Has anyone tried to transition cuttings directly from a 20 oz. cup to the ground. If so, please share your results and any advice you can offer.

My cuttings are currently sitting in a south facing window getting about 5 hours of direct sunlight per day. There is no humidity chamber and it stays fairly dry inside from the heat running most days. Any guesses at the chance of survival if I put them directly into the ground at the same time as tomatoes (no lows below 50 on the 10 day forecast - maybe April 15th or so).

Addison,

Last year, I transitioned from sphagnum moss filled zip top bags to the ground (zone 8b).  Since the cuttings were mostly buried, I planted them early and covered with mulch.  I had very good results with those that otherwise came out of the bags healthy AND were planted before the last week of March.  You will want to give them enough time to establish roots in the native soil before the onset of heat.  If you already have substantial top growth (to where it can't be buried under mulch), you will want to provide some shade for the trees for a while or wait until cloudy conditions will persist for several days.

EDIT: I used Root Riot cubes this year for cuttings.  I would have transitioned cuttings grown in those into the ground as well, except I plowed the field and didn't have an area ready for them.

I agree with James. I think that the open ground could be beneficial to cuttings, provided that they get enough shade. You may have to move them to a more permanent location later. Be cautious, though, a heat wave could be very detrimental to young figs.

Well we made some mud (finished tree ring 4 of 4)...

And planted a Nordland (thanks afigfan).

and a VdB. (thanks mnedelcu) I'll let everyone know how it turns out. I'd left them both outside in the 20 oz cup in full sun the past two weeks so I think they are ready.

Mud is great play time.  Nice to see a future fig lover in training.

The rings look great! I am sure the figs will grow happily there

You'll love looking at these pics in a few years.  I take pics of everything I plant and enjoy seeing how much they grow every year.

On James advice I put two figs out right from cups.  on one it was hardened off.  The second one went directly from inside under lights to outside in full sun.  I covered the plant the first week with a dome of window screen to ease it's transition to full Florida sun.  Both did just fine, no problems at all.  

Here are the results. Both cuttings had 3 leaves and same amount of roots when potted and planted. Looks like a stay in the pot is worth the trouble.

I would bet that the inground trees surpass the potted ones later after the soil warms. To help it along you can pull the mulch back about a foot from the tree so the sun can hit the soil for a few weeks. 

It could also be that the inground tree is struggling because the soil was overworked while saturated. This causes compaction and or clumping and reduces drainage and structure. It will recover on its own with the help of time and earthworms, they will move in under the mulch and do their thing. The best time to do any digging or tilling is when the soil is moist and crumbles like cake, then water gently after planting and avoid flooding. If they do not do better by the end of summer you could plant some cover crops like "tillage" radish and clovers to loosen the soil faster. I think at this point most of the difference is probably caused by the difference in root temperature though.

I think your correct about the mulch being a factor. It's about 3 inches of unfinished compost that's about 50/50 hardwood dust and coffee - much better suited for blueberries. Its crawling with earthworms so it should be better by the end of the season. Its also been a very wet and cold spring. This is the first week of upper 80's and dry all year.

In my experience, Brent is right.  The container captures heat early in the year, thus accounting for the additional growth.  As the temps get warmer and the in ground tree establishes roots, it will surpass (usually by a significant amount) the tree in a container.  You should see the same thing next year... the containerized tree will break dormancy first and out pace the in ground tree early in the season, but then the in ground tree will blow it out of the water.