Nelson, the only benefit I know about is that spagnum is said to retard mold. I used spagnum in the past on a few cuttings with good results. I think I prefer the Baggie method with newspaper, It's just easier,for me, and the newspaper seem to retard mold better that paper towels. Glad you didn't have any mold problems. I have mold problems every time, but as I think I said before, 50/50 H2O & peroxide takes care of it.I have to laugh at myself---the first time I used the baggie method, I had lots of rooted sticks, but was waiting for the roots to get longer. I got busy and kind of forgot about them(for like a week & a half), when I checked them, I had long roots, but severely molded cuttings that did not recover. I was a complete newby(dumba--), Ha!Ha! I learned a lot from that first attempt and from the wonderful guidance of the great people on this forum. Good luck with your cuttings!

Ha ha I spoke too soon I just checked one of the cuttings thats in the soil now  and noticed one of the holes where they took a fig out of has a little Mold covering the hole. Will do that you recommended before Tim and see if that helps. I have tried the 50/50 water and Peroxyde in the past on a stubborn moldy cutting I had and every other day it would have more mold than when I cleaned it eventually It died but I hope thats not the case here.

I forgot to mention the other two cuttings that are not rooting are about 1 ft in length each just as are the two black variety cuttigns that are showing roots.

Nelson,

I think you are on the right track!

Only thing different I would have did would be cut the one foot sticks in half, I have did that with pretty good results!

Gives ya a better shot at maybe having more plants per stick.

Cecil these two that are not rooting were initially about a 1.5 feet I cut about 6-7 Inches from the bottom and those two I cut off one has roots the other started showing roots over this weekend. I should have cut one more out of each cutting. 

Well at least you have some cuttings that has rooted for ya, that is good....We are glad for ya, just be extra careful with the watering! As Jon told me not too long ago

"balance,balance, balance!"

Good luck

Cecil , good point about cutting them in half!

Nelson, yes, I did have to reapply the peroxide mixture once the mold starts, like every 2-3 days, but it kept it down long enough to get them rooted. I forgot to mention that on my first attempt, I used an old heating pad wrapped in a towel, in a bathtub, on low. I had the cuttings in baggies, in a clear ,covered bin, on top of the towel. I left it this way for weeks, like I said, NEWBY DUMBA--! No wonder I had so much mold! Since then I sit the bin in the bathtub with no heat whatsoever.(This is inside the house!) Works just great. Re: the cups with the domes, opening them a little every day or so to regulate the humidity, helps to retard the mold too. I've read where some here poke holes in the dome to keep it from getting too moist. I also know from experience that if a lot of condensation forms on the small leaves, they will rot too.

Hi Tim I agree this summer all the new leaves that grew in my dome cups that touched the cups that had allot of condensation rotted every single one and I had 12 cuttings going at that time and this happened to all of them so that I agree 100%. One think I can honestly say is I have no clue when to water them and how much so even though these have rooted im still a bit nervous about that. Like how dry is too dry for new rooted cuttings and how how much water is enough.

Nelson,

The watering thing is hard to explain!

Jose explained it to me this way "soil needs to be crumbly"

Scott told me he just uses his fingers dipped it water to lightly fling water on the little guys!

I hope that the more I talk does not confuse you more (not my intentions at all), both of the above guys know what their doing (unlike me)
I might add "moist not wet potting soil"

Thanks Cecil thats exatly the kind of answer I was looking for. One of my yellow Serbian cuttings I did this summer I noticed that the soil was pretty dry so I was going to pour water on it then I said hmm let me just give it a couple squirts with my spray bottle wich I did within 2-3 days The roots had travelled a bit to get to the moist soil on top maybe thats the secret not sure but you just reminded me of that.

Nelson,

While we are talking about how much water roots needs to grow, The potted plants that I double potted with the bigger pot having pine bark only for the filler/insulation, the plants have grown 6" roots in the un watered pine bark.....no kidding, so my point is that the roots need very little water.

Thanks for the help Cecil, thats always been one of my worries I figured dont let it get too dry but in reality its the other way around.

Yes

The other way around would be an understatement!

I have drowned some really nice plants, I know!

Oh I know exactly what you mean Cecil.  I put my camera charging this morning hopefully I wont forget it tomorrow and bring it to work. This working 70 hrs a week is killing me.

Nelson,

In a year or two you will read all this and laugh

We know what you mean about the 70hr work week, we were limited to 70 hrs in 8 days when we were trucking (70 hrs for me, the same for wife) We have been known to buy new log books and start all over, but don't tell Rafed, I wouldn't want him to get the wrong opinion of us!

We gonna learn together!

Sounds good to me Cecil we will trade notes lol.

YESSSSS

Hi Nelson, this is what worked for me: I moistened the potting mix slightly before I potted the sticks. Put a little mix in the cup, gently held the stick & crumbled mix aroung it, then gently knocked it on the table to slightly settle the mix. Don't pack it--it needs to be airy. Then I watered them thoroughly & let drain. Put them in a clear bin & put on the lid, back in the bathtub(it gets indirect light there). If it get's too moist in the bin, open it a little for an hour or so-then close it back up. I don't water them again until they are completely dry. You'll be able to tell if you use clear cups, they'll be light and no condensation inside the cups. Then, i usually wait a few more days before I water them, just to be safe. Then I give them just a little water, maybe 1/2 cup. Be sure they don't stand in water in the bin. Usually , they are well rooted in the mix before i have to water them the second time. Then I wean them out of the bin which is humid--slowly. This spring, I put them directly in my shaded greenhouse. It stays pretty humid and if they looked like they needed a little extra, I just spritzed them good with a little water. Before you know it you can pot them up in gallon pots.Hope this helps---I'm sure some of the more experienced members might have some other tips.

Thanks Tim I moistened the mix a bit before I put it in the cups then I put a bit on the bottom put the cutting in and then gently poured the mix in slowly as I held the cuttings with the other hand. So far so good, will try to take some pics tomorrow of the progress.

Ok so here are some pics that I had Promised. Sorry the flash makes it hard to see the roots.

Looking good Nelson, I hope to have the same luck on the cuttings you sent me. I will get them started this week end or early next week.

Thanks Gene , But wich Cuttings? Must of got if from someone else.

You're right Nelson, I have too many irons in the fire. They are not from you but another fig friend. I realized it as I was reading another post. Thanks for the heads up.

Nelson,
the ones in cup look good so far, please do not give much water at this stage because from my experience in past the roots will turn brown and slowly get mushy and plant will go kaput. The roots being so tender i figure just cannot take up much water at this point. Im no expert but just trying to explain what i have experienced in past. Just last season i had 2 VdB with leaves and roots looking nice and was near transplant out of cup so i gave more water and then was going to wait another 2 weeks, the leaves wilted and the roots rotted and turned dark and mushy when i pulled plant to inspect. I said to myself if i would not have watered them they would have had good chance but no no i had to give more water cause im wired by default to make em grow faster .

Martin Same here I always try to get them to root as fast as possible and then kill them with water, so this time im doing the opposite of what I ususally do and thats no spraying every couple days just leave them as they are.

Ok so this week the two black variety cuttings have grown very little. The white however has surprised me.

This Pic taken on Tuesday Oct. 13th sorry about the quality


This Pic was taken on Thursday Oct. 15th


This Pic today Sat. Oct. 17th



This cutting has shown the most progress this week