How do you folks handle cuttings with greater distance between nodes. The specific cutting I am asking about is 8 inches with 1 node. That one bud is located at 5 inches from the bottom 3 inches above. I really don't want to have the one node below soil line and thinking I will shorten to maybe 2 inches below and maybe the 2 inches above with the node just above soil line. I am wondering if the energy reserves in leaving the cutting full 8 inches is worth it, but I feel i need to remove some of that 5 inches below the node. I actually don't know I have ever tried a cutting without 1 node below soil. 

Strudeldog,
  I have been told, and I have observed in my own rooted cuttings, that any wood above the highest node will eventually die back to the highest node.  Any wood below the lowest node has potential to sprout roots, so it is viable.
  One fallback to leaving more wood below the lowest node is that the cutting is hollow (pithy) and could be a potential area for mold/rot to take hold.  I think it is for that reason that some people advise cutting the bottom wood all the way back to bottom of the lowest node.
  My gut feeling is that you would want to leave as much wood on your cutting as possible...for energy reserves.
  Have you rooted the cutting yet?  That might help you answer the question of whether to put the node above ground or below.  If you get lots of roots below that node, you could leave it above ground.  If you don't get any, plant it below ground and the leaf shoot will find its way to the surface.
 
  I'm too new at this to be a voice of authority, so I'd wait for some additional responses before making a decision.
Jim

depends.. if i have other cuttings of same variety, i would dump it. 

if it's only cutting for that variety, i will root it just like any others. 

I have to agree that the more energy you can give that 1 node the better. In the spirit of "the right way, the wrong way, and my way". Here's what I would do. Seal both ends just as they are with wax and root as usual. When the cutting develops good roots and the node pushes 2-3 sets of leaves, cut that top down to 1" above the top node and re seal with wax. That top part will die back anyway. Good Luck!

I cut a lot of cuttings and throw a lot of ones like those away.  I always cut my cuttings about a quarter inch above the top bud and a quarter inch below the bottom bud with a slant at the top (so that any water runs off).  I have quite a few cuttings I've rooted where a shoot emerges from below soil level but also have roots emerging first from nodes, most of the time.  I would probably trip off 1/4" above that bud and bury it about a half inch below the soil line.  The bud can still push growth up through the soil but the node can still root.  Score the cutting below the node in hopes it will improve chances for roots there.

There are many one node wonders out there!  I tend to agree with Jim that the wood above the node will die back, but the wood below is viable.  Root initials usually appear below the node.  If you bury the node, the shoot will make it's way to the light, and the roots into the dark soil.

I planted a few rooted cuttings in the same 3 gallon container outside, and two grew just as expected.  One cutting had this hollow hard dry appearance above ground, and I thought it was dead.  Not so!  The roots held.  I couldn't pull it out.  After about 5 months a shoot appeared from way below the soil.  It lives!!

Good luck!

Suzi

I have one like that.  About 7" with just one visible node located about 2" from the top. 

I treated it like normal and it's doing fine.  Bagged it till some roots started to come out the bottom, then stuck it in a cup with damp MG potting mix about a week ago.  The one node, which started out very tiny, has just started greening/budding out.  Haven't seen the roots hit the cup walls yet, but anticipate I'll see them in the next few days.

What Needaclone said.   :)  I'd cut a sliver off of the bottom to expose green cambium then score the bottom and paint all the green areas with clonex.

Harvey, save me any non moldy cuttings you're going to throw out, I'll pay postage plus.

Thanks guys,

It's not how I would normally make a cutting. I pretty much cut them as Harvey noted, so I was scratching my head on it.  I am appreciative for receiving it and wanted to give it the best chance. It's encouraging to hear other successful with similar cuttings. I guess I had always tried to have at least one node below soil line and at least one above. I have not started it yet, so I believe I will put in Sphagnum intact and score with hormone  and evaluate after hopefully the roots start developing.

I think leaving all parts in tact and starting it in sphagnum is the right move. This way you'll give the cutting it's own options about where it wants to start roots. As we all have likely experienced (& as Jim pointed out), fig cuttings don't always start roots at a node.

Even though the wood above the node will eventually die, the cutting is using the energy reserves from that area of the cutting to start roots & growth. But in re-reading it seems you may have already cut away the part above the node.

A final thought. If you ever get a cutting like this again, you could consider potting it on its side with just the node exposed - or just barely below the soil line.

hmm.. would a cutting with 0 nodes ever grow?  If the whole thing was buried and rooted, would it eventually send up a succor?  Just curious.  might be a good experiment.

James. Pretty sure you'd be wasting your time. There has to be a node for a branch to develop. I think Jon experimented with this at one time and never saw any plant growth. It might actually start some roots but that would be short lived without top growth.
No, roots alone wont grow a new plant either. Apparently figs don't form nodes in the roots.

So, if a tree has no nodes underground, it can never send up a succor that's not attached above ground? 

I have one similar one node cutting to be rooted. I am planning to root it as my other cuttings starting with baggies method and then to soil and will keep the the node fully under the soil but closer to the soil surface.

I'm pretty sure that's right James. It seems that when a fig sends up a sucker from what appears to be below the soil line, it's actually coming from a node that was very low on the tree (or from a section of tree that had gotten buried). This is based on my personal observations as well as what some others have indicated here on the forum. If someone has experienced something different, it would be nice to hear it.........

Strudeldog,
IMO, I would treat it like any other 1 node cutting, Seal the top end with wax, cut the bottom just below the node and dip the bottom cut end only in rooting hormone, without scoring.
 
This is a single node cutting after almost 4 weeks, it was typical of 18 similar single node cuttings.

That's a great looking "one-noder" Pete. Did you plant them directly into a potting mix? Some mix of your own making? That little cutting looks very happy ;) .

i would not cut in at all. just start it like a regular cutting then when its time to put in a pot. plant it flat under on its side in soil about an inch down .  good luck

Thanks All,

I am just putting in the spaghnum moss as is with hormone. and will access as the roots develop to shorten or not.

Pete, that pretty impressive. Those shorties don't run out of energy for you and fade?  2 years ago when I had horizontal in the spaghnum moss and roots  all along the cutting I tried some shorts by dividing the cutting, but not quite that short. I put some in horizontal  just barely under potting mix but think think I lost every shorty. It seemed they ran low on fuel but might have been other factors. I seem quite adapt and finding new ways to lose cuttings.

Bill,
They were planted in Burpee Coir Seed Starting Mix in seed starting Plug trays under humidity domes. They were given a dilute Miracle Grow General Purpose fertilizer (1/2 teaspoon/gallon) from the start, the mix was pre-wet with the fertilizer.

Strudeldog,
They did not run out of energy and continued to grow once up potted. The key was to maintain a constant temperature above 70 deg F and to water with the dilute MG General purpose fertilizer. The fertilizer was increased to 1 teaspoon/ gallon of water after the plants were established in the cups. The cuttings were off cuts that were made to get the longer cuttings under the 6 inch humidity dome and they were completely buried in the Coir mix in the seed starting trays.

Thank you Pete. Interesting results. They obviously benefited to some degree from the dilute MG. Did you use the rooting hormone on the little cuttings like you had been with many of your others?

Bill,
You're welcome.
Yes, the cuttings were treated with a 15X dilution of Dip n Grow rooting Hormone. The conclusion from all the earlier tests was that hormone should only be placed on the cut end for the best balanced growth (roots and leaves).

Pete, 
I've been experimenting (using the term loosely) with Clonex as well as Dip-N-Grow. I was using the latter at only a 5X dilution though. Too early yet for results on those that I've used the Dip-N-Grow. We'll see how it goes.

I appreciate all the leg work you've done. I love the results impirical data provides but I have a hard time with the whole "seeing it through" thing. Guess I'm too easily distracted by the "next idea" I may often have (kind of a battle between creativity & logic I suppose) ;-) .