If I successfully root some greenwood cuttings and let them grow as long as possibly, even bringing them into the house, BEFORE onset of Fall dormancy, and letting them continue to grow, in a very sunny window, do I:

!.   Need to induce quiescence/dormancy for a couple of months, or, can I let these newly rooted cuttings continue to grow out, through the winter months?

2.  If they should go dormant, or, if they NEED to go dormant, can I store them in my refrigerator, bare-rooted, but with roots in moist, peat-moss, for the dormancy period?  I cannot control natural, day length, except by supplemental lighting...do I need to go through this trouble?

I have never started cutting this late in the season...so, I need suggestions.

Frank

You can let them continue to grow all Winter, Frank. Good luck!

I have a few containerized trees I moved indoors and did not let go dormant for a few years running. They were fine - BUT - they did not ripen any figs. The few they made invariably dropped before ripening. Since you are talking abuo newly-rooted cuttings it doesn't sound like that is a concern for you.

Thanks, Ruben....

...for the quick answers.  I just did some cuttings.  Earlier this season, I successfully rooted a greenwood cutting of a unknown variety, an Italian red fig, which a customer of mine gave me back in 2007.  They were nothing but two-leaved, rooted cuttings, stuck in one pot.  The original tree has grown, unprotected, in Mount Vernon, NY, and makes a small, but sweet, black-red fig.  I have grown these three, original rooted, twigs into full, 6 ft. trees, and now, I want to do the "cutting routine".

I have nothing to lose, so I will try the process.  It will be much easier for me to just let them continue to grow throughout the winter months, in my kitchen, next to sliding-glass doors, in full sun.  If I have to,  I will lose the dining-room table, and eat off a TV-tray! 

Should I have my head examined???


Frank

Last September, I started a Malta Black airlayer, and after it rooted I transferred it to a one gallon pot.  I let it go dormant in October, along with all my other trees, and put it in the cold cellar for winter storage.  I gave it a little water, each month in storage, and kept my fingers crossed that it would not die over the winter.

It is now nearly two feet tall, and doing very nicely.  So, starting cuttings, or airlayers late in the season, doesn't necessarily mean failure.  It can be done with care.  Keeping the trees indoors and growing through the winter is more reliable for success, but a lot more work for me.

Frank,

This is a good question for those of us that are just now getting some green cuttings going. 

I had planned to overwinter all my plants in the aviary which does not get below 55 degrees in the winter. All the lights out there are on timers to help with getting the birds to stop laying eggs. 


Chris

at least where i am, 1 yr cuttings do not go dormant. they will keep growing. the winter is not harshy enough down here. usually by second winter, they will go dormant. my plants are all in containers. i'll have to check on the water rather often so i don't end up killing them all like last year.

Someone, somewhere, sometime, told me that the roots will continue to grow until the soil temp reaches 45 f deg. even when the stem/trunk/tree goes dormant.  Since I don't know who, where, or when, I can't attach any value to this statement. LOL

I agree with Pete, the winter here is not harsh enough to stymie the root development.

Danny K
Marshall Tx
zone 7b-8a

Yes, this is a really pertinent topic for me too.  So if I undestand correctly, if one were to start a cutting now and keep it growing in-doors over the winter it would probably not produce figs next summer.  Fine.  But what if it were then allowed to go dormant in cold temperatures during the winter of 2013-14?  Would it then produce figs normally during the summer of 2014?  I would think the effect would be reversible but does anyone have any direct experience with this?

Rewton, It would depend in part whether or not that two-year old tree can bear in the first place. Mine had been indoors without a dormancy period for about four years straight and produced nothing. Last winter I put it in the coal cellar and this spring it went nuts and set a ton of figs. I've eaten about 6-8 ripe ones so far. Naturally your mileage may vary.

Aaron, thanks.  Hopefully for the variety I am rooting now I will have at least 2 plants to experiment with.  I'll put one in the detached garage for dormancy and if it dies I will have another growing in-doors as a back-up.

Assuming that my newly rooted cuttings pull through the coming Winter '12 - '13, and continue to grow throughout the Spring-Summer '13... I will pull any forming figs off the trees, and let the trees put out roots and wood for the next year.  Hopefully they will double, or, triple in size.  By the Summer-'14, I will expect to see some fig-action...even if it's just a few figs.  I will let the trees go dormant, and store in a cool place, and let Mother Nature do her thing.

These trees will be containerized, but also sunk into surrounding soil, so that the roots can run free.  I will give them the "kid-glove treatment" while they are juveniles.

I rooted my first green wood cutting in a large soda bottle, and made a cover/cap out of another soda bottle that I cut where the neck starts to taper.  The top slides right into the bottom, making a perfect, little greenhouse for the green cutting.  I cut the stems about 6" - 8" long and cut away all leaves except the first two near the terminal bud, and buried the stem about 4" deep into dampened coconut coir that I bought at a pet shop.  The cutting rooted in about 3-4 weeks...on my kitchen windowsill.

Thanks for posting all this good, and useful information.  It's fun to make new trees.  Another reason why I love to grow figs.

Frank

Great thread. I was wondering some of the same things. Our climate is different here however - no frosts in winter, but it can get cool. Sometimes dormancy is not deep. But I've been wondering what to do with cuttings I'm rooting now. I would rather try to actively grow them through the winter inside the house. We have large southfacing windows where the sun streams in and it stays warm even without the heat on. Passive solar heating. I was thinking I could keep very young growing cuttings there and not miss a beat. Glad to hear it's possible.

I want to know if figs need dormancy.  Do trees suffer if they don't go dormant?  How much dormancy do they generally need?

You know, I'm always reluctant to start these kinds of inquiring threads, because I'm not the best researcher, and the subjects, and thread titles, often do not match, so the "search" option is of little use, many times. 

Anyway, I ask, ....  hoping not to bore forum members with redundant questions.  I'm glad that I did because some other members had the same questions, and now, we have useful information about our newly rooted cuttings.

Thanks for all the participation.  You all helped me and others.

Frank

Your's was not a redundant question. It was something I'd been wondering myself the past few days. Was even going to post a thread asking the same question you did. Looking for even more discussion, I did a search for 'dormancy' and found the thread that 'answered' what Figfinatic asked.

I think the more information, the better. This all is uncharted territory for me. :)