As you all know, I have given up on the Spagnum moss/ perlite/ paper towel or any other artificial form of rooting in favor of the ways of the Old Greeks.  I can do this because I actually live in a Mediterranean climate, and too many fungus gnats under artificial rooting conditions, made me re-think things.  This way would not work for many members here because of the climates in which they live.

What is the way of the old Greeks?  Pretty simple.  In warm dry weather, find a place under a tree in partial shade, and make sure the soil is semi damp now and then.  Put an ID stake in the ground, and arrange cuttings lying horizontally in a 1-2" deep trench in a spoke around the stake.  Cover lightly.  Walk away.  Wait.  Watch, but not every day... that will ruin everything.

One day a fig leaf will pop from the earth, and surprise you.  And then another.  And then more, but never all at once and always two or nine weeks between.  Patience is best with this method.

Does it always work?  Nope!  Does it usually work?  Yep!  I have never had a problem with fungus gnats this way, but about 6 weeks ago two Native de Argentile popped up close to my walking onions.  A few days later, my walking onions were trampled, and the Native de Argentile were gone.  OMG!  What got them?  Probably a rabbit or a vole.  They hate those green onions, but don't mind walking on them to get to what they want. 

I watched the patch, and two Tena popped up.  They immediately were surrounded with a chicken wire cage and all is well with them.  THEN a couple weeks later, two Verdal Longue popped up.  They are also surrounded with a chicken wire cage.  Today, two very vigorous Native de Argentile showed up in the same place they were pruned by the rabbit, but they are really aggressively growing with two trunks each instead of one, and they now also are protected by a chicken wire cage.  I guess a little rabbit pruning just makes these cuttings more determined.

The disadvantage to this method is that there may be leaves, but no way of knowing if there are roots.  Left alone, most of mine eventually push the growth showing they are rooted.  Another disadvantage is you don't know if there is anything happening under the earth.  You just must wait and be surprised.  I've got a few more varieties down in the partial shade patch.  I'm just waiting.  Experience has taught me, it can take 3-6 months before a fig will grow, and sometimes it is just the nature of it's variety.

I will leave these alone until they go dormant, then I'll dig them up, and let them grow for a year in pots to get nice and established.  I've got 6 in big pots and they will go in ground this winter.  These can take their places.

I wouldn't try this if your climate is really wet in summer.  Your cuttings will rot.  If your summers are cool, this might not work either.  The summer heat wakes them up.

Now my big job is to find out specifics on the varieties I now have growing.  Let the research begin!  If you have input on Verdal Longue, Native de Argentile or Tena, I'd love to hear anything or see photos.  I ordered Tena because a long time ago a member here said it's her favorite.  A very refreshing fig on a hot summer day.  I'm thinking it may be a little watery, and not as rich and sweet as some.  Sort of like a watermelon?

Suzi

Very nice Suzi!

Do you find girth or length of the cutting has any effect on plant vigor?

I tried rooting in-ground with a couple scraps from cuttings and a few came up, but are still very weak. I think it was because the pieces were so small.

I pretty much have given up and start all cuttings in 1 gallon nursery pots and start cuttings all year with 85% success. I tried the moss method but has not worked for me...5% success.

Kelby, I have only used 5-7" long cuttings.  But when you receive cuttings, some are thicker than others, and some have growth tips where others are just slices.  Funny thing is, when they are buried, I don't know which grew and which didn't.  Some do, but not all.  And some take much longer than others.

All I know is when they actually show leaves, I've only had one dry up, and I think it was because it was one of my first, and it was in full sun.  Lessons learned.

Suzi

I'm new and definitely guilty of trying to find the "best" method for rooting. I'm sure I'll have to figure out what works best for me. But here's my question- say you have 3 cuttings. Do you use the same method on all 3. Or do you mix it up with different methods to increase your odds of success?

Tony V, you do not live in a Mediterranean climate, so this "Old Greek" method would not work for you.  Prior to giving in to the old ones, depending on the length of cuttings and amount of nodes, I'd cut them in half if I could, to better the odds, and I would try more than one method.  My biggest nemesis was not getting them to root.  They pretty much do that if the conditions are right, but I lost a ton (like a full room of rooted and growing baby figs) to fungus gnats. 

Now that I do it all outside, I no longer fear those creatures.

Good luck to you!

Suzi

Suzi, do you ever water the area where your cuttings are buried? My soil is mostly decomposed granite. So it has excellent drainage and less than excellent moisture retention. I would expect them to require a little squirt now and then and/or mulch.

I think about all the time and effort chopping moss, checking if it's not too moist or too dry, potting, repotting, etc. I do enjoy all that stuff but I have a lot of other things that need enjoying too. I will try this next year.

P.S. Could this work with green cuttings?

@ cyberfarmer
no it will not work on green cuttings.
yes you do have to water the area depending on the time of year and heat.
andreas from greece.  ;-)

Paul, we are mostly 100% decomposed granite (30 min north of Temecula) and it does drain well.  These cuttings are under a citrus tree which is on a drip system (every other day deep water), and the walking onions also get a small sprinkle.  If it's especially hot, I walk over there and give them all an extra sprinkle with the hose.  I am starting some succulent ground cover elsewhere, and they need water until established,so I just drag the spray hose over there by the buried cuttings for an extra shot of water.  The ground gets damp, but by the end of the day, it's pretty dry.  It's never so wet that it puddles.  The ground is loose and easy to scratch a small trench in which to lay the cuttings down.  It might be richer than other parts of our property due to the fertilizer given to the citrus.

I'm not sure what walking onions need nutrient wise, but I got the starts on Ebay this spring, and they took off well.  One has developed the little bulbs, bent over and has now rooted.  We use them a lot in salads.  Simple green onions.  The figs don't mind living with them at all.

One of my baby figs grown this way came from Bobby.  He sent me a few dormant cuttings, and when it became obvious they weren't going to root in the house in sphagnum moss, I troughed the cutting in ground in full sun close to the dripper for a Moringa tree seed, and forgot about it.  I actually planted 5 cuttings (full sun), but only one grew.  It popped up this spring and sort of struggled out there in the sun with one leaf.  Then it got two and dropped the first one.  It's tiny trunk is hard, and now it has 3 nice bright green leaves.  It has hardened off and seems really happy now.  That one is LSU Scott's Black.  I now only start dormant cuttings in partial shade.  Mortality rate seems high for those in full sun.  Baby LSU Scott's Black even gets some afternoon shade from the edible Moringa Olieferra Tree that has grown 8' tall from a seed in less than a year, and that afternoon shade could be the reason it is now thriving.

I agree with Andreas on the green cuttings.  I've never tried it, but I doubt it would work.  They need to be dormant for this method.  Asleep in the cold ground, and when the ground begins to warm, they begin to warm up, send roots down and shoots up to the light.  Green would be like being buried alive. 

Suzi

Reviving this older conversation.

Do you think this would work in Oakland California?

I've had no success rooting cuttings indoors.

Sweet read... I will definitely try our your simple method Suzi. I just found a nice fig tree down the street and asked for some cuttings. The owner had no idea what variety it was, only that it was very sweet. Large purple fig, had one fig on it put needed a few more days top ripen fully. Has a dozen or so green figs on it, they should ripen in a couple weeks. Owner gave me the ok to swing by and pick them but I'll probably have to beat out the neighborhood since its basically on the sidewalk, haha... 

Hi lisascenic,
In which usda zone are you ?
Here in my Zone7 it has always worked for me.
Because of the moles and voles, I do them in pots with compost and it works fine .
IMO, hardened wood is the key . The wood should be 12 months to 24 months old to raise your odds .
Too old or too young is harder to get good results of.
On 24 months old wood, the roots are more likely to come out at the joint between the 2 years of growth - that's my observation .