I am trying to root a Green Ischia tip cutting in damp spaghnum moss.  It has been a little over 2 weeks and the cutting is getting moldy at the leaf buds and not showing signs of root nodes.  I cleaned the cutting with soapy water and am now trying the plastic cup method with perlite/potting soil.  I also have some other different variety cuttings that were started a few days later than the Green Ischia, also in damp spaghnum moss and after checking today are showing signs of root nodes.  Is the Green Ischia an especially difficult variety to root?

I got a few of those, and did not notice any difference - what makes the difference is that constant heat...so, try not to pack the moss too tight and leave tip and bottom 1/2 uncovered  put in a warm place... I like these plastic tubs, as there is plenty of air to warm up and keep them sweating. without touching the plastic.  it helps if you turn them upside down for a few hours...I do all I can to more their enegy around..  my cuttings that had tip started quicker than the othe one that has no tip.   don't give up and make sure to give them a bit of fresh air also.

some cuttings root, some cuttings don't. some, if still health, will eventually root once moved into soil mix. just need a one cutting to root in order to have a tree and more cuttings. i rooted two different Ischia Green from two different sources. one from UCD and one from TX. both rooted fine for me. the one that i'm rooting this winter is from TX. one of the cutting put on roots after about 2-3 weeks. now in cup. 

constant temp at around 80 degree seems to help a lot. and if they don't show root after 4-5 weeks and still not dried up or dead, put them in soil anyway. there's still a chance. 

When I root dormant cuttings I root them right in the pot they will be in until planted in the ground. I put the tray ontop of my stand up deep freezer so they get under heat from the condensor. I scar one side at the bottem half of the cutting and treat with dip n grow rooting harmone. My soil is mad up 50/50 seed mix and perlite. The soil is mostened and I pop a 20 oz soda bottle over the top of the pot for its own little greenhouse effect. I take the bottle off for about an hour every three days and water lightly when mix is dry. 90% root for me this way.
Hope this helps.

some are stubborn. I had an Italian that was left for dead. it was a gift of almost 2 months. I cared as  I do the others and no life in this one...but I did not give up and I move the cup to the sun and to warmer spaces and it has shot amazing roots now... no leaves yet,  I know they will come as the roots are getting very strong.    just don't give up.. keep that warmth/moist happening.

Steve,
     Out of all the cuttings I have rooted I fing the Ischia Green to be one of the easiest. I have a bunch of them in a zip lock bag and every 2nd or 3rd day I open up the bag and 1 or maybe 2 have some little roots on them , and go into the 32oz deli cups.  I don't wait for big roots, but even if the root is only 1/4 inch long or bigger they go in to the cups, and for the most part, they take off from there.  Good luck with the rooting process.  If they die off on you, then PM me and I'll send you a few more.
                                                                   Regards,

Thank you Vince, nice to know I have a Plan B available.  I have a feeling the deli container method will work better for me on this cutting.

I've had good success with rooting once I started following the advice of a member named Al (his ID on here is Tapla).  He has written about the principles of rooting, and the chemistry involved in making roots.  Here's one thread that has some of the basic principles described (see post #10 in that thread) - 
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/Could-this-be-my-cutting-problem-5870584?highlight=tapla

There's also a reference in that post... a link to where he describes some of the principles.  He has another posting in some thread or other on this site where he wrote specifically about rooting and the chemistry involved, boiled down to a few principles about perched water, exchange of gases (e.g. root formation makes CO2 as a byproduct, and you've got to have a means for that heavier-than-O2 gas to escape because that same byproduct then kills young roots if it is not evacuated from the root formation zone), and the like.  I couldn't find that posting just now.  (If someone doesn't beat me to it, I'll try adding that link later if I find it).  Because of what I learned from his postings, I now pay attention to a couple of things when I start cuttings 
       a) the "grittiness" of the mix I use (I make sure it doesn't perch water too high, and allows gases to flow through the mix), and
       b) I cut air holes in the sides of the clear cups I use, to promote better flow of gases (I don't "double cup" them either), and
       c) the obvious variables in the rooting zone of heat (70F or warmer), and moisture (don't let them dehydrate / dessicate the new roots... but don't make them overly wet in a way that rasies the perched water table height either, because if you do then you'll suffocate those new roots by hindering the gas exchange), and
       d) for the top growth zone:  once there is any green growth starting, I also try to keep humidity up a bit for the tops as well, and at that point I also try to limit the duration of direct sunlight exposure (to avoid burning the new green growth), at least until I'm sure that the roots are feeding plenty of water to the new green growth.  (Sometimes I make shade the top so that the bark on the cutting doesn't burn too... depends on the intensity of the radiant energy and whether I need to use that for heat as well).

I hope this info helps... I've used these principles I learned from Tapla's postings with good success, even to rescue a few maltreated and dying cuttings (cuttings that had started by others but been maltreated to the point where they had died back and "wasted" a bunch of their potential energy on a false start).  I wish I could find that other posting he wrote... In general I found that learning the basic principles of root formation was much more helpful for me than just learning techniques... it allows me to improvise based on the specific conditions I'm dealing with, which are constantly changing (season, humidity, ambient temperature, etc).  To see what I mean, go read posting #10 in that thread I linked, and follow his link from there as well. 

I hope this is helpful... (man I wish I could find that reference thread).

Mike   central NY state, zone 5

edit:  p.s.  The fact that you don't really have to pay attention to all of these principles all the time is because so many varieties of fig tree have such high vitality... lots of them grow like weeds and will root just fine no matter how much you maltreat them!  But if you're encountering difficulties or are dealing with hard-to-root varieties, then I think learning those principles can be very helpful.  

Thanks Mike, great info.  Hmm, I double cup.  I did to keep water away from my heating mat, but also like the cups in direct contact with this gentle heating source.  In the end I guess the cups in contact with the heating mat will not matter as long as my RubberMaid type container maintains a temp near 75F.  Maybe I need to ditch the double cups and use a cookie sheet and cooling rack if I have issues rooting in my current set up.

I use no mat, no heat, and I do double cups, and roots just grow!  Not sure what the problem is.  I am in Southern California, and I have a  short sleeve Tee Shirt and shorts on.  Maybe that's it.  Climate!!

My little babies just grow.  They hate when I peek in on them so much, or when I add newbies, but I do.  They still just grow.  Probably my guilt.  I THINK they hate my hovering, but maybe they love it!

Suzi

So far, it is only the Green Ischia that was in damp spaghnum moss giving me birthing problems : )  I have other cutting in damp spaghnum moss and are showing sign of roots nodes after approximately 2 weeks.  I think I'm just a nervous first time Dad pacing in the delivery room......

You have to wait for the good things. i dont know how many cuttings i have lost simply do to my excitment and lack of patence. forget about them for a week at a time. come back look at the moister. adjust and put it out of your mind for another week or so. do that over the corse of 6 weeks you should have good enough roots to pot up.