Last year I rooted my first cuttings and I used the paper towel in a bag. My cuttings rooted fast and I guess I thought it was too simple. I decided to test out using the moss and it seems to root certain fig cuttings faster then others. Lately haven't been seeing very much root growth on my cuttings. I decided to use the paper towel's on a few cuttings to see what would happen. So in less then a week I have roots on my paper towel cuttings and no roots on my moss cuttings.

So my question is this.

Which method do you prefer? and Why?

Moss for me.  Less mold issues.  But I've successfully rooted with baggy method too. 

Sphagnum moss all the way .
Main problem with rooting is mold . Whether 1 takes longer than the other I can't say .
But as far as mold is concerned moss basically eliminates that problem , unless of course it's way too wet .

John

I've had success with papertowels but like Frank said there is a greater chance of mold.
Newspaper-- would be the next method for me with less chance of mold.
Moss-- I've had more success with this over the other two. No mold problems.
Number one method........
Rooting cubes-- so far this has been the best for me and I'd choose this over the others.
I prefer this method so much that it has become my number one choice, no mold, no rot and so far 100% rooting success.

The most successful and faster for me is paper towel (or any kind of paper, including newspaper). I use a 2 cubic feet Ziploc, leaving an opening of about 2". As they start rooting, a few at the time, I plant them. It is easy and convenient.

MOSS all the way.

Moss.
Sphagnum moss holds more moisture than paper, without getting the cutting too wet. I usually place the moss and cuttings in Ziplock bags, Inflate and check every 2-3 days, and never have to add any additional moisture (spray the cuttings). I have had cuttings in Ziplock bags with damp moss (as a test) for over 3 months (2+ months at 45-65 deg F., 1 month rooting at 75 deg F.) without any mold. 

The cuttings that I moved out of moss were in the moss for 4 weeks. The cutting still in the moss have now been in for 5 weeks and still show no signs of roots. The cuttings I moved out of moss and place in damp paper towels have rooted. This puzzles me to say the least. Why would this be the outcome?

What are your rooting temperatures?

Also the moss has to be wrung dry (no dripping water) and fluffed up to introduce lots of air.

The cuttings may have needed to hydrate longer, before starting to root. There are always  lots of variables.

Last year I use to have the cuttings on a heating mat at the very lowest settings and when I would take the temperature (using Supco LIT11TC) the readings were always around 85 degrees. So I stopped using the heating mats all together. I started these cuttings at room temperature. At room temperature they read 73 degrees, but once I remove the container lid the temperature drops to 67 degrees. In the picture I know the moss looks wet, but I suspect its my cameras' flash exaggerating the dampness. Because I ring out the moss as much as possible and when I touch the moss it doesn't leave hardly any damp feeling on my hand. I fluff the moss ever 2 days and let in plenty of fresh air.

Depends on the scion. I use both. Moss and (Bounty or Viva) paper towels.
Jenn

Hank, There are a lot of potential explanations for what you observe. To fairly compare rooting results in moss vs paper, you need to treat pairs of cuttings of a number of cultivars identically & root one of each in moss and one of each in paper towels. In your case, the rapid rooting upon moving to a paper towel rooting environment might be simply that the cuttings were primed in the moss and would have gone on and rooted in the moss on a similar time schedule. The humidity level created by the 2 approaches is almost certainly different in the micro area right next to the cuttings. That could drive the difference. Your cuttings appear to have received a variety of treatments, some are scared, some are not scared, some were treated with Clonex, some were not. Pete's question about variation in rooting temperature is an important one. Whatever the underlying cause(s) for your new roots, it is a great result!!

I learned to root using paper towels.  It works and works very well. I have very very little mold problems.  I haven't tried moss or anything else. I just figured if it ain't broke....

This batch was undisturbed. No scares. No clonex. The marks you see in the pictures is callusing over of damage sustained during pruning. While I am testing out clonex on other cuttings, those cutting are in a separate room, under separate conditions. The only variables that changed in the set is the environment. 

for rooting, viva paper towel. i think i found a happy balance with mold and paper towel. will test it out of next set of cuttings.

Don't use either, I go straight to cups in a plastic bin ,I have found the cuttings root fine.

Luke, can you describe your process. Going straight to cups frightens be a bit. I've never been successful with it.

I've been using Jon's alternative bag method this year, little plastic bags filled with about 90% perlite and 10% sphagnum peat moss.  I had some problems with some where the perlite was too fine and some varieties that were just tough, but it's worked out pretty well overall.  The bags are about 2" in diameter when filled so roots reach the sides pretty quickly.  I've transferred many (dozens) of cuttings from these bags to pots in potting soil in 2-3 weeks after starting.  Takes up little space which is one thing I really like.  I now have over 100 potted plants in my greenhouse and maybe three died after transplanting which is an acceptable rate considering I'm pushing them along (being aggressive to make room for more).

thinking about it:

paper towels have bleech in them so it might be good for the cutings as an antiseptic.

for me an inflated small nylon bag with paper towerl inside for moisture is all i need.

I use paper at the beginning until i see white dots all over it and
the i remove the paper and than i put it in Sphagnum moss, i also put a piece suvlaki stick or ice cream stick, which the stick will show me how moist is the moss, by the color of the stick.
I also keep the shoe box or zip lock close to ceiling because that is the warmest part of your room, because heat rises.

I hate when the roots stick on the paper

yes.. root does stick on the paper if i don't check often enough.. but i don't mind breaking few roots. way i see it, they will grow again.

edit: this remind me of old eddie murphy joke about a bear and a rabbit in the woods..

Hi,

I start them in a 50/50 mix perlite/compost in pint sized plastic cups with holes drilled in the bottom, they are then soaked in the sink and I let them drain out, they are then placed into a plastic box and placed next to my radiator in the front room, it's the warmest room of the house, I try to air them regularly.
As soon as I have good roots at the bottom/side of the glass I repot, I do this by using a empty plastic pint glass and put it inside the new pot then fill with compost and push it all down firm,I then remove the cup to leave me a perfect size hole to drop my cutting into, I try to keep the cutting and compost as one, so it fills the hole like a glove. I hate the idea of the compost breaking at this stage and damaging the roots.


Hope it helps,
Luke

I use 32 oz deli containers and 60/40 perlite/potting mix in a large Sterlite container and heating mat to maintain temps ~75F.  This has been more successful for me than damp spaghnum moss in a baggie.

Agree with Bikkurim, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  My process works for me, I'm not fixing it.

Disclaimer:  your mileage may vary  : )

Hank, it's hard to tell from the picture, but your sphagnum looks like it might be too wet.  If you take all the cuttings out and compress a ball of the sphagnum in your hand like you're wringing out a rag, does water drip out?  If so, it's too wet.  Keep wringing it until you can't get more than a drop or two of water out at a time, then re-fluff it, and it should do fine.

That might not be the reason they're not rooting, though.  Wouldn't think too much moisture would inhibit rooting, but you never know. 

Maybe it's just coincidence.  Looks like you only left 6 cuttings in the sphagnum, whereas there are about 30 or so cuttings in the paper towels.

Many, many folks have used sphagnum successfully, including myself.  But if the paper towels are working better for you, then by all means stick with them.