Hey everybody,

I just found out that I have to go out of town for about a week later on this month. My cuttings arrived today. Is it possible to store cuttings temporarily (like a month, max) in the fridge? Or would it be preferable to start the cuttings now and leave them untended for a week on top of the fridge?

Go for it, the longest I stored cuttings was 4 months.

Just seal them inside a bag to keep them moist.

A good healthy cutting will keep for months in the fridge. Just (barely) moist a newspaper sheet and roll the cuttings in the moist paper. Place it in Ziploc or other airtight plastic bag and store it in the fridge away from areas that can cause freeze. I have a couple of assurance cuttings stored since late-Nov and they are still healthy.
It is good practice to wash the cuttings, then dip in 5% to 10% bleach solution for a short time and the rinse the cuttings before wrapping in the barely moist newspaper.
Avoid storing cuttings with frozen or dead tips or buds which may cause mold. It is good to check ever few weeks to remove or clean cuttings with early sign of mold.

I have just rooted a Ronde de Bordeaux cutting stored 1 year ago, in Feb 2008.
I rarely lose a cutting in the first 6 months and it is not unusual 1 year old cuttings in excellent conditions.
It is a very frequent mistake to add humidity to store cuttings, why??? the cuttings don't need more humidity they already have. To add a wet source is to give a gift for fungus and mold, cuttings don't need it!
You only have to wrap with an sterile and airtight plastic film. When you store it in the fridge, the air around the cuttings decreases the temperature and reach to or near 100 % humidity. When the air is saturated doesn't absorb more water, so the humidity of cuttings keep constant, that is the objective!

The method that works best for me is the following (I have used it for years). I learned this method from Leon:

1) Clean off dead wood, dirt, old leaves, branches, etc. from the cuttings.
2) Make a 10% bleach solution (9 parts water + 1 part bleach).
3) Dip the cuttings in the bleach solution but don't soak them for a long
time (30 seconds is enough).
4) Take them out of the bleach and let air dry on papertowel.
5) Do not rinse them under water after taking them out of the bleach
solution (the crystals of bleach that dry on the cuttings will deter
fungus and disease).
6) once they are dried, wrap the cuttings tightly with the stretch plastic wrap you use in the
kitchen.
7) Make sure that your cuttings are labeled.
8) Place your cuttings in a plastic bag and seal.
9) Place in refrigerator.(never freeze the cuttings).

I use to graft buds from stored cuttings in late spring and summer, on account of this I need a reliable method of storing, the buds need to be in perfect conditions for grafting.

I appreciate the advice. Thanks.

[I was going to start a new thread but saw this one and decided to be a 'good forum citizen' after all]

I might need to store onto some cuttings for about 70 days in the fridge, that seems to be OK.


However, I'll need to take them traveking with me on plane/train for several days, never in a car, always in a cool dark environment, during a time of year that is not hot. I won't be able to put them in a refrigerator....would the plan below work?


Use a freezer type pouch [the kind made with mylar-covered bubble wrap], cut the dimensions just slightly larger than the cuttings, use velcro or other way to seal the pouch well to prevent cold leakage.

Use small flexible cold packs to keep the cuttings cool [isolated from the cuttings to keep from freezer burning them]....rotating the cool packs...one in refrigerator/freezer where i'm stying [they will probably agree without any problem], while the other is keeping the cuttings cool.

I'd appreciate any advice here. Thanks!!

Hi paulandirene
if it were me i would give to a neighbor or relative for a few days.Then promise neighbor some figs for the future.
Just a thought if thats possible it would be easier for you maybe.

I vote frig.

My original posting was actually from last year. I kept the cuttings in the fridge for about four weeks and they all turned out fine.

Hi Folks, let me clarify a bit.  I would be storing the cuttings at my house for about 60 days, then taking them with me to give to the friend. [I'd be storing them, not rooting them...the friend is much better at that.] Mailing them to the friend would be very expensive, but carrying them with me would be easy...just making sure they stay cool during the journey.

Paul, I thought that is what you might of meant when mentioned traveling with them. My thought is that you would be retrieving them, but it's the other way around. I don't know the conditions or length of you trip, but possibly the cutting need only to be kept moist and at room temp with no heat applied for a couple of days. Any longer and they will get ready to start rooting. If it's an extended trip then you might try to keep them cool as long as possible. Just my thoughts. "gene" 

I just found some cuttings in the back of the fridge....well wrapped but pretty dark in color.
Also, they have ice crystals on them

Are they history?

I wonder if I put a 1 foot tree in the refrigerator and set it up on the lowest setting, will it go in to doormat for 2 months ? Will it survive without water?

Thought I'd bump this great thread on Refrigerating Cuttings as it's the first time I'll be cold storing cuttings for any serious length of time.

In an effort to consolidate info, I also enjoyed Jason's comments here http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=4333889 and LosLunas' comment here http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=1269813815&postcount=13.

For veteran figgers, I'd like to ask if you have any new ideas on the matter, specifically at what temperature I can store them (for instance, I've been using a spare basement refrigerator which during the winter stays around 33-36°F, but unsure if that's too cold...haven't seen any signs of freezing yet.)

Thanks...BTW, if commenting re: temps please mark as °F or °C for clarification

Axier had a nice, informative post.  I seem to remember reading something about which type of bag you use making a difference.  One allows air through or something?  Was it freezer bags that work best?
Tim

Tim is right. Axier outlined in post #4 what may the best possible way for storing fig cuttings long-term. I had stored some Italian Honey cuttings in a plastic bag in my crisper for about a year before I learned about this method. (In fact I learned it from Axier himself). At that time, I took the IH cuttings out and and wrapped them in plastic wrap and them placed them in a freezer bag.  These cuttings were stored in the fridge from 2009 until 2012. Last February I took some out and rooted them, as can be seen in the picture below.

1) Never add any moisture to cuttings you'd like to store for any length of time (this goes for shipping them anywhere as well).
2) Cleaning and disinfecting them helps to reduce any chance of mold growth.
3) Make sure they are completely dry before storing them.
4) Make sure your cuttings are clearly labeled. 
5) Be sure to wrap them securely in plastic kitchen wrap.
6) Seal them up in zipper type freezer bags.
7) Place them anywhere you like as long as they're in the refrigerator ;) .

Follow these suggestions and your cuttings are good for a storage period of at least 6 mos. As has been demonstrated it's likely that many fig cuttings will last for even longer than that.


These cuttings continued to grow into small trees until I managed to kill them from neglect later in the summer:

 

Drop them off at my place, ill take care of them. ;)

I have stored cuttings over a year and gotten most of them to root.

Hahaha Saxonfig that's ridiculous!  They stored for a few years and grew.  Wow that's so awesome!

Saxonfig, are you serious about that ? Wow after 4 in storing still can be root well...... Great.....


Ong

Jakarta ,Indonesia

Yes, it is pretty interesting how resilient fig tree cuttings can be when stored properly. Most typical hardwood cuttings seem to be done within a year or less - even when stored the same way. There may be some variation between types of fig trees as well. I haven't fully tested that theory though.

Bear in mind the above cuttings weren't stored for a full 4 years. I put them in the fridge at the end of '09 & then started them in early '13 as is indicated by the date on the cup. But still, 3 yrs and some months. I do still have a couple of pieces of these left in the fridge. I haven't checked on them in months. It will be interesting to see how they look. When I get the chance to look at them I'll post about that here.

This was all part of a deliberate experiment to see just how long fig cuttings might remain viable when stored using the best method I know of.

I wouldn't recommend doing this with some rare varieties or some than you really cherish & would hate to lose.

Just an added note here. I have also been practicing dipping cuttings in wax before storing them the same way (as outlined in post #4 & #17) for a couple of years now. This could even increase the storage time. Only time will tell on that though.

Fun stuff.

Dave said: "I have stored cuttings over a year and gotten most of them to root."

Yep Dave, it seems most fig cuttings can be stored for a year with very little loss in viability. I have many pieces that have been waiting that long and longer for me to root them. Hopefully, most will still be good to go ;) .

Thanks for the added info...and the extra confidence. (And thanks to Matt from Pittsburgh for allowing me to hijack his thread :)) 

Hoping I can have the discipline to wait until Spring to launch the next batch of cuts--would be nice to take advantage of Alabama's outdoor humidity and warmth instead of trying to reproduce ideal conditions indoors.