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I'm new in planting figs and i'm from Southeast Asia. I just transfered my Fig cuttings with roots already on cups that has perlite and vermiculite mix, and i dont know how frequent should I water it? Noon to 3pm time temperature here is around 33C / 92F, though every afternoon we do get rains and temperature goes.down to 26C-27C. Need advice pls.
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Cup stage is usually done indoors. They can dry out fast outside. If outside, keep them out of the sun. It's also very easy to over water vermiculite. Even when mixed 50/50 with perlite. Get a sense for feeling how heavy the cup is to see if it need water. It should be very light. Do not give it so much water that it drains out the bottom. It'll keep the roots ok wet. Take a cup of the same mix without the cutting and add water a little at a time, measuring as you go. Find out how much water it takes for it to just start draining out the bottom. Half of that amount should be about right. Get a feel for how heavy that should be. Then you should let it get so light that you think it must be dry, though you'll still see some condensation inside the cup, before giving more water. Good luck. Keep us posted on the progress.
Oh. Keep them out of the rain. You need to carefully manage their water supply in the cups. Once the have more roots and a bigger pot, the they can have some rain and some (slowly) sun. Also, don't keep the humidity domes on them too long. Once one or two roots make it to the edge of the cup, start slowly weaning them off the high humidity.
The perlite/vermiculite mix will hold a lot of water. From what ive read, most failures are due to Overwatering. I would water about once a week at most with maybe 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water. Make sure you have plenty of drain holes at bottom and sides.
I would just keep the humidity up and avoid over watering. Watch out for mold.....poke some small holes with a thin needle to get some air. Not to big, you don't want Gnats getting in and infesting the cup. Good Luck Friend.
I would also open it up everyday to let it breathe for a bit. Ive had mold issues recently and this really helped
Welcome and good luck with your cuttings! James' comment about the weight of the cup is right on the money - easy way to gauge how things are going. Watch for roots!
For me it's just taken time and trial and error to know how much to be watering cuttings and also larger fig plants. I've found that once you put them into pots and put them outside then a lot of water is good for them, but in the small cutting stage it's best to keep them moist but not water logged. I have some cuttings in cups inside my house right now and I drench them (water gushing out of the holes in the cups) and then just let them set for a week or 2 because without lots of leaves and hot sun they just don't dry out fast. My soil mixture is like 2/3 potting soil and 1/3 perlite so maybe mine is drying out slower than yours. With the perlite/vermiculite mixture I always had trouble knowing when to water again. With potting soil I can tell by the change of the soil color. Wet is black. Like with all things it takes personal trial and error to get good at it. I had read this board a LOT before trying cuttings on my own and still most of them died. Recently I did the shoe box with peat moss method of rooting cuttings and only had 1 out of 8 mold, so I'm learning. I used to do the paper towel in a ziplock bag method and the vast majority of my cuttings would mold. Even the ones that survived were on the verge of mold death. Peat moss from here on out!
IMHO root in perlite only and soak once a day
Updated the pictures I have attached. I have included the pictures of the cuttings that i have planted in the cups with Perlite and Vermiculite.
With vermiculite in the mix, I would be very careful with water. I judge by the weight, when it feels too light I give it a little (1/4 c) of water, until I see many roots. Seems to work for me, no rot, mold or gnats.