I can't blame the Gnats on everything....LOL   I have been thinking that my cuttings and their roots are very sensitive to many things, including the tap water I am using. I will be trying water from my Mom's House it has a lot less fluoride. Will keep you posted, and Let me Know your thoughts...????

We just got a whole house water softener, and I'm really careful to only use OUTSIDE water on my figs.  Our water district is the same one that provides water to all the Citrus Orchards and farms in the valley, so I think our OUTSIDE water is good.  Not sure what flouride does to plants,  but probably a google search would come up with something.

Suzi

I wonder if Fluoride does affect cuttings.  I know it damages one's thyroid.  Interesting topic!

Mine do fine with fluoridated tap water.  Sorry, Armando.

How far do they get, Armando?  Maybe we can offer help.

When you hear hoof-beats, look for horses, not zebra.

If you are getting a lot of gnats, you likely are trying to root your cuttings in conditions that are too damp.

if you let tap water stand overnight some of the additives dissipate

The amount of chlorine may have an effect as well. Some areas have enough to be able to smell it in tap water, and it is toxic to plants. I'm lucky enough to have well water that goes through a reverse osmosis filter system, so no chlorine, fluoride, pharmaceuticals etc., and I have no problems with my rooted cuttings.

agree with gina. you need to find balance with water thing, or rooting will be a hard task.

Thanks for everyone's opinion. Will keep a close eye on my cuttings and see. Could be to much water. I try to water every 2 weeks, about 4oz into a 1 gallon pot.

I don't have that excuse Armando. I have  17 barrels of rain water in storage and being renewed each time it rains.  I also use the  cut bottle method, when they are in cups, that  recycles its own moist and takes only a spoon of water once in a white.  Could be your floride or something else. (when and how the cutting was taken, how it was stored, kind of tree, kind of cutting (fat, skinny near the base or the tip of the branch, from sucker?,  temperature, air circulation and many more factors. etc)- rooting currants and grapes are much easier than figs, that's a fact!

Thanks Grasa, not sure what is the Cut Bottle Method. Will try to Root Grapes. Will check out Youtube on Grapes. Been seeing a lot of grapes hanging over walls in my community. 
Yes, their is a lot of factors, would like to get good at rooting, picked up a lot of good varieties in the last 6mos and want to have small trees for trade.

Hi Armando,
You could water with rain water or store the tap water in an open bucket for a week - that will lessen the chlorides - not sure for the fluorides - Fluorides are bad for human health - they say :( .
Here, some only drink water bought in stores in bottles - no tap water, as they don't trust, especially for babies.

As for grapes, if you can take cuttings now, just push them in the ground and water every two days, and they'll make it ! Watering and in ground is the key for grapes .
As for figs, winter growing is a challenge as for me here it is the opposite as what mother nature does. If you do it now, it will be more easier - For me it is in between the 1 april and 30 May that it is the most easy .
The cuttings will then be able to synch with the outside conditions and grow naturally outside with no hassle .
keep it positive - you neverthless had too many of them cuttings :)
I'm hoping for the 15 may to come soon - as I'm getting tired at having fig trees in my living-room and seing them not reach the two or three feet of height :( .

Fluoride in water ?
Bet you have nice white teeth!

smoke and tea overrides fluoride in our water source.. lol

I really can't help but think of Dr. Strangelove while reading this thread... good ol' General Jack D. Ripper :-)

"Do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk, ice cream? Ice cream, Mandrake? Children's ice cream!...You know when fluoridation began?...1946. 1946, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual, and certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works. I first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love... Yes, a profound sense of fatigue, a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I — I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence. I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women, er, women sense my power, and they seek the life essence. I do not avoid women, Mandrake...but I do deny them my essence."

Tamar... you hit a soft spot of mine with 1946 or even earlier idea if how they could make humans more docile and obeying by use of Fluoride. This substance has played a major role in altering the will of being independent. But... lets not get carried away from Armando's quest of blame to cutting failures.

Armando, not the Fluoride but I would think the Chlorine would make a bigger impact in failure of cutting rootings and growth. In addition, I think, it would help to add dash of liquid Vit B1 (from Home Depot) to the first watering of the rooted cuttings. You can repeat 3-4 waterings with Vit B1, it promotes root growth and gives the cuttings a very healthy start.
So, conclusion;-
preferably filtered water+Vitamin B1 for the first month=Great start

P.S, If you don't want Gnats just sprinkle some Cinnamon under the pots of the new planted rooted cuttings. It will keep most all pests and diseases away from the plant.

My municipal water authority quite using chlorine and started using chlorimine which doesn't evaporate so storing out doors does nothing to lessen that aspect of my water. This is why city water is Ph is so high and causes problems with all kinds of plants over time. Your best bet is to throw a drum under a down spout and collect some rain water. I like to call it life juice! I couldn't grow my blues with out it;)

For twenty years I have been rooting cut plants effectively. Last year I realized that all the plants that I rooted in tap water, sprang a few roots and then died a few days after. This has to be something new that they are putting in the tap water. My major concern is; what is this doing to our bodies? Something is in the water that was never used in the water before. It may eventually make us sick. Face the facts, it kills all the plants that I tried to root.. That never happened before

Mine also do fine with fluoridated tap water.  City has changed from Chloride to Flouride and I have been using it for years.
I can blame Fungus Gnats for the damage for newly rooted plants that have less vigorous root growth. Those with fast root growth in 18oz or 32oz survive the gnats attacks.

I have a whole house filter and I do not use the outside water.  So far, no major problems.  That said, I sometimes wonder if I would have a higher success rate with some chlorine in there, but my first year 50% of my trees lived and grew to 4' or so.  I'm starting my second year and my cuttings are looking good.

My municipal water has chloramine and fluoride added, and my figs do fine.  I even use tap water on my carnivorous plants, which are really sensitive, and they are doing fine, too.

Try a Berkley water filter.