I wanted to have organic materials in my rooting mix, because I think some of the cuttings respond and root better with the "juices" from soil, potting mix, compost, etc. - similar to soaking them in willow tea, etc.but I have had difficulty removing rooted cuttings from cups when using materials which were organic in nature (compost, potting, mixes, etc). So I decided to split my clear cups down the side in 2 places, all the way to the bottom, and then tape them back together again. When it is time to remove the rooted cutting for transplanting, I remove the tape, and open the cup like a clam shell, and, voila, the cuttings is easily removed.

In explaining this to a friend (whose passion is mangos, not figs), he suggested just placing the split cup inside an un-split cup. Duh. Works great, no taping, etc. I started by cutting the cups that had cracks in them already, but they are cheap enough that I can easily buy more. Make sure both cups have drainage holes.

I am also experimenting with 3 x 8 plastic bags (roughly 2" dia when expanded) with the bottom corners cut off for drainage.

Finally, if you need nursery pots, looks for nurseries in your area going out of business because of the recession. A local Pinery Nursery went out of business and there were 997,000 pots left behind. The one and two gallon pots were 10-20 cents each, up to 7 gallon for $1. If you are local to San Diego, e-mail me for info.

Great tip Jon! Thanks for posting.

Jon about slitting the cups thats a very good idea as i was reading and you said you would just use tape and then take tape off when transplanting i said wow good idea then i said similar " duh" when you stated a friend said just slip cup inside another and don't forget to make the drainage holes.

I use the split pot method for airlayer by putting the two pieces around the stem and tape them. This help avoid breaking the roots when potting the newly air-rooted stem.

I'm working on a little different method of using a cup. I haven't proved it up yet, but I tried it on a sample and it looks like it should work on the real thing. Here's the plan. I will cut the bottom out of the cup, then use some heavy foil to make a cover for the top and hold it in place with a rubber band. Now with the narrow open end up, I will put my rooting mix and a started cutting. When it's time to move to a pot, I will invert the cup, remove the foil, put some potting mix in the bottom of the pot and then stand the cup right side up on the mix. I will then put some mix around the cup about 3/4 way up. It should be a simple matter of holding down the cutting and mix that's in the cup and just pull the cup up, leaving the roots and cup mix untouched. The mix around the cup should just fill in as the cup it pulled up. The small leaves and branches should go through without any problem. Well it did on the sample.

Genecolin,
so if i read that right what your doing is useing the wide mouth of cup as the actual bottom covered with foil and a rubber band and then after plant roots taking rubber band off and being wider than the top the whole sha bang should easily slide out !
I like this idea even more," sowwy Jon "but these are both great ideas you guys mentioned and im surprised it was not thought of before with all the rooting that goes on in these forums.
Gene just dont lift that cup up and have the bottom fall out but these are some really nice ideas.
Least in my opinion.

Gene, I think the problem will be if the shoots and leaves growing from the scion are too developed to fit through the hole in the cup.

Jon, I guess a plant could grow larger than the hole would allow it to be removed easily, but I tend to pot mine up a little early. The plant I tried it on to see if it could make it through the bottom was nicely developed. The bud had grown to about 5" and had 5 leaves on it, the largest being 4" long and 3" wide. Each following leaf was a little smaller. They all came through beautifully. I do understand that we cannot dictate how a cutting will grow out and I'm not about to prune anything green off of them at this stage to start shaping. If the pattern of growth will not allow it to come out of the cup then I can always split the cup as you detailed except since the bottom is already gone it's just a matter of cutting down one or both sides. I will find out the pro and cons with the next batch I put in cups. I have just started about 25 cuttings in baggies and damp paper towels. So I have about a month to play around with it and do a few more test runs using other types of plants instead of my precious figs. We keep trying to improve and make it simple, then share what we learn.

I also have been thinking about creative cup ideas.

I see where people want to put rooted cuttings in sunlight, but direct sunlight is bad for roots.  Some folks wrap aluminum foil around the clear-wall rooting cup. 

Here's what I did with some suckers last year which is similar to air layering.
It's almost using the same principles as air layering but took it to the next level ( The ground level ).

As the sucker reaches three or four inches in length I would get a cup and drill a hole slightly wider than the sucker and slide the cup over it. Since most suckers are close to the main tree I would secure the cup with the tree so that it doesn't move and if it isn't then I would put a peace of stick in the ground next to the cup/pot and fill the cup with potting mix and water.

When the sucker is ready to be removed I would clear the soil around the cup/pot and separate it from the tree with a pruner or small saw and re pot it into a larger pot.

I tried this method about five times with 100% success.

With so many methods out there it's almost difficult to waste any part of the tree with out utilizing it.

Genecolin
I read with interest your experiment with cups.I have just
started using an almost identical method with the exception
of using a snap on lid instead of aluminum foil over the large
end which can be removed when repotting. I think your idea is
great and should avoid root damage.Thanks for your idea! and
other comments on the forum.

    Tom  In Danville VA

Tom, I haven't actually put it to use yet but will on my next batch. I only tried it using a mock up and it worked fine. I just hope it works as well as it seems like. Great idea on the snap lids. I had thought about it but didn't know if I could get cups and lids to match, another great idea though. I'll have to look around as I have 52 cuttings in baggies which should be ready to go to cups in a few weeks.

Gene,
The cups and lids I use are clear qt. size. My daughter gave me several
sleeves a few years back and I dont know where she got them.The
name of the Manufacturer is Fabri-Kal Corp.I think they have a website
I am also experimenting with several cuttings with small roots or well defined initials in 3" peat pots and plan to repot entire pot to large pot when roots break thru.Idont know how it will work,but I will try anything that will spare
broken roots and possible loss of a plant.The only problem so far is peat pots
dry out easily and you have to watch closely to keep them slighly damp
and not to dry.Good luck with your experiment and by the way the
bottom of my clear cups when cut out is 3" diameter and should pose
no problem when repotting and concern for growth when removing clear
container.Keep us posted on your project.
           Tom

Tom I got a lead on a local supplier that might have the cups with the snap lids. I will give them a call tomorrow.

Restaurant supply stores should have cups and matching lids. Here it is Restaurant Depot.