Good morning,

I've been reading allot of papers, articles and threads about propagating cuttings lately.

Several articles recommend heating mats. They raise the root temperature by 10-20 deg.

Does anyone have any "before and after" experience using a heating mat to root cuttings?

from what i have heard from other members, they do help. but you need to keep an eye on that thing. it can cook the cuttings or dry out the soil quicker. room temp of 70-80 works fine for the fig cuttings. sunny room with window facing south will work well. if you keep your room/house on cooler side, heating mat might help.

Rich...last season I had two trays of cuttings side by side, with a heat mat under one and not the other... I got about the same results from both trays...they rooted, and leafed out at about the same time, the success rate was very similar on both trays...the only down side that I noticed was that the tray with the heat mat developed quite a swarm of fungus gnats, while the unheated tray only had a few...none of the cuttings in either tray seem to suffer any damage from the gnats, it was just disturbing to see them flying around the young plants...I'm going to go without the heat mat this rooting season. 

I took 200 cuttings from a huge fig tree and started them all in a big Tupperware bin with moss last winter. I placed them on a heating mat and a week later opened the lid to find them all cooked! I had to start over, needless to say without the mat. I have heard that it works best with a thermostat but have not tried it yet. For me, smaller containers (shoebox size) with moss on top of the fridge does the trick. Nearly 100% root. Good luck!

In my experience, a little more heat helps them root a little fast, but can mold a lot faster.  I just put mine in a small tupperware under the bathroom sink. About 73 degress and they all root fine after about 3 weeks (give or take depending on the cultivar).

Interesting article on propagating cuttings

http://www.bunchgrapes.com/cuttings.html

I do NOT believe in them heat-mats at all!

A long time ago, I bought one to start seeds.
(expensive ~2x3' rubber mat with an internal thermostat and 1" wire spacer)

It basically tends to 'cook' anything above it bone-dry...

I use my heating mat on a metal shelf.  It doesn't have a thermostat but the amount of heat it provides to plants (in an open tray or a humidity dome sitting on the heating mat) can be regulated by the amount of insulation placed below the heating mat.  Without any insulation most of the heat gets conducted away from the plants to elsewhere in the room.  Adding insulation directs more heat to the plants.  I monitor the temperature inside the bin and regulate the heat (via insulation) accordingly so that I get around 75 degrees.

A lot depends on your environment.  My house tends toward the cool side and my cuttings do much better on a heat mat with thermostat.  I don't use a plastic humidity bin so I never have mold problems.  I use Jon's new bag method.  The bags sit in what looks like a large milk crate - no solid plastic anywhere.  Sides and bottom are a plastic grid and the top is open.  I cover the top and sides with a cotton towel to keep heat in but humidity remains low.

I use a flexible plastic film with embedded wires (used to keep 5 gallon fermenters warm during fermentation) under my deli containers and in a closed Rubbermaid type container.  I control temperature with a temperature controller.  This provides a source of bottom heat along with keeping the temperature inside the container at ~75F.  As with most things figgy, do what works for you.

If you're the type to check on your cuttings multiple times a day anyway, a heat mat might be workable (taking into consideration all the pros/cons offered so far).  However, if you're the type who might get sidetracked for 2-3 days at a time, then think twice about it.  Things can go wrong faster when heat is involved.
Jim

For very important cuttings, I've ordered a couple of these.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Tea-Coffee-Cup-Mug-Warmer-Heater-Pad-with-4-Port-USB-Hub-for-PC-Laptop-8423-/221251350264?pt=US_USB_Cables_Hubs_Adapters&hash=item33839baef8

Might have to raise the cups so they are not in direct contact with the surface but that shouldn't be difficult.

Amazon has a Hydrofarm 20"x48" mat with a UL rating for around $57. I've got one on order.
Let's see if it speeds up my cutting growth

I find they help me, I start my cuttings on a concrete floor now, I put the heating mats on empty flats that keep them about 2 inches off the ground, then put a humidity dome.  I check cuttings multiple times a day so they haven't dried out on me yet, I use them for seeds too and they really improve the germination rate and speed.  If you have fresh cuttings be careful, they can cause them to rot faster than with out it.

You need to plug it into 1 of these or you will cook your cuttings.

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPRTC-Digital-Thermostat-Heat/dp/B000NZZG3S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386542986&sr=8-1&keywords=plant+heat+mat+thermostat

Bob, that's the thermostat I use for my two mats.  It's set at 85F.

My heat mat will be here today so I will install it with my cutting raised up from it and a digital thermometer in one of the pots.
If I see improved growth I will add the thermostat.

Its interesting that
this link says to use 85 degrees
http://www.bunchgrapes.com/cuttings.html 
and this one says to use 75 degrees
http://www.dipngrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/DipN-Grow-Instructions.pdf

More on root temps....
http://www.dipngrow.com/q-what-are-the-other-key-factors-which-may-effect-whether-cuttings-root

Heating mat is turned on for an hour or so this evening and I can already see that there is a change The bottom of the cups have condensation. After the first few hours the cup with the thermometer has stabilized at around 79 degrees I'll check it again in the morning. The house cools down in the evening.

Without the mat I was seeing 70 in the morning and a max of 75 in the evening

Rich,
I haven't used heat mats much to propagate fig cuttings <it was discarded early>, but in my experience , keeping the ambient temperature and humidity at 72-78 deg F and 85-90% Rh works much better in getting good root growth and overall plant growth. Good Luck.
Attached are an earlier forum topic and a Published Document on propagating cuttings with recommendations on bottom heating.

Pete, you've obviously had great success with your method and I don't mean to discount that in anyway.  However, there are advantages in using bottom heat over keeping the room temperature warm that should not be discounted. While it isn't as much of an issue for figs since they root very easily, the principles of still trying to achieve root growth prior to vegetative growth is a worthwhile goal.

Jeff Moersfelder is the greenhouse manager at USDA/GRIN in Davis and uses bottom heat and misting for propagating and has made presentations on it. He's said that they often found hot spots on some propagation mats and they've made a bed of sand with buried heating cables and have found that provides a more uniform heat for them.

Harvey,
I agree that there are many advantages to bottom heat and misting when used on a large scale, but IMO those advantages are not that great when applied to a smaller scale, and they are not necessary.
Fig cuttings can take root in almost any environment and media that has the optimum temperature and humidity. My experience has been that if the warm ambient temperatures are maintained for the first few months (rooting and initial growth), the roots and leaves will be established enough to survive future adverse conditions.

Interesting comments.  I use a heat source under the starting cuttings in deli containers, but really more to keep the temperature in the rubber maid type container ~75F rather than to provide a bottom heat source.

My in pot soil temps are now 84 after I added a piece of cardboard between the mat and the wire shelf
I'm monitoring the amount of water needed once o twice a day