Steve,

Hah that sounds like me :)) They really got right to putting out a root or two once I got the leaves and shoots off.  They have not put out new leaves yet but I have them on a table in a very sunny window so hopefully we get more!  I just decided they wouldnt get roots if I left the leaves on because the cutting were starting to get BAD mold issues. 2 got roots and 2 are still yet to show a root and have no leaves now too! We will see :)

October 27, 2008

Cuttings were examined yesterday and today - no new roots seen on any cuttings. Leaves/foliage continue to develop on nearly all cuttings now.

Nothing to report regarding new root development. The first rooted cutting is ready to move to potting soil later today. I will post a picture of it before I pot.

First rooted cutting from the experiment Group A before potting this morning. You can see some of the larger roots, many more were only visible when looking very close (they were "washed-out" in the pictures from the flash).

Also included a close-up of the roots from one of the two Martin's Unknown that were also potted today. You can see some very good detail and very vigorous root development.

Steve, is the container you are using a water bottle with the top cut?  I'm also planning to use a clear container and was wondering if you've had any problem (or is it really a problem?) with algae and how you've dealt with it.  Also, what is the rod sticking out of the container?

Thanks and keep up the great work.
Brad

Yes they are water bottles. I use them because we have a ton of empties we generate so they are free. But I really like that they are so clear to observe roots. I cut the tops off with heavy scissors and wash them with soap and water. I use a nail heated with a butane torch to melt about 6 drain holes in the bottoms. Works like a charm. To get the cutting out, I cut down opposite sides of the bottle to the bottom and gently open like a clam shell holding it sideways then flip it into my palm. This way I disturb the roots very little. The "rod" is actually a wooden popsicle stick I use to label the cuttings.

Very boring update today - no new roots seen on any cuttings but the leaves/foliage continue to grow on all. I will be checking again tomorrow morning but then I will be away until mid next week. Hopefully by then there will be some new developments.

Thanks Steve!
 
You have been most helpful with this thread!
 
Stay warm & dry
 
Cecil

Thanks. Tune in next week. I'll be nice and warm in Orlando until then.

October 30, 2008

Another surprising result; the first Group F cutting is putting out multiple roots that currently are at the very early stage of forming. It is 19 days into the heating cycle after this group was chilled for 1 week. The complimentary group E (un-chilled) also put out roots on the first cutting at 19 days. Although we can not draw conclusions based on a sample of 1, it is beginning to look like the chilling period may not have had an effect on rooting for the current season green cuttings (a very preliminary statement). Also it is looking like the green cuttings are “out-performing” the woody cuttings for putting out roots (also very preliminary). It is interesting to note that so far, for the rooted cuttings, the Group A cutting has been much more vigorous in growing then the Group E cuttings.

November 6, 2008

Key (for easy reference)

Group A – Last year’s wood

Group B – Current season’s lignified wood

Group C – Last year’s wood (chilled 1 week)

Group D – Current season’s lignified wood (chilled 1 week)

Group E – Green current season wood

Group F – Green current season wood (chilled 1 week)

Roots have formed on the remaining 2 Group E cuttings. Based upon the length of the roots it is estimated that one formed yesterday and one formed two days ago. This group has now all rooted. The roots appeared at days 19, 21, 31 and 32 into the heating cycle. The average rooting time was 25.8 days with a standard deviation of 5.8 days indicating a high variability in the rooting times for this group.

Roots have also formed on the remaining 3 Group F cuttings. Based upon the length of the roots, it is estimated that they formed two days ago for two of the cuttings and three days ago for the other. This group has now all rooted. One observation noted was that the very fine root “hairs” had attached themselves to the damp newspaper. In most cases they were removed without visibly damaging the roots but I expect that some damage did occur. Soaking the area of attachment with water helped loosen the roots from the paper. The roots in this group appeared at days 19, 23, 24 and 24 days into the heating cycle. The average rooting time was 22.5 days with a standard deviation of 2.1 days indicating less variability and slightly sooner rooting for the chilled group (comparing complimentary groups E and F).

No other roots were observed for the other groups. This is rather surprising that all the “green” cuttings rooted before the “woody” cuttings (exception being the outlier observed in Group A at 13 days). All these cuttings show advanced leaf and branch growth but no roots.

November 7, 2008

Hey Steve!
Looks like things are moving along well :) I have the same starchy thing going on with 2 of the bella cuttings, with no roots.  The ones with roots are finally putting leaves on again since I had to remove them.  You will have alot of little bellas by the time this is done!

Hey Kim,

So you still have 2 that have not rooted. Do you recall if they were woody or green (I think I sent you a mix of the two)? I do not recall if I saw the "starchy" stuff on the other cultivars that I was able to root - I wasn't paying such close attention. This is certainly something that I noticed on all the Bella cuttings. Yup, I will have a lot of little Bellas when this is over - I have promised a few in trade with some members and a few to friends, but I will still have many left over. Maybe I can sell them to a local nursery in the spring.

Added three new groups to the experiment. Today additional Bella Fig cuttings were taken before wrapping the tree for the winter. These cuttings represent early dormancy as the tree has not shown any new growth in about 6 weeks and has dropped all its leaves. The tree has seen several days below freezing and one early season snow on October 28. All the cuttings were prepared as in previous groups: washed in diluted bleach solution, wrapped in damp newspaper and sealed in Ziploc bags. These new groups will be stored in the refrigerator for 1 month (at 36 degrees F) before being brought into heating cycle for rooting. The sample size for each of these groups is 8 cuttings each. Group G is current season’s woody cuttings, Group H is current season’s green wood, and Group I is current season’s wood that is partially woody and partially green. These new groups will allow comparison of prior groups with that of a longer chilling period and stock that has started dormancy. A summary of the experimental matrix and results obtained so far is included here.
 

Checked all the cuttings this morning and no new roots. I will be away on business travel through Friday so will not be able to check again until then. One or two of the cuttings showed a little mold growth and I sprayed them with 50/50 water/peroxide.

I have not heard from anyone (other than Kim) who has any idea of what the "starchy" structures are on the Bella cuttings. For comparison, I did not see any of this on the Martin Unknowns that I rooted and the Sal's I have rooting under heat show only a few white bumps that are not flaky like what is seen on the Bellas. I also rooted a few Desert King cuttings that did not show this either. I do not recall seeing it on the Adriatics that I rooted but later lost. On the Bella cuttings this is a very dramatic effect showing up within a day or two of putting into the rooting bags (as you can see in the photos if you have been following). Later into the rooting process, this phenomenon re-starts (see later picks). It is seen on all the Bella cuttings regardless of the method or stock used but does not appear when stored in the cold. I am curious if this is unique to this cultivar or has it been seen on others. Also curious what might it be and what process could cause it.

As I said, I will be away for a few days but will still be able to access the forum mornings and evenings if anyone has any leads. Thanks all.

Steve, i never seen that so im not sure sorry.
Also its great i think that you can root the green cuttings and you are doing very nice job with this thread!

Steve , i just noticed the threrad count , you might break Jon's thread counter!!!

I haven't seen anyone mention this "starchy" stuff before so it has me wondering. I didn't see it on the cuttings you sent me (BTW - all 4 Unknowns are now rooted and growing well, the Sal's is still hanging in there).

I noticed the counter also. I'm hoping that means that folks are finding this interesting and helpful. I'm also glad that the green cuttings did so well since they are usually easier to cut from the tree without sacrificing anything. Thanks for the kind words.

Hang in there with the Sals there stubborn for me when i try, i just had one start with roots from Sept  3rd on bag, my hardy chicago takes its time but beats out the Sals in rooting all the time , i had one and i forgot to name it on baggie so i just put it out of site and in early fall i found this baggie with 1 stick in it it was either a sals or hardy chicago but it must have sat for a good 3 months and when i open there was lots of roots and no mold which was nice , i think it probably was a sals i got frustrated with but anyways i put in small cup and sent out to a friend that retired a year before me in Missouri. He sent me some preserves from blackberrie and raspberries he grows and was that very good on vanilla ice cream.
Martin

November 14, 2008

No new roots were seen on any of the cuttings. Newspaper was changed on the Group B & Group D cuttings because of some mold observed. One Group B cutting was discarded because of extensive mold growth.

Some other interesting data on other rooting activities: One of the Sal's cuttings has finally put out roots after about 6.5 weeks. SO far I have recorded the following rooting times on other cultivars (not to the extensive detail of this experiment) ...

Desert King (KF) – 5 weeks

Cuttings taken on or about 9/5/08. Received via mail 9/15/08. Moved to rooting media 10/2/08 with large initials and leaf growth. Roots visible in rooting container after 10/14/08. It is estimated that roots formed likely about 10/10/08 (5 weeks).

Texas Brown Turkey (KF) - ?

Cuttings taken on or about 9/5/08. Received via mail 9/15/08.

Martin’s Unknown – 2.5 weeks

Cuttings were taken on 9/30/08. Received via mail 10/02/2008. Roots developed on first cutting 10/14/08 by 10/17/08 all 4 were rooted.

EL Sal’s (MD) – 6.5 weeks

Cuttings were taken on 9/30/08. Received via mail 10/02/2008. Roots developed on first cutting 11/14/08.

Bella – See Experiment

So far the clear winner is the Martin's Unknown with a 100% rooting sucess and the shortest rooting time.

Very Interesting to see the different times one the assorted cuttings!  It makes me wonder if the climate of the home of the mother tree has something to do with the time it takes to form roots?? Maybe what stage the tree is in as far as how close to dormancy? Just a thought :)) Super cool experiment.

I continue to check the cuttings daily but have not seen any new roots developing. For the cuttings that were not "chilled" it is now 45 days since they were placed in heating. Only the "green" cuttings have rooted as previously reported (with the exception of the 1 outlier). For the cuttings that were not chilled it is now 38 days since the start of their heating cycle. Only the green cuttings in this group rooted also. No woody cuttings have rooted yet. There clearly is a difference between the woody and green cuttings. The green cuttings rooted in only 3-4 weeks while the woody ones haven't rooted yet in about 6 weeks. I will continue to post progress as events happen.

November 22, 2008

First Group B cutting rooted two days ago (47 days into the heating cycle). And the first Group D cutting rooted today (42 days into the heating cycle). Mold is beginning to be difficult to contain. Diluted peroxide was sprayed on many cuttings and one had to be rinsed under water to remove some mold spots. Much of the leaves that formed over the past few weeks were removed because they were beginning to rot. Two of the Group E cuttings that were transplanted several weeks ago were discarded because they withered and died.

November 28, 2008

Well no other cuttings have rooted yet. I have been checking every other day. The mold issues with Groups B&D continue. A few cuttings were cleaned thoroughly using diluted peroxide and a toothbrush for the second time. The mold continues to return after a few days. I am avoiding using the diluted bleach solution because of possible damage to any roots about to develop.

Update on rooted cuttings:

Two of the Group F cuttings have excellent root development but no leaves. The wood of the cutting above the soil line has dried and shriveled but the roots are doing well. I will be transplanting these soon and will cut away the dried out wood. The other Group F cuttings are doing well but have not put out new leaves yet. There is a small bud on one of these.

Two of the Group E cuttings were discarded as previously reported. One has been transplanted into a pot and is doing well. The other is developing roots at a good pace and has a few leaves developed. These will also be transplanted soon.

No additional root or leaf growth seen on the B & D cuttings that were put into rooting media.