I don't anticipate planting anything in the ground till spring, but I'm curious about planting depth. I clipped most of my UCD cuttings in half before rooting them, so those that didn't have a terminal bud have grown from lateral buds, resulting in a "dog leg" angle to the trunk. I'm assuming, since fig stems root so readily from any part in contact with soil, that I should be able to plant the "bent" trees a little deeper, with the angled part of the trunk below ground level so the exposed part is straight and vertical--without any worries about them being too deep. Is this correct, or would it be best to plant them at the same depth that they are now, in their pots?

Fig tree starter root-balls can be planted at any angle.

Ken, yes you can. Every time I report a plant, I re-orient it to get it straighter and more vertical.

Thanks, Gorgi & Jon--Come spring, I'll plant them deep enough to bury the crooked parts, with the trunks straight up. (Since it's so late in the season, I assume it would be best not to try planting them this year, but to wait until spring after any danger of frost has passed.)

In Spain at the orchard of Monserrat pons, they're planted a couple feet deep as unrooted cuttings. The following year they're half buried, and the year after they're at ground level. This allows a strong healthy trunk with deep root system.

That's pretty ingenious! I don't think I'll try that extra-deep hole (where it has to be filled in over the course of a couple of years) with my rooted cuttings, but planting them deep enough so that only a few inches stick up above ground might work really well in my yard, since it would allow them to start off with their roots down in cooler, moister soil, and would encourage all that extra rooting along the buried stem. Thanks for sharing the idea!

Ken,

There isn't any need to be in a hurry to plant. If you move them up in pot size till they outgrow a 5g pot, they will not have to be babied when planted.