Tim,

No, I have not tried the sand/peat moss method for green cuttings. I have been using a pop bottle method for my green cuttings. The reason being.....that pop bottle method never allows the fluids within the internal pipeline to ever dry and/or close down. Accordingly, cuttings will reliably root real fast. For small fig cuttings of any sort (green or dormant),  where I am concerned about its internal energy reserve, I ALWAYS move them to peat pots in cups.......so they never have to go thru transplant shock. A small cutting just cannot afford to have any setbacks..........

Did you catch what Chuck posted earlier in the thread?????  Namely, from his experience growing strawberries....the particular brand of peat pot can make a difference.  You should use "Jiffy" brand peat pots because they allow the roots to better penetrate the peat pot. That is the brand I have been using since I developed the method. I have not tried any other brand. Been purchasing them at both Lowe's and Walmart. They usually go for real cheap on clearance towards the end of summer.

Also, I DO NOT try to leave a void between the peat pot and the plastic cups. I try to fill that area too with potting mix. After your cutting is put in the peat pot.....it should look like the cup that is on the right in the second picture.

Re the sand......Every Lowe's should have that particular product. It comes in plastic bags and is what they use to lay bricks. They should have it.  If not......can also check to see if they have sand for children to play in. Usually that sand is coarse and has been washed several times. You do not want to use a salt laden beach type sand.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

Hi Dan, yes I did catch Chuck's experience with off brand peat pots. I used the 3' Jiffy pots. Lowe' did have the Play sand. I'll check it out. Thanks

Dennis, thanks for the link!

3) The normal indoor temperature at your home will work just fine. The temp in my home is usually 70 to 80 deg F.


Dan
Semper Fi-cus

Noss,

I am using the ones that are 3 inches deep and 3 1/4 inches across the top. These fit "perfectly" into a 16 oz plastic cup. IMO, you DO NOT WANT the peat pot to go deeper in that size plastic cup. There are several reasons for that. One reason...........you WANT TO have a void between the bottoms of the 2 cups that you FILL with rooting mix. This is an important part of the design of the method. This will prevent "air pruning" of the roots that will penetrate through the peat pot. Nice roots will form in that space between the bottom of the peat pot and the bottom of the plastic cup. So, you DO NOT want to use too deep a peat pot.....in order to get rid of that void on purpose.  

When rooting mix is put into that void....it becomes a good thing!! Look again at the pictures below and see how nice those roots are that have penetrated through the peat pot wall and which grew in the space. Notice how well those roots hold on to the rooting mix that was placed in the void. Look at the picture of me holding the peat pot after I removed it from the plastic cup. To me that is the desired "ultimate root ball" and what I strive to obtain when I root my fig cuttings.  It WILL NOT get damaged when you plant it.

Noss,

I took a bunch of summer cuttings the other day for conducting my rooting experiments......still big into fig propagation research. Took quite a few pictures of the mother trees. Each was loaded with figs. I almost got sick from eating all of those delicious figs. I am now in the process of rooting those summer cuttings. I am taking pictures as I go along and will post pictures of one of the methods that I normally use. The rooting success rate is pretty high and almost foolproof. Too, summer cuttings will root faster than dormant cuttings. Now is a real good time to take summer cuttings in our area. As it is right after their first flush and just before the SECOND flush.

Earlier in the season I broke a small branch off one of my Rond De Bordeaux trees (lawnmower accident again) and rooted it without any problem. Trimmed a small branch from my Beal tree (which did not come from UCD BTW....so no FMV) and it rooted too.  Also rooted a couple of trimmings from an heirloom black Italian fig that I discoverd a couple of years ago and only recently planted in the ground......should have taken pictures of these recent rootings. 

BIG Big hint folks............on my latest development on the "Peat Pot Method" for rooting dem figs. I will be using these to root some very late season "summer" cuttings. Of course these will work well for dormant cuttings too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/120757615547?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com%3A80%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dp4712.m570.l1313%26_nkw%3D120757615547%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

Rafed........I believe newly rooted cuttings (that were started in these peat pots) will keep in these containers over the winter. These pots are construced of both wood fibers and organic peat. And are lime treated to neutalize the acidity. The added wood fiber gives them extra strength while still allowing the roots to easily penetrate. (Personally,  I would plant them in a larger container before storing for the winter.) I will know for sure about performance in a few more months. They should "air" root prune the starts until you can get them planted in a larger plastic pot. (Can wrap with aluminum foil or burlap to minimize air pruning ...if desired.) These won't take up much room in the house....if you choose to overwinter them under grow lights. These starts should ship easy and cheap too.  Anyway........ when the time comes, just plant the entire peat pot in a larger plastic pot or in the ground......without any transplant shock whatsoever............from twig to planted tree.

IMO, this is a neat breakthrough technique in the rooting of dem figs.


Dan
Semper Fi-cus