Greetings. I am new to this forum but have recently tried figs for the first time and am hooked!  I have available to me several large fig tree's from which to gather cuttings. My rookie question is, why does it seem everyone seems to plant/start cuttings about 6" or so when I could easily strip and plant one that is 18" or so. Wouldn't I get more roots and a better root system and faster growth starting with a large cutting vs. a small one?  Thanks for any and all comments. Noel G. Banning CA 

Either ay you'll want to keep the whole cutting moist while it roots.  My experience has been good with large cuttings but wood more than 2 years old is very slow to produce branches.  See here

http://figs4fun.com/basics_Rooting.html and the new alternative method

and here

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/jons-bag-method-writ-large-6378923?pid=1278323064#post1278323064

Thanx rcantor. I'll check out the basics!

Hi Noel, and welcome to the fig forum...I have found out over the years that the cuttings that grow the most vigorously, and seem to have the most energy stored in them, are the ones that I cut off further down the branch(closer to where the branch meets the trunk)...I think the method of rooting may limit some growers in the choice of the cuttings that they use...in my case I am somewhat limited in the size due to that fact that I root my cuttings during the tail end of the winter months, and use an indoor rooting method that uses a humidity dome that is 7" high, also the growing plugs that they are placed in will only allow the thinner cuttings(maybe 3/8" before they break the rooting plug)...on occasion I do take the larger cuttings that are available, and use a different method to root them, but for my year to year rooting I prefer using the smaller cuttings...it simply comes down to a matter of choice. 

Thanks Vince. I will try and take cuttings closer to the trunk. I think more than anything , I'm in a hurry to get some larger plants going. I've purchased black mission and brown turkey from Home Depot but wanted to try some espalier along a wrought iron fence I'm putting in in a few weeks and wanted to start with 8 or 9 plants. Unfortunately I don't know the varieties on the tree's I'm going to get but at least they won't cost $25.00 a pop so though I'd like some variety I'll have to settle for affordable for now. We are mid-summer here in Banning CA and I want to get the figs started before cold sets in. Would any recommend how many leaves to leave on an 18-24" cutting? Thanks all.   

Noel G,
Welcome to the Forum community.
I've had good success with large cuttings in the past and have grown several 1" plus caliper by 18" - 24" long cuttings. The basic rooting procedures work, the main things to remember when rooting is to keep the cutting moist (not wet) and warm, 85-90% RH and 74-78 deg F. I would also recommend sealing the top end of all cuttings to prevent dessication and die back.  Attached are pictures of my largest caliper cutting to date. This cutting was also rooted without any Rooting Hormones and was cut on 5-13-2014. Good Luck.
  .

<edit> BTW, shorter small caliper cuttings are actually easier to store and ship, that's why they are more popular. If you read through most of the literature and info, larger cuttings are the norm for commercial and "older" growers. Healthy larger cuttings will usually produce trees faster than smaller cuttings due to the additional stored energy reserves.

larger (fatter) cuttings have more stored energy and thus can go longer.

Thanks Pete, that's quite a monster. If I use something that large, I will definitely be sealing the top. Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I'll try and post some pictures of the trees I'm taking cuttings from and the fruit on them. They are very large and will probably be bull dozed some time in the future :(    

Thanks for starting this post Noel, as I too wondered about this topic too being newish to growing figs.

Don't be afraid of the thinner cuttings though.  I received two sets of cuttings this spring from friends.  Each set contained a lot of different varieties.  One person had sent cuttings of some varieties that were just so thin.....cuttings so thin that if they were from my trees I would not even have kept them.  The other person sent more normal size to large cuttings.  The thing that surprised me was just how good the thin cuttings did....they actually beat the larger cuttings in success %.  I would have bet a lot that would not have been the case.  I realize other factors were at play but still I was surprised.  The thin cuttings were 1/2 to 1/3 the thickness of a pencil.   

http://www.waldeneffect.org/blog/Ten_tips_for_successful_rooting/

In the cone of juvenility, roots are better produced from these suckers generally speaking, it just ups the advantage of success.  I try to take cuttings from this area if I can but sometimes I just take from the ends of branches or entire upper branches, they seem to root just fine, but thought I would throw it out there.