliminate most fine particles and also have been able to carefully bare root cuttings after only 1 month of growth without any losses.

Thanks and good luck.

<edit> added pictures, links and clarification.

Pete, I am so glad you responded to my post. Finally there's some one who has agreed with my mentioned method and had similar results. I like the Sphagnum Moss idea, I will use it on my next batch of cuttings to see if that works better. About newspaper wrapping... my friend who is a biochemist suggests that they have used preservative in the ink of newspaper, that's why it takes longer to have mold issues with newspaper.
about MiracleGrow potting soil... this is a regular item in your nearby big box warehouses like HomeDepot or Osh or any other chain, they come in Organic or non-Organic contents. Here's a link to their products.
http://www.http://scotts.com/smg/templates/index.jsp?pageUrl=miraclegroLanding&itemId=cat50006&id=cat50006