I'm in Zone 5b and just received some fig cuttings. Can I go ahead start the cuttings now, or would it be better to just wrap them and put them in the refrigerator until early spring? 
Thanks

 

If you can provide enough light and warmth through the winter it will be a project you'll never forget. :)

Thanks, because I can hardly wait to get started! LOL
I have a dedicated room with shelving units containing propagation tanks, heat mats, grow lights, etc. that I use each winter/early spring for seed starting, propagation and my more tender perennials (I have lemon trees that have been producing for the past three years). I've even done successful fruit tree grafting. However this is my first experience with fig propagation/growing and despite my enthusiasm to get them going "right now," I want to prevent as many potential newbie mistakes as possible so if that meant waiting, so be it. But I'm chuffed to know that I don't have to wait now. ;)

~RL~

What Charlie said is 100% accurate. If you're not seriously equipped to handle winter growing( rooting is the easy part, keeping them alive till spring!!!!) . I will store all my new cuttings till spring because I lack equipment and time . Best of luck RL ,with whatever you decide to do and welcome to the forum!

Hi Regencyclass,
The fresher the cuttings the better are the chances to root them.
But you'll need to keep them growing during the coming winter.
Normally if you're fruiting lemon trees, your new potted fig trees will be well there for the winter.
Good luck !

Rooting this time of year is definitely more challenging.  I find I can get them to root and grow leaves but then the fig gnats show up during the winter and my overall survival rate tends to be pretty low.  That doesn't mean I don't try a few every year but I find it much easier to start them in late winter.

  Один из способов распространения разнообразие - осень закрылков прививки.

There are 2 things I would suggest if you are going to grow out cuttings indoors for 6 or 7 months. When you get to the stage of potting up your rooted cuttings in potting soil I would first sterilize the soil to kill any gnat larvae/eggs that might be present. When you pot the cuttings I had great success using nylon stockings (knee highs) over the entire pot and tie it around the cutting. I had virtually no losses from gnats as they do not seem to be able to get through the nylon. The year before with exposed potting soil I had gnats everywhere and suffered a large number of plants lost from them. You don't want to water them very much if using potting soil either. Thats often the main reason cuttings fail.

Another thing that really works well is using 100% (sifted) perlite. I recently just uppotted a small plant I started last fall in a 2 litre pop bottle where it remained for almost an entire year. Gnats won't bother with 100% perlite. Make sure you sift it with a colander first though as you do not want all the dust and tiny perlite particles because that will cluster around the cutting and keep it too wet which will result in rot. I usually lose almost half the perlite after sifting it but it really makes a difference. You will have to water them more frequently though as perlite does not retain much moisture.

Good luck with your cuttings!
Tyler

RegencyLass, since you are all ready set up, why not do half your cuttings. If you make some newbe mistakes, you can correct them with some late winter starts. You can find out what works best for you. If they take, you'll experience the difficulty of keeping them alive till spring. In any event it will be a learning experience and fun at the same time. One piece of advice, save your quality fig cuttings till later, that way you don't lose your best figs to newbe mistakes. Have fun and good luck.

  Добавление к сообщению 11.

I just came to this thread today, and after reading it, I desperately need advice. Monday last week I took some cuttings from a Qing Pi fig and as I was away from home, I kept them with the ends wrapped in very wet newspaper till I got home yesterday,five days later. Today I planted them in cut off plastic drink bottles in a potting compost for herbs, which had a large proportion of vermiculite in it. I did all this after consulting a lot of other websites before finding this forum. I sat back and looked at them with satisfaction and started dreaming about fig orchards!

Then I started to wonder about if they rooted, what I should do in the winter. I will be unable to provide heat and light. Do you think I should tip them out and store them till spring? If so, how should I do that? I am a bit confused, having read things about plastic bags and wet kitchen paper, and refrigerators etc.

I really want these cuttings to succeed! Any advice gratefully received!

Charlie,

Thank you very much for replying. Just directly in the ziplock bag, unwrapped? And in the main part of the fridge or the vegetable drawer?

By the way, earlier today I read the whole way through your post and the replies about single node cuttings, from beginning to end! It was fascinating!