So the cuttings I've started these past couple months have been growing very well. However, even with all those leaves, there seems to be very little root development. At first when the roots started appearing, they were nice and thick with lots of new growth. Now there seems to be very little root growth and all the roots are very thin. Also, I noticed some roots starting to turn brown (dieback?).

I just transplanted my cuttings from clear cups into 2 quart pots and only the bottom half of the soil had roots in it and there were very few holding the soil together. They were potted up in a 50/50 perlite/potting soil mix, and grown on a heated surface (~80 degrees) to keep the roots warm. I am very surprised that these cuttings have been able to support all of their leaves (no wilting with continued growth even after transplant). Is there a way to encourage more root formation or is this normal and I just have too much time to think about fig propagation?

I should have taken pictures of the fig roots while they were still in clear cups before transplant. I'm starting newer cuttings in more clear cups so I'll be sure to take picture documentation of those if that would help.

---Andrew

In rooting the most important thing is to create humidity. I think if you have too much humidity then things can go downhill fast. Everything is about balance. You may want to start with 32oz cups to avoid up-potting that stresses them.  Good Luck, others will chime in with their opinions.

I have the exact same thing going on. Lots of leaf growth no roots. 2 months old.

i wonder if too much light is encouraging leaf growth vs root growth. Im still new, but have had pretty good success with bottom heat and in the dark

Andrew, how small of a cup did you start with?  You up potted into only a half gallon pot so that may have been a problem from the start.  You said you had nice big roots early so did they have enough room for roots in the beginning?  Pics would really be helpful to visualize what you have done.  Good luck.

The roots need water and air.  Generally yellow-brown, thin roots mean too much water and not enough air.  If the soil at the bottom of your pots is very wet that confirms it.  What potting soil are you using?  You might want to rinse it off and go with 80-90% perlite, 10-20% potting soil or peat moss until you have robust roots.  Then go with a good quality, high porosity potting mix such as pro-mix HP.

The humidity isn't so high in my house at 60%. I do indeed have strong lights above them so that could explain the abundant leaves. The cuttings were started in 18 OZ cups. Should I directly start them in the 2 quart pots, then? The idea that they don't have enough space for growth sounds like a very likely reason, but I noticed that a lot of people start them in similar sized cups or am I just really bad at interpreting size, haha? The potting soil I used was some miracle growth cactus mix. There was a sale so I stocked up on it. I forgot to mention that I mixed in a lot of wood chips into the cactus mix. Too much moisture is also likely getting in the way. The cactus mix seems to be mostly peat, which is like a sponge... I will look into getting a better soil mix and more perlite stat. Do generic garden centers like Home Depot or Lowe's commonly sell really well draining mixes? 

Thank you all for all the fast replies.

---Andrew

The best perlite is agricultural grade #3.  You'd find that in a hydroponics store.  If you're using horticultural perlite you want the coarsest stuff you can find then sift out or rinse away the fine particles.

Great advice Robert and Armando. I also would like to add I have been trialling the coco coir and have been impressed! No gnats and strong root growth so far. If all goes well I may stick with it.

woodchips = bad.  Competes with the cutting for nitrogen as they (the woodchips) decompose.
Jim

If one didn't have access to getting coarse perlite, would adding pine bark fines to the rooting mix help to increase aeration? 

Strong lights do promote leaf growth over root growth. To counter this, make sure the containers have dark time, ie at night no light. Also, you can add dilution of "rapid start" for root enhancement. That works great for me. Up-potting to soon seems to be a problem as well-wait till you see roots wrapping around the cup before you up-pot. And don't up-pot too soon. And don't up-pot too soon!

Thanks everyone for all the quick responses! I don't know where you guys are getting all of these potting materials. I've never seen any of them at the local garden centers. I think I will try to order them on amazon since I have amazon prime. My roommate will be very surprised when he sees a big block of "dirt" delivered to our door, but he already thinks I'm crazy for growing out dozens of fig cuttings as is haha!

---Andrew

Rafael, interesting comment about dark time.  This is the first year that I don't have my grow lights on a timer and I have had a few situations where a cutting with well formed leaves and visible roots just starts to wilt and eventually dies.  They are in a humidity container and I don't think they are over watered.  It may be to much "leafin" time and not enough "rootin" time.  Back on the timer they go and we'll see if it helps.  Thanks for the pointer.

Bill

Bill

Make sure you also allow for daily air exchange, ie open the chamber for a minute and allow a little circulation.

Interesting topic

When is the most appropriate time to start giving newly potted, rooted cuttings some neptune's harvest? I will mix in some compost when I plant them, but wondered should I wait until the leaves are all out and they are hardened off before giving compost tea? Thanks!