I am new to this forum and I love figs! Seems like a match made in heaven...I live in Texas , Brazos Valley near Bryan, College Station area , with very sandy soil. It is hotter than Hades in the summer and sooo very humid. What figs would love to live with me? I have purchased the local favs that are sold in local stores( Tx everbearing, brown turkey) and not even had much luck with them in the ground, but all in containers are doing excellent...what goes wrong in the ground? I feed and water as recommended, but they still pass away...could moles cause problems? I am always having to trap them and they are monsters that cannot be defeated.  I have ordered some cutting and am looking forward to all the advice I have read here in attempting to root them, but I am dumb as a stick about it and want to succeed...which of all the methods you have listed on this site is the best for the novice fig lover...any advice is gladly accepted and greatly appreciated in advance...thanks   Pokie

Welcome to the forum, Michael.

I did a poll on the best rooting method used and most members answered sphagnum in a baggie / tupperware container. I agree whole heartedly.

Do a search for sphagnum rooting for the specific details.

As far as your in ground fig trees dying, I would probably bet soil pathogens rather than gophers. RKN? Pull out a dead fig tree and look for little knobs on the roots.

Frank

Mike... Frank has a good idea!
Pull up the sickest tree. Spray all dirt off of the roots and look for small , round nodules on the roots. If there, you have nematodes in your sandy soil.
You will probably have to buy topsoil and large containers to raise figs.
I hope, that Root knot nematodes are not the reason!!
                           Fredfig, in NC.

Hi, I'm new here too.

Can't answer about the figs, but moles aren't the culprits - they burrow but eat worms and grubs and not plant roots. Perhaps you have gophers instead.

Hi Michael, welcome to the forum . Glad to see another Texan on board. As for varieties other than what you have , You might try Celeste & Marseilles Black VS (top two in my book) to start with and there are many other to add down the road if you have the space. Violette de Bourdeaux is a must have in most collections. The main thing is you want to stick to tight eyed, rain tolerant varieties that can hold up in humid weather.

Ditto what others have said about RKN, be sure & check. Also check all plants before you buy them and if your sandy soil is contaminated, be careful not to contaminate your potted figs by sitting them on the soil. Good Luck.

As for rooting, Jon's New Baggie method is easy for most figs, but for treasured rare varieties and hard to root varieties, sphagnum in baggie method is the way to go. There are many other ways to root figs too, but,  you'll learn through trial & error which is best for you, like most of us have. Keep reading the old posts, they contain a wealth of information.