Hi All,

After I rooted my cuttings for this year, I had some left over cuttings along with an unexpected package from UCD.  I used the two Root Riot trays I had for most of the cuttings.  There were, however, some cuttings which were too thick for the root riot cubes.  I had already torn several of cubes with thick cuttings, so I decided to start the thick ones (along with one not so thick 'Sucrette') in a cut up soda bottle. 

I had already used all of the Root Pouch fabric containers I had ordered for the first batch of cuttings.  When I went to order more, my source (and many of the others) were sold out.  I decided to put the rooted cuttings in plastic sleeves (ala Jon's rooting method).  Here is difference between the 'Sucrette' in the cut up soda bottle and the one with the best roots in Root Riot / baggies.  Both were started on the same day, and both were cut then dipped in clonex.

Hi James...I had problems at first trying to get the larger cuttings into the RR cubes without destroying the cubes...then I learned a technique from Rafed about how to do it...I take the cube out of the tray and hold it in the palm of my left hand...then I take the cutting which is already wet from the rooting gel and screw it into the cube(just like screwing a bolt into a nut)...as the cutting starts to make the cube bulge, I cup the cube a little bit tighter to keep it from splitting...in this way I am able to screw the cutting right down to the bottom of the cube...I used this technique with all of the UC Davis cuttings, and some of those were from 1/2" to 5/8" thick at the bottom...of course anything over 5/8" will not fit into the cube and will have to be rooted by other means.

Hey Vince, have you tried taking a large screw driver and working it in the root riot cube hole first to open it up a bit.  It's worked for me on bigger cuttings so well I just prep all my root cubes like that.

I have had the same issue with the large cuttings. I have a couple of very large cuttings and what I did is cut two RR cubes only half into. I then take
the two cubes and wrap around the cutting, covering the bottom of the cutting. I then secured them around the cutting with a rubber band. The cutting still
fits back into the tray.

Hey James.  I didn't even think about that potential problem.  I am getting pretty good results using root riot right into gallon size pots with potting mix/perlite mix for rooting and I fit 6 of them in large flip top plastic containers with holes drilled in the front.  I don't water them that much and when I do it is with a squirt bottle maybe once a week.  So far I get fast excellent initial results but I am new with it so I will keep this potential problem in mind.  I wonder If transplanting them into SIP's might help with not watering from the top and saturating them?  Something to try.

@ Just Figs...Giacomo, I have not tried the large screwdriver method, but it sounds like it would work...I'll give it a try the next time I have large cuttings to root...Thanks

@ newnandawg...Mike, great idea with the double cubes wrapped around the larger cuttings...definately worth a try...Thanks for sharing.

@ noss...I'm sorry to hear that your having moisture problems, and stem rot with the root riot method...I'm not sure why it's happening(maybe your root riot trays are in an area where its a lot warmer and more humid then it is here)...when I water my RR cubes I flood each one, until the water splashes over the side and into the bottom tray, and I have never lost a cutting due to rot or drowning the roots(in each tray that I have done I have 3 or 4 cuttings that do not root at all, for whatever reason, but the other 45 or 46 cuttings that do root and leaf out, make it all the way...I water those cubes every three days with a turkey baster; they're soaking wet all the time)...and after about 30 days in the tray they are uppotted to 1gal. pots where they are also watered daily, with emphasis on the area where the cube is burried in the soil...I'm comming to the conclusion that "they were born in water, and they continue to survive in water"...I have over 150 RR rooted cuttings in 1gal. pots and they are all growing vigerously...I hope things work out for you...and good luck with all your cuttings.

Vince, its interesting how different you and I work with the RR cubes. While they are in the tray I spray the cubes about every three days. I hardly leave any
water in the bottom of the tray. When I put them in the one gal pots, I only spray the soil very lightly and the same for the RR cube. Once they have rooted, which
has been about two weeks they go into the pot. It is about 2 weeks into the one gal pot before they get any water, and that is from the bottom only. The day I
move them outside into the shade they get their first real watering from the top, along with a small amount of Foliage Pro. In about another two weeks, I put in some organic
fertilizer and lime and they get another good watering. Then they gradually move into the sun getting water when needed. I have lost only a hand full of cuttings using RR cubes
 and I really believe it was the cuttings themselves.

I guess that shows the versitility of the fig tree.

Too bad they don't sell just the root riot media not in cube form. I think that would make rooting larger cuttings easier. Unless you take some cubes and smash them into a cups or something. 

The Root Riot cubes are made of fine compost held together with a plant based adhesive.  There is nothing really magical about the material itself.

My methodology was to water with a spray bottle, as well.  I had just a little bit of water in the reservoir to provide humidity within the container.  Every once in a while I would find a cube was saturated with water while the one next to it was near dry.  I would leave the lid off my container for short while everyday to help retard mold growth.  For a few weeks after being transplanted into gallon containers, I tried to only water only around the perimeter of the container so I wouldn't saturate the root cube.  It was a pain in the ass.

To expand the hole in the top of the cube, I used a golf pencil.  I only had two (out of 175ish) that I pushed a cutting through the other side.  I did have several which split or tore on the sides because the cuttings where too thick. 

From my experience, there is a place in my rooting arsenal for the root cubes (thin and/or short cuttings).  However, the bulk of future cuttings will be rooted in my normal growing mix in plastic sleeves after being dipped in IBA.  The cuttings seem to root more prolifically and over the entire portion that is buried (instead of the ~1.5" in the root cube).  The attached photos shows how some of the cuttings rooted both into the cube and above the cube as well.  Some cuttings only rooted above the cube.  I took the cube off those cuttings before potting up.  Also, the transition into the containers from the plastic sleeves (with the same growing mix) goes much more smoothly, and without any delays in watering / feeding necessary.

There were some cuttings which only had roots above the cube.  With those, did remove the cube before going into the one gallon pots.  I did not cut the cube off of any which I could see or feel had roots in it.  I did slice into the bark rather high on the cuttings.  Also, I did not just dip the ends of the cutting into Clonex.  I squeezed the Clonex up the side of the packet, then put the cutting into it and twisted them against the sides of packet.  I ended up with Clonex about three inches up from the bottom.  The extra humidity in the bin helped spur roots above the cube.  This is the reason (along with the experiences of others on this forum) why I feel the cube itself isn't totally necessary.

I seem to remember reading somewhere (maybe in the instructions) the cubes should be just damp.  It was to the effect that if all the excess water was squeezed out of the cube, the right amount would be left in it... similar to Sphagnum Moss.  I assumed new the cubes were just slightly shy of how damp they should be.  I watered from above with a spray bottle once the cubes looked dry (the color lightens as they dry) just until they were moist again.  In general, I did not push the cuttings all the way to the bottom of the cube.  I left enough room to where if there was too much water in cube, I could squeeze the bottom and get some of the water out.

I counted yesterday, I'm at about 45% success rate from the first two trays of cuttings.  About 15% of my losses were cuttings from one source.  I am not sure what it is about their cuttings, but this is my third time rooting cuttings from this source and have a very low rate of success (100% failure in the cubes this year).  I have a 100% success rate with the cuttings I rooted in sleeves and those I removed the Root Riot cubes.

James...I think what it comes down to is that each fig grower has to find the method that works best for them(or even a variation on a method)...for example "newnandawg" (Mike) does his RR setup and maintenence almost completly opposite from me, and yet we both get good results(85% to 95% success rate)...I think that most all of the methods that have been developed over the years are good, it's just a matter of finding the one that works best for you.