This year I'm trying to grow fig cuttings for the first time. I've started hundreds of cuttings of other plants, so am using the methods I am used to. As well as using a new camera/computer set up - and posting pictures here for the first time..

So here goes.  The first picture are some of my cuttings planted in 2.5 by 5.5 inch square plant bands. The bottoms of the bands are mostly open. The 'soil' is half perlite, half planting mix. The cuttings were not sterilized. Many were cut in half. Some are even one nodes, but most are more. They were not pre-rooted in baggies. And since the bands are opaque, I have to guess what's going on. So be it.

The second is cuttings a bit older with top growth. Some have roots, some do not. These cuttings were stuck just about 4 weeks ago. I keep them in a high humidity, high light situation, and when the temp gets about 75*F, I get the temperature down. High temps equal mold growth. I like to keep the various bins open for parts of every day. I've lost about 4 cuttings thus far, all the same variety (Alma/FallsGold) and all thin top (terminal bud) cuttings.

When I cover the cuttings, I use a shorter metal wire bin (one inch openings), and cover it all with plastic so the leaves are protected. The florescent lights are placed about 2.5 inches above the plastic so the bins don't get too hot inside. I turn the lights on in the morning for an hour or two till it gets bright enough. then I use sunlight filtered through mini blinds (light fixtures removed), monitoring the temp so it does not get too hot.

If I am gone, I tilt the blinds so no direct sun gets in, and cover the cuttings w the plastic so they are in lower light but high humidity. Over the years I've learned that 'Cool' is more important than 'bright'. But enough light over the weeks is important for photosynthesis and general growth. It's a balancing act.

About 4 pm when the sun no longer comes in through the windows, I spritz the plants with fine mist, cover them with their plastic sheeting, reposition the lights, then let them go till about 10 pm when I turn out the lights till morning.

I have no idea how many of these will root, but I would hope enough to have way too many. I have about 20+ varieties I'm trying to root. In these 3 bins, there are 90 cuttings. And there are a couple other bins not in the photos.

Gina you definitely have a green thumb.  Bet you get the results that exceed your expectation!  I have about 50 cuttings in my greenhouse but spring is short in this part of Arkansas.  Already having to run the fans just to keep the temp below 85.  All of my cuttings are in ziplock bags it has worked for me in the past.  The danger I find is getting them into the soil/Perlite mixture without harming the root system.  Most of these cuttings are Celeste, and are pencil size in diameter.  I wish you all the best and talk with you later.  Richard

I forgot to make a comment your photography is superb!

Looks real good Gina.  I like your humidity chambers a lot.

Looks good Gina.  Noticed in the first picture you have 3 cuttings to a pot in some cases.  Are you intending on separating later, or just keeping the strongest?  In my experience when I've put more than one in a pot it is a hassle to separate later.

Since my bins have opaque tops, this year I did not provide light until there was enough roots that they could be taken out and placed under light with no humidity added.  I like your approach, gives me some ideas I might try next year.

This is like a walk in the park for you Gina, please keep sharing.

p.s. I never knew what those things were called, plant bands, nice.

Thanks. I've done a lot of rooting in the equal to ziplock bags too (2 bands to a bag), but over time have shifted to bins because I find it easier. We've been lucky with the weather here the past month - cooler than it was in January. The room I am using is a very sunny room that most months would be just too hot for rooting figs. And we will have clouds the next few days too. But if I had to move them all, with the bins it would be relatively easy. I'd just keep them under the lights longer.

One of the reasons I planted the cuttings directly into the mix is I didn't want to risk transplanting tender roots. I know others have success doing that, but I stuck with what I knew worked for me. And I'm lazy. Well, not really, but there would be so many to transplant if they all took. And I have a couple hundred bands that I keep reusing.

Good luck with your cuttings. One of the varieties I am rooting is also Celeste. I hear they are very good.

Good eye. Those 3 bands are the only ones with double cuttings. All the others are singles. Those cuttings were the clipped tail ends of 'better' cuttings of an unknown tree. I was going to just toss them and thought I might as well stick 'em in somewhere - and I had the containers and soil... If they root I'll worry what to do with them later. :)

Thanks. The idea just grew in little steps. In the past I've used those metal bins outside to keep birds from eating seedlings. My first bins for fig cuttings were laundry baskets covered in large, clear plastic bags as in the first photo. The other bins I had to press into service as I kept acquiring more cuttings. Necessity is the mother of invention. :)

Thanks. I am having a great deal of fun with this. Figs have so much to offer - great taste, relatively easy reproduction, and wonderful lore.

Nice set-up.

Thanks. I just could not imagine having to transplant cuttings with delicate roots that have been bare-rooted. Too many could break. I know others do it, kudos to them. Since my rooting containers are not transparent, I carefully dug up a couple 'just to see', and there were roots. Even being very careful, some were broken. So I won't be doing that again.

Since my cuttings are in half perlite/half planter mix, after they root they'll have enough organic material to allow them to grow while still in the bands. In the past with other species, I like to keep rooted cuttings in the bands and let them grow a bit, including fertilizing them with a low concentration of MGro. And since I am also a fan of initially moderately firming in cuttings, when they are ready to move up, there is a nice root-ball that isn't as easily broken apart.

Thus far I've seen evidence of rooting in the following varieties, either roots coming out of the bottoms or tops of the bands, or the couple I 'unearthed' and saw roots forming. Mission, Kadota, Sal's Corleone, Adriatic, Portland3 (Marseilles?), and lsu purple. And hopefully many more beneath the surface. :)

Good job, Gina...

Thanks. This is fun!

Next chapter - a half dozen definitely rooted and out of the bins to begin life on the 'outside'. Since my individual rooting containers/pots/bands are not transparent, two criteria are required for me to consider them well-rooted enough to move to the next stage - obvious visible roots at the bottom of the plant band, and new healthy growth at the top of the cutting.

Right now they will remain inside the house (but not in the larger 'humidity' bins) with increased but mixed sun/shade through mini blinds. If they look ok after a few days, they'll go outside into filtered shade.

The plan is to both increase exposure to the elements/sun, while waiting a few more weeks so a good root ball will form, then transplanting into a larger pot - either 1 or 2 gallon. It will depend. They will get very light fertilizing from here on.

Here are a couple other bins with cuttings started a couple weeks after the first bins, just leafing out, but most likely few if any roots yet. I think they are cute. :)  In the first (square) bin are mostly cuttings of Sal's Corleone and Black Greek (Chios). The longer bin contains a mixture of different cuttings.

Those look fantastic.  I really love using bands to start small trees but never tried it for rooting cuttings, looks like next time I will have to use them.

Thanks. I think the bands work well. They are not clear however, so you have to wait longer till roots can be seen either at the top or bottom. But they drain very well, and I like how they can be placed close together with no gaps. They are also easy to transplant out of.

Today I decided to transplant 3 of my larger, more established rooted cuttings into gallon containers. I want to see if I can get a few figs from them before the end of the season as an experiment.

The cuttings with the best roots showing and shoot growth were a Kadota, Mission, Adriatic, and/or Lattarula. (I don't exactly remember which 3.) It might have been a bit premature - there was not as established a root ball as I would have liked, but they should make it. I'll keep them in the shade for a few days.

I'll also keep other cuttings that have rooted in the bands longer before transplanting. That was the original plan but I just couldn't wait. :) And there were rooted duplicates of those that were transplanted, 'just in case'.

Of the cuttings I started (beginning the middle of March to about the middle of April), about 200 total, about 20 have died, and maybe 30-40 have visible roots (they are covered now or I'd count - I stick a colored toothpick into each band where roots have been observed either at the top or bottom). I would guess more than these have roots judging by newly active shoot growth, but I don't know for sure. The vast majority of cuttings have some shoot growth (root growth - unknown), and some have roots but no shoots (esp Kadota). And some just seem to be sitting there (esp Sicilian Red) but are not dead yet.

The weather has been cooperating - its not been hot for several weeks. Of course that slows things down, but I'd rather have 'slow' than rot.

How can something so innocent be such fun?

Edit: May 7 - Cool - I've seen the first roots at the bottom on one of my Black Ischia bands, and two other BAs still are looking very good too. This is one of the main figs I wanted to root. Happy Dance... :)

I'm using this thread as sort of a rooting log. :)

Varieties rooted thus far, some more than one - no particular order, from memory - with visible roots either at the top or bottom of the opaque bands:

Adriatic JH

Portland 3 (Marseilles ?)

Mission

Mary Lane

Long Yellow

Norman's Yellow

Ischia Black

Beall

Greek Black (from Chios)

Local unknown

Sal's Corleone

Kadota

Strawberry Verte

Paradiso

FallsGold (or Alma)

LSU Purple

There are others I suspect have rooted by look, but don't know for sure. Sometimes they have not, even thought they show signs of growth. But growth is good, and roots cant' be far behind (she says hopefully). There are a couple others I'm waiting on, but it's still early and thus far I'm very pleased.

Just out of curiosity what was the source of your scion?  I am looking for some new scion. 

I joined here at the very end of February, and started to buy cuttings soon after. I purchased many named cuttings from Jon, the owner of this board -- http://encantofarms.com/Available_Cuttings_2012.html -- go to the bottom of the page for this year's list - finished for this year. But it will give you an idea what might be available next year.

I also bought a number from ebay (search for 'fig cuttings' ...or 'fig plant' for rooted cuttings), and a few are from the kind generosity of members here. The vast majority of my cuttings were started in March.

Good hunting. :)

Love your setup, Gina. I always enjoy your threads. I start with barely damp newsprint in ziplock bags until I see root initials. Then I immediately move to moist vermiculite in clear or semi-opaque repurposed plastic containers in bins or giant bags until I see some major roots. I go 1gal and some shade after that. That's my system. Not complicated, but if I have a good hardwood cutting, it works very well for me. I have a long growing season though.

Thanks, Donald. Although my rooting containers are opaque, I can see great benefit in using something that is transparent, to see better the state of the roots. Now I have to wait till they appear on the top or bottom. But I have the bands so I use them, and they do work well.

I think I may start playing around with repurposing old tennis ball cans - they are a very nice clear, sturdy plastic. With the top and bottom cut off, the remaining tube is about 6.5 inches tall. If you slit them down the side, it's easy to roll them into whatever diameter you want, and hold them steady with rubberbands, put a bit of mesh in the bottom to hold in the soil.. but at this point, that is just playing around. And much more work for many cuttings.

I agree that 'not complicated' is the best. Less is more. :)

I was very excited today to find a second Black Ischia cutting showing a root at the bottom of its band.  You can see it at the bottom right of the first photo. The two cuttings (from Jon) are both looking good, but I don't want to jinx them - this variety is one I really wanted for here in SoCal.

Second photo is one of the bins with cuttings in progress. The ones with orange-topped toothpicks already have shown roots. Of the others, some will form roots (or already have), and others won't. Patience. :)

I moved 12 more rooted cuttings outside (1st photo) and watered for the first time - including the two black Ischias... which wilted and immediately got moved back inside. We are expecting foggy weather in the next few days, so they will go outside again then. A couple of others slightly wilted, but I am not as concerned (over protective) of them and know they will survive.

I also moved some others which already have been outside in a mix of sun and shade into full sun. (photo 2) Baptism of Fire, so to speak. None have wilted or shown any signs of duress in several hours. Since they are in a very porous mix (half perlite, half potting mix), I put them on shallow cookie sheets so they will catch a bit of extra water (but not too much) when I use the hose. In my dry climate, I've found over the years that this technique works extremely well for all sorts of plants. I assume for figs too. We'll see. :)

This makes a total of 37 rooted cuttings now living outside, some in sun, some in shade. There are more that probably are well rooted enough to go outside, but I'm not sure enough to move them - that's the main downside of using opaque rooting bands.

black ischia is one of those figs that i'm looking for. i have ordered it from UCD, but haven't got it this year. maybe i'll try jon in 2013.

i need to start moving my cuttings to 1 gal pot. their leaves are getting large and it's drying up fast. need more soils to hold the water for the tree.

pete

Gina,

I have been usingclear plastic containers I get with my potato salad purchases in the supermarket.  I cut 8-10 holes around the bottom edges for drainage (I use a grinding wheel which cuts nice even triangles all around).  I like seeing what is going on in my pots underground and this works very well.  The pots are strong, semi-clear and quite inexpensive (like free).  Since many of the orchids I grow are top heavy I usually put a few rocks on the bottom of the pot for counter-balance and extra drainage.

Dennis

Somers, NY