Hi everyone, as most of you know I have been out of town for almost a month. I got back Thursday night and this morning I started the day with my figs. I had several that had died in 1 gallon pots, I've been told that is completely normal. What I find remarkable is that ALL the dead ones were started in root riot cubes. After looking at them all closely I believe the riot cubes rotted the cutting. No insect activity that I can find and they were not over wet.

Completely unscientific and won't pull up the good ones to compare but I won't be using root riot again. I think it was a crap shoot anyway considering they were developed for hydroponics.

The good news is, the ones that I got started with Mykos and Azos were ready for 3 gallon pots. I'm going to be busy tomorrow. I already up potted 10 and have a lot more to do. Some I added the product into after they were already potted and it still works. That stuff costs an arm and a leg but if it helps keep them alive it will save me money in the end. (Shhh...I want to believe that! haha)

Has anyone else got observations on the cubes to add?

Tami, so sorry to hear about your RR starts. I would figure my success rate with them is around 95% and I attribute the failures to the cuttings themselves since
I tried a few of the same cuttings (source) and they failed also. I did start using Mykos and Azos when I move them to one gal pots. They have all done well
except for two.

I think weather played a part because it stormed a few times while I was gone and I think the riot cubes just held too much water next to the cutting.

Tami,

So being away for a month has nothing to do with the failure?

I agree with Mike (newnandawg)...root riot is the best thing since sliced bread...90%+ every tray...over 200 successful rooted cuttings since end of Feb. beginning of March...all have been uppotted into 1gal. and 2gal. containers and are vigorous growers...to address the question of too much water rotting the cuttings, I am finding that the cuttings that are rooted in root riot actually crave  water...it is virtually impossible to to drown a root riot cutting, ("I have tried" to do so just as a test, and was unable to do it)...as far as stem rot, I have not had one single case...the few cuttings that did not make it simply failed to root, or bud, or put out leaves(out of a tray of 50 that's usually 2 or 3 cuttings)...I'm sorry that the root riot system was a disapointment for you, but as for me, it is now my rooting system of choice from here on out.

Rafed, I had very good help taking care of the babies and I saw them every couple of days on video chat. So, I don't think being away was a factor. What I'm wondering after reading Vince's post is....could it have been them not getting watered enough? The wood inside the cube absolutely rotted with no obvious insect activity however, dead wood rots wherever it is. If the root cubes need more water that could be it.
Everything else did fantastic and I am up potting many.

Tami,

I was hoping you had someone looking out for them. I have to agree with Vince too.


Hope you have better success next time.

OOps, it was Vince, so sorry. I cautioned them to NOT OVERWATER and that may have been my undoing.
You're right Rafed, if I was here and seeing them up close I probably would have known they needed something before they perished. It's okay, a hard lesson learned but for a grandson it was worth it!

LOL,
I too put Frank instead of Vince. I corrected it.

Only thing I've noticed with the RR cubes is that after transplating to a 1 gallon nursery pot the figlet is a little wobbly for 2-3 weeks until new roots spread into the new potting soil.  I didn't seem to notice this when starting cuttings in a 32 oz deli container.  Of course there was a much larger root ball to help stabilize the new figlet with the deli container started cuttings.

I absolutely loved the ease and speed of the cubes but after this I am going to stick to my moss.

Tami,

You can buy your moss from amazon. You can get the big package for a very cheap price including shipping. It will last you a long time.
This one does not contain all that grassy stuff other come with.

Trying to find the link for the seller I dealt with. I'll post it when I find it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, later.

Good luck

Tami,
And all those using Root Riot Cubes. How close to the lowest node are your bottom cuts. Although I have not used Root riot cubes, I have noticed that when the bottom cuts are just below the bottom node, without any extra material, the number of cuttings that rot decreases. When there is an "open" end, if there is excess moisture over an extended period, rotting is not far behind.

Pete, as I read your comment about the cut distance, I recalled a diagram from my old book post:
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/ampgtampgt-Online-fig-book-quotThe-fig-its-history-culture-and-curingquot-6368724

Check the attached image and the caption in the text. It basically confirms what you are saying, the node cut is the best and a long open end just provides some dead wood for rotting.

Bingo for Pete, all the dead ones had quite a bit of wood before the first node. It makes me so mad when I screw things up when I should have researched better! I guess after reading archives for days and days I gave up and thought I was fine.

I am really appreciative for all the info flying right now on this topic, thanks.

every new method has some learning curve. i'm sure your next round will be better. i process all my cuttings before rooting. clean them, recut the cutting on the top and bottom. even with that, some will die anyway. i just lost 2 out of 3 green cuttings of Paradiso Dusan. one is still going.. oh well.