Came across this video of John Preece ( of Wolfskill UC Davis ) showing an intersesting method for propagating cuttings .
I was searching for more info on this method which I just read about recently and came across John's video . So I dont know if it is any good for fig cuttings . But many seem to really like it for other types of cuttings.
Has anybody tried it ? 

Video wont work on Ipad .

http://www3.wsiu.org/television/infocusarchive/player.php?record=151

John

John first time seeing that video so i never tried it but just might outdoors if i get bored.
I figure it should work as it keeps the scion in a damp state.

Bumping this back to the first page , kinda surprised this topic did not get more comments.

Martin ,
Does this mean you will start rooting cuttings again ?

I saw this recommended for figs and other things by a garden writer from VT, Lee Reich.
He mentions it here , but the original post that I saw was 10 weeks earlier.
He is using potting mix , not straight vermiculite.
http://leereich.blogspot.com/search/label/cuttings

Martin , somewhere he mentioned a mulberry that he grows in a pot like a fig and does the mulberry shuffle.

The original rooting info I saw is here halfway down the page :
http://leereich.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html

John, Thanks for posting this Info.
Martin, Thanks for bumping.

I have been looking for a better method for summer rooting (less Labor) than the one I currently use (from last season, Dan_LA summer method). I had seen this method in passing used for house plants, and had actually dismissed it.
The Forsythe pot in combination with the Summer Method looks like it would work, for summer cuttings. With the "summer method" 1 inch of water is maintained in the bottom of a bottle, and the cutting is kept in the humid environment (bottle) with the growing tip above the top of the bottle. I have been very successful rooting green cuttings this way, but the bottle has to be shaken at least twice a day to get the cutting wet (above the water line and aerate the water), and you are limited in the amount of cuttings that can be placed in each bottle (although I use a vase instead of a bottle).

Thanks again for posting, I will be trying the forsythe pot this summer.

DrivewayFarmer i furthered the conversation on mulberry little on fig so i not impose my thoughts on this thread on a new thread.

That's a clever idea . thanks for sharing john.

AUSTIN

Thanks for your input guys .

It seems like a good way to regulate moisture levels , because you never have to water the growing medium directly other than on initial setup .
I am with you Martin , I prefer rooting cuttings during the spring . I find it's just too much trouble trying to keep everything alive indoors , it's much easier for me to
keep them going with the help of mother nature .
And this technique should also help .

John

I may give this a try, should work for most things, I think.  Vermiculate has kept things too wet in my experience but this might avoid the excess moisture problem.

Attached are pictures of my forsythe cutting pot. It seems to be working for the fig cuttings. I have removed the inner terracotta pot to show the roots that are developing. I think it would work much better for green or summer cuttings that require a high moisture environment (don't have any green cuttings to trial).

note: The terracotta pot is plugged with plumber's putty

Hey Pete ,

Nice job . You didn't waste any time trying it .
I've picked up the materials for a couple pots and will be giving it a try
as soon as the weather warms up a bit .
I think I might try 1 with perlite as well .
Any advice ?

John

John,
Thanks.
I can't provide any actual advise as yet, not enough experience.
I will also be trying other fill materials, the vermiculite may be holding too much water.

One thing that can be applied to the forsythe pot that I have used with "the summer rooting method", remove most of the leaves from the cuttings. On terminal cuttings I have removed all leaves and left only the terminal end and have had a high rooting success rate last year

Thanks again for starting this topic.

Revised Forsythe cutting pot update ...

One problem with the original was that the roots of the cuttings were completely tangled, to remove them I had to break or cut more than half of the root mass.

I am now using a similar method, but with individual 16 oz cups. they are watered weekly from the top with a shower nozzle. They will sit in about 1 inch of water for 2 weeks (the vascular system is active).



This method will be used for my collected summer cuttings. The pictured rooted cutting will be up potted to a 1 gallon container.

Revised Forsythe cutting pot Update: 7/10/2013

Attached picture of 2 of 8 cuttings started using the revised Forsythe cutting pot method. All 8 have rooted. The pictured 2 have the most visible roots through the clear cups. The vermiculte is actually still completely soaked with water, but the roots are growing and the cuttings have started to leaf out.

Is anyone else trying the Forsythe Pot for summer / green cuttings?

I tried the original method in the video .
However I tried 2 pots . One had vermiculite the other had perlite .
I used dormant cuttings from the fridge .
2 of 8 cuttings survived in the vermiculite .
7 of 8 cuttings survived in the perlite and are potted now and growing well .
Surprisingly I had no problem unravelling the roots , infact they stayed mostly in separate clumps .

This is a handy low maintenance way to do a bunch of cuttings at once . I had 4 varieties per pot marked with
Sharpie marker . Have not tried on green cuttings , but would definitely use perlite instead of vermiculite .

John

Pete,

        Is the tupperware just used as a holder for all the cups or does it act like the bottom of a SWC?

John, ... I'm testing a perlite / vermiculite mix which seems to work much better that the vermiculite alone.

JohnnieB, ... Yes, both, the plastic shoebox (from dollar store) does work as a self watering container for the first two weeks and a holding tray. This technique is a blend of the Forsythe pot and a summer rooting method, which worked extremely well last year, but needed constant tending.

How many holes are in the bottom of the cup Pete and what size?

There are 4 or 5, 3/8 inch holes in the bottom of the cups. The current mix is 50/50 perlite/vermiculite. The reason for the vermiculite is that it holds much more moisture than the perlite, which is needed by the green cuttings. I have not used a humidity dome at any time and the older leaves had fallen off, but the cuttings are regrowing new ones.
Note: The vermiculite portion is probably still too high at 50%, because the mix never dries out.

Thanks for the info Pete.