Yes I am New to Rooting.......Last year I did not attempt rooting cuttings, because in 2011 I rooted about 70 cuttings and lost 65 of them a "Massacre".....Anyway, my question is that they were doing well in my bathroom, and getting indirect light....then one by one I got droopy leaves and so I watered them, I drowned some and most are still doing OK, but I was avoiding putting them in a Humidity bin or placing a plastic bag over them .....maybe this is what it needs...??? The roots are going strong...???   Why have I avoided having them in a bag is because I have been trying to avoid mold issues.

Armando, I'm losing a lot of cuttings to mold with my second batch. I just don't know what to do. Mine didn't even sprout some leaves. Your cuttings look very haelthy. I do not think mold will be a problem at this time. I used to get limp leaves but I covered it up with plastic cups and they are ok. It's sad if you lose those cuttings.

Perhaps you guys are losing them due to being too damp...... Armando the leave look awsome.  I usually plant them on the first leaf being sprouted, However I am never to this.  I lost 8 cuttings because the bark became soggy.  I was mad about that so, can understand 65 cuttings.

It's rainy season here in Malaysia, so humidity is very high. I thought so it was very damp but I lose some cuttings the first few days too. Such a heartache (being over dramatic)

Armando, if my cups would be at that stage, I would repot them into the pots with more soil but still porous material. I think they are overgrowing you perlite. I am using small SIPs this year, have not lost a single one out of 15 or so. The water supply is from the bottom and the environment is more balanced. Even if you move yours to 1 gal pots, water from the bottom.

Thanks for all the input. Looking at the dead ones....the roots seemed weak, so maybe it was to damp....I know in rooting its a balancing act. Will re-pot in about 10 days one of them and see how that goes.

I agree, in Sydney they would already be in a 200mm pot with that much root and leaf development.

In 10 days you may have none, sorry Armando... It may take only 2 days to go to the other side.

Thanks Igor (Greenfig).........I am looking at the roots, they are very thin and a few.....OK, may do something a lot sooner. I am moving slowly and carefully, the temps here are dropping so, will keep them inside for the winter.  It should get down into the 50's pretty soon. That's Snow Weather...LOL    Bbbbbbrrrrrr.

I used this mix with good results:

http://www.amazon.com/Espoma-SS8-8-Quart-Organic-Starter/dp/B002Y0CFRA/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1385019001&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=Espoma+SS8+8QT+Org+Seed+Start+Mix+by+Espoma

Of course there are many more options for the cuttings out of the cups.

The cuttings look good so far Armando. At this point I would keep the cuttings on the dryer side. Only mist water into the cups with a sprayer and use a minimum amount. Over watering seems the be the most common cause of losing cuttings. Keeping them dryer will also promote root growth as the plant will develop roots faster going out to look for water.

humidity. cutting at that stage needs lot of humidity. not enough root to support the top and they are out in the open, although in the bathroom. so, they look fine one day, and when you look at it next day, the leaves are drooping.. soon they will drop.. and soon the cutting will dry out and die. once you see that much top growth on the cutting, you will have to check for the roots daily and make sure the top gets lot of humidity. humidity bin works great for this. once root is well established, then you can leave them out longer, but still cuttings indoor during winter.. it's a balance thing.

i'll leave top off my humdity bin maybe 15 min at first.. then increase the time till they can stand 2 hrs. if there is any sign that leaves are starting to droop, the top goes back on. check for mold daily.

I would look at soil moister, humidity like pete said, or for signs of the dreaded fungus gnat..then again like mentioned up pot if you can. Somthing else I may sugest is to get a product called super thrive and use a weakend mixture for watering. It has a lot of plant nutreants and can help perk plants up. Its organic but not a fertilizer. Just a thought.

Ditto for Pete

Armando, also I can't tell from the pics, but do you have lots of holes in the bottom of your cups?

Norhayati what do you use to root yours in Malaysia....I am in Thailand and I was told to try coconut husk that is mulched... has anybody tried this before?

kevin, the basic idea is to provide warm temp (75-80 degree F) and moisture for the cutting to initiate rooting. cutting wrapped in newspaper stuck inside a plastic bag will work just as well as anything else. make sure to check everyday or two for any mold or excess moisture.

They are problably not getting enought light or too much water or not enough humidity.  I do mist mine daily.  I got about 300 now under grow light with a timer.   So far so good.  I said I would not start cutting this Fall but I got a wild hair and now I got a lot!

I recommend putting them under 4 grow lights (T5s), only water them once a week with only 1/2 cup of mosquito dunk water.  Increase the humidity to 70% if you can.  You may need a grow tent to keep the moisture level up.  It wouldn't hurt watering them with some weak liquid hormone too.  I do and I think it helps.  It will increase your odds.   And if you see gnats, mist them with physan 20 water and they will die.

Good luck! 

Thanks Again for all the great advice. On the Cuttings: the cups have a lot of holes, and the roots are developing slow, could be of to much watering. I have decided to place place plastic bags on them for most of the day and to remove the bag for about an hour to reduce mold. I am waiting for a root ball or something similar to tell me to pot up in size.......

Kevin, i have used spaghnum moss, perlite+peat moss, damp paper towels and also planting them straight into potting soil. I thought of using coconut coir/husk/peat but I was told by the nursery woman not to because they absorb a lot of water.

Armando,

For Mike and me, could you get a photo of the bottom of one of your cups please? Let's make sure you have a large number of holes in the bottom of the cup to help with drainage.   I have eight 11/64 inch diameter holes drilled in the bottom of each deli container.  This year I am going to add 4 to 8 holes in the sides for more aeration.  What "potting mix" did you use to start the cuttings?

When I water my cups (32 oz deli containers), I use a 1 tablespoon measure......really, I'm not joking.  I add one tablespoon of water when the cup is dry, if really dry I add two tablespoons of water but NO MORE.  As others have mentioned overwatering has killed many a newborn fig tree.  I was paranoid about it last year (my first year), so watered with the tablespoon.  I also add Gnatrol to the water to help keep away fungus gnats.

Others touched upon this too.....humidity.  Could you tell us exactly how you started the cuttings then transitioned them to the "open" air?  I start my cuttings in a very large Rubbermaid type container with lid near a non-sunny window to give a humid starting chamber.  When cuttings have a good number of roots and leaves I then put them in a smaller Rubbermaid type container with lid (not fully closed) near a sunny window and add a couple of tablespoons of water in the bottom to provide some humidity.  This is my transition to a cup on a sunny windowsill.

You have some very nice looking figlets going there, let's help you get your percentage higher this year.

I have 4 holes on the bottom.  The Mix varies, I try to put 80% Perlite and 20% Vermiculite.  The ones that died had about 70% Perlite and 30% Vermiculite. Do not know what the right percentage is correct.  I think that underwatering and overwatering is dooming me...LOL

Don't know that many people do 100% perlite/vermiculite. For what it is worth, I use 60/40 perlite to potting soil.

Good Stuff Steve, I used that mix from looking at a picture or posting sometime back.....So maybe it is a poor mix.....????

Well, it always comes down to what works best for you.  My 60/40 mix (Miracle Grow perlite/Miracle Grow Organic Choice potting mix) works the best for me, but may not be the best for you.  Seems like you are not having the greatest results with 100% perlite/vermiculite.  I'd suggest a potting mix/perlite or vermiculite blend and definitely control watering somehow so you don't overwater.  Have you tried Root Riot cubes?  They were OK for me, but maybe they might give you better results.

One of the cuttings you sent me had great leaves and I decided to take the plastic off it, within an hour it was drooping so I quickly put the bag back one top and seems fine. Since they are about the same time period and types I'm thinking you need more humidity.