Hello there!  

I am new to this forum (and the whole fig propagating business in general!) but I found this website very helpful so far.  I took some cuttings from my grandfather's tree in NJ a couple of months ago and have had pretty good luck getting them to start roots.  (I am very excited about this!)  I am at the stage where I should be moving them to cups with some sort of soil.  This is where my questions begin!

Don't laugh!  I am very new at this!

I see on the webpage that a mix of perlite and vermiculite worked well as a rooting medium, but I was wondering if there was a particular kind or brand?  Also, what about a product like a "beneficial soil inoculant" (ex:  http://www.amazon.com/Myke-TRE18-Growth-Supplement-Mycorrhiza/dp/B005K16GMU/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1425758230&sr=8-8&keywords=perlite+and+vermiculite).  Would that be "beneficial"?  Do I mix it into the perlite/vermiculite mix, or is that the rooting medium on it's own?  

Like is said, I'm new at this...  these may seem like silly questions to experienced growers.  Sadly, my grandfather passed away 2 years ago, so I can't ask him how he got the tree to grow from his clippings.  It is important to me that I get at least one tree, because it like having a little piece of him in the yard.  

Any help would be greatly appreciated!  The instructions on the "Intro to the basics" page are great and I love having so many pictures to guide the way!  It's what has helped me get this far!  

Thank you in advance for your help, 

Jessica Ann 

Ask 10 different people and you'll likely get 10 different answers.  I've personally found that it simply boils down to what works in your hands.  Some stuff that others suggested worked great for me, and others didn't work at all.

All that being said, a lot of folks go with inorganic material (e.g. perlite, vermiculite, etc), simply because it helps to discourage rot, increases moisture control (doesn't really get swampy like soil will), and you will never get a dreaded (and I do mean dreaded) root gnat infestation.  However, lots of folks still do mixes with some organic material, but I would stay away from "soil".  Peat, coconut coir, pine bark, and other "soil-less" media tends to work best.

My best suggestion is to use a lot of perlite in whatever you do.  People who pot up into 40+% perlite (even up to 100%) seem to have some of the best luck.  Its light, drains well, its cheap, and its readily available.  I had bad luck with 100%, but I'm doing much better with about 50-60% mixed with a few other things.  I think my perlite was particularly fine grained, which caused problems (some folks actually sift their perlite to get rid of the fine stuff)

Also, go big or go home with cups!  Mine outgrew 16 oz cups very quickly.  I'm pretty new to this as well, but I'd recommend using at least 32 oz cups (go to deli at grocery store and ask) with many holes poked in them.

Hope all this helps.

Welcome!  And I agree with Brett, though I do use 16 oz cups (more fit in a humidity dome) and then go to 1 gallon pots.  I use perlite and MG seed starter potting mix, at 2:1 for cups (67% perlite).  But I also treat for fungus gnats as a precaution.  Others go all inorganic to avoid the gnats.  

Good luck!  In my own experience, I killed many young cuttings by over watering, from the baggie all way to 1 gallons.  I would bet over watering is the most common cause of death for people new to fig propagation.

Welcome to the forum!  You will find a lot of abbreviations in here, and it takes some time to learn them.  MG means Miracle Grow seed starter potting mix.  I use that also, mixed with perlite.  If you search the forum you will find many ways to plant your rooted cuttings.  Try a couple different ones.  Something should take!

Good luck!

Suzi

Newbie here too. Welcome to the group! :-)

Welcome!

I have joined about a year ago and have learned a lot about growing figs and made many contacts.
Best thing is take some time to go through  Q&A thread.

Link for growing cuttings; http://figs4fun.com/basics_Rooting.html

Also use the search button it is loaded with info from some every knowledgeable members and post your questions so we can all learn more.

I'd avoid vermiculite. All of the cuttings that I have added a 1/5th vermiculite to have not been drying out, which has caused several to rot.

Welcome to the forum Jessica. And good luck with your cuttings.

Vermiculite holds water. Perlite doesn't. But particle size matters. Anything fine (sand, Perlite, Vermiculite) holds water, and too  much water, and keeps out oxygen. You need to use coarse materials, which sometimes means sifting the useable coarse particles from the finer ones.

Welcome to the forum Jessica (my second daughter is Jessica Ann too),

As a back-up to your current rooting program, set aside a couple of cuttings.

Then, once the weather warms a bit, half-fill a 1 gal pot with good potting soil. then add 3 inches of coarse sand. Lay the cuttings on their side on the sand. Cover them with 1-2 inches of more sand. Put the pot in the sun and keep it watered. It may take a couple months, but they will root.

Of course, you will get more growing months if  you can start the cuttings indoors, but this way will work. I had over 80% rate with this method last year after losing all my cuttings in the house. They all grew fine, some made it close to 3 ft by the time the fall hit here in Arkansas.

Focus on providing the right moisture level and fresh airflow.  In other words, no sealed containers.  No stagnant, wet soil, no matter what kind.  People use perlite, pine bark, etc, because it's harder or perhaps impossible to overwater.  But you can use regular potting mix as long as you don't overwater.  I've only had gnats once, and that's when I used miracle grow organic potting mix.  I'm sure it's possible to get them from other sources too, but I have used fafards and pro-mix without having any gnats. 

Thank you all for your replies!  I'm excited to get started!  I will let you know how it turns out!