Hello,
     I live North of Charlotte, NC in zone 7a. The LOW temperatures doesn't rise above 40F until May and then sturdily increasing to 70F in July. The highs linger at 70s in May and rising up to 95 leaving out some exceptions in July.

    The winter temperature can dip down to 20s but only for a few days in a row. The sustainable low in winter is around 30s.

      What is a good time to start rooting the cuttings so I can bring them outside in May. Rooting them too early is going to stress them due to weather outside being too cold and still prone to frost. I hate to grow them under artifical conditions for a long time.

      Any guidance/recommendations will help.

Thanks Much,
Mohan.

Hi Mohan
It depends on your own schedule and how soon you want to start consuming your time with growing cuttings.
The sooner you start them the bigger the plants will be in May. 

I start rooting christmas day. By march 1, they will be ready for the greenhouse, where they will reside until mid to late april. Then outside. I agree, artificial conditions for too long is no good.

Thanks for the response. This helps. Although I have a releated question. If we are starting to work on the cuttings as early as Christmas, aren't we not breaking the dormancy too soon. Does it stress the cutting or affect its viablity to root?

Quite the opposite. IMO dormancy only counts when a twig is attached to the tree. Once it is severed, the sooner you root them the more vitality they have. Depending on the state of the cuttings when taken and the method used to hold them they can last for only a few weeks or even up to a year or more.

I started rooting in Oct......Dennis should weigh in on this he would have to most experience rooting cuttings on our area...

I have cuttings started in September in my window (I'm in PA), so as long as they have light/sun it shouldn't really matter when you start them. I'd say 90 days is a fair guesstimate for time to take outside safely.

You can also just wait til spring and start them outside.

Mohan,
Welcome to the forum community.

Like any garden plant, fig plant growth can be timed backwards. It also depends on several factors including vigor of the cultivar and ambient temperatures.

30 - 45 days for rooting @ 70*F - 75*F.
30 - 60 days for root development @ 70*F - 75*F
30 - 60 days to develop branch growth @ 70*F - 75*F

~ 90 - 165 days before setting out.

During this time the cutting may have been transplanted to progressively larger containers as much as 3 times, depending on the rooting and growing method. Like Kelby, I place all my plants in South and East facing windows and have had good healthy growth. If you have the space and light fig cuttings can be started year round indoors.

Good Luck.

Thanks everyone. Appreciate your response. This helps.

Thanks for me as well...i was watching this thread - great question and answers!

If you haven't experienced the dreaded gnat problems we've all gone through then you MUST do so to earn your figs!
I for one will never go through that again since I got my greenhouse. If it weren't for my greenhouse I wouldn't root cuttings again until it was warm enough to do so outside. I tried all the remedies and nothing seemed to help. I wish you the best.  

LOL..Thanks Scott. Almost sounds like the passing of age ritual.