I have just returned from the island of Malta and brought some cuttings back with me to the UK. I am new to this and haven't had any success with rooting any of the cuttings yet. I am using the bag method for half of the cuttings and have buried the others in compost. Both following instructions I have found on the web. I am trying to identify the fig type and have attached photos of the leaves. Both taken from the same tree but both completely different. Any help would be appreciated.

Until you have a picture of the standard leaves and a ripe fig cut in half from stem to ostiole as  well a picture of the ostiole, your probably not going get much of an answer. Even still, the variety may not be a common named variety, so you would have to settle with calling it something with the descriptor "Unknown" attached. Such as "Unkown Malta Dark" (or light, or yellow, or purple, or red....).  You definitely cannot call it Malta Black because that named fig already exists(don't want to add any more confusion to the world of fig nomenclature), that is unless that's what it turns out to be. It also never hurts to include a common object in the picture with the fig so we can get a feel for the size of the fig( such as a ruler end with inches and centimeters on it).

Good luck rooting and welcome to the forum!

I really hope these will root as I can't wait to see what they are. Will keep you posted. I am going back next month and will be bringing back some more cuttings. Is it best to keep the bags in a dark place ?

Roots in general do not care for light. The presence of light can also accelerate shoot growth.

I guess it is better to keep them in the dark then to put all the effort into rooting.

I am maltese and would love to get my hands on some local fig trees from Malta , maybe next I will visit again . There are a couple of maltese members on here that may be able to help and identify it.

Good luck,
Dave

I am half Maltese but visit once a year.  First time I have brought any fig cuttings back.  I have grown a lot of Prickly Pears also from Malta as these are very easy to root.  Just throw them into a bag of compost and forget about them for a week or two.

I don't particular like figs but I do love the smell the trees give off.

I wonder if i can grow prickly pears in NJ, i def must look into this. I just had a couple tonight (not from malta) from the farmers market in NJ,lol... they were good.

Bass has grown some hardy prickly pear in PA.  I have a few different prickly pear but am not all that fond of them yet...

Hi Chris! I would love to visit Malta someday! When you say bag method I think there are a few variations. I have had tons of success my first year rooting in a clear plastic shoebox with long stranded sphagnum moss. Then drop the box in a black plastic trash bag and wrap around and place on top of the fridge. Works like a charm. If you have any questions about rooting or things going on while rooting shoot me a PM and I will be happy to help. Good luck with the cuttings!

Yumm, yumm ...
One plate-full that I actually harvested there and (partially/shared & ate) after being fridge cooled ...

Looks great and nice to see you again   :)

Seems that I get poked by prickly pear no matter how careful I try to be.  I have green, red, and yellow types.  One I'm growing is, as I recall, originally from the town Leon's grandmother was from.

At least one Opuntia specie grows all the way into Michigan. I have two cultivars. A local optometrist has  the front bed of his office full of them. That's a glorious sight in bloom.

Nice bowl of fruit pictured there Gorgi.

Just had a quick look at my cuttings to see how they are getting on. Two of the three cuttings I placed in compost mix have a very small root no more than 2 mm long growing from them. The cuttings that I placed in the bag however that is a different story. There are a lot of white powdery (initials) on the cuttings but as yet no roots. I think I might remove these from the bag now and place them in the compost mix.

Hi Chris,
Did the tree of the cuttings have fruit ?
What color were they ?
Did/could you speak to the owner of the tree to have more infos on the strain ?

If you read through the forum, you'll understand that unless that tree had fruits that you could sample ... And you're sure it is not a smyrna type ... and you're sure your season in the UK is long and hot enough - which I doubt - ...
You'll hardly get figs from a strain you've chosen randomly ...
And if the tree is not of the common type, most of us won't be able to identify the tree ... Not mentioning that known strains in Malta, might not be known else where ...
But, good luck with your cuttings.

IMO, the shoe-box method is not the best for now in the summer. I would throw them in a bottle of water for a month and put them in a good pot with compost and pine barks afterwards, and see what come out.
I currently have some Portuguese cuttings in the water . They'll go in pots in 4 weeks. I removed all but two leaves on each cutting .
The cuttings and bottle are in a greenhouse for humidity and warmth mater .
Do you have more cuttings ? If so try some as I just explained - if you want of course.