Those Sals cutting are a pain in the buttskie at least for me, i do the same method with the other cuttings but this one is just plain stubborn.76 days sounds about right when i try as well as i never get that particular 1 to show roots for at least 8 to 10 weeks. Also i grow mine in tree form and it has never gave me any suckers unlike the others i have in tree form for some reason. At least as a fig tree it outproduces my others that are currently producing figs when in season.
Hope it they grow  well for you Steve
Martin

Thanks Marty. I was about to give-up on that last one considering the first rooted so much sooner. I'm glad I held out. It put out 4 nice little roots and is now settling in to its new home in the nursery.

Two new cuttings put out roots yesterday. One group B cutting (current season, woody) at 74 days into the warming cycle and has significant leaf development occurring over the past week or so; and one Group D cutting (current season, woody, chilled 1 week) at 67 days into the warming cycle. It looks like 2 of the 3 remaining other Group D cuttings may have initials that are near to forming roots.

Examining the newer groups (G, H, I) it is notable to see that mold is on several of the Group I cuttings and not really present on the others. Group I is Current season’s partial wood, dormant (4 weeks chilling). Not sure why this is the case but have taken note of it. The mold was treated with “hand sanitizer gel” to see if this is effective as a deterrent.

Three additional cuttings have rooted.

Two group D cuttings (current season, woody, 1 week chilling) at 69 (on 12/19) and 70 days (on 12/20). This leaves only 2 cuttings from the original 6 experimental groups that have not yet rooted or succumbed to mold. An updated table is attached.

The first cutting of the newer 3 groups has put out roots today (Group H after 15 days). These were cuttings taken after leaf drop and entering dormancy. They were chilled for 4 weeks prior to being moved into the warming cycle for rooting. The rooted cutting was from “green” wood.

Well, we are certainly rockin' and rollin' now ...

3 more of the Group H cuttings put out roots today. These cutting lengths were around 7” so quite a bit stuck out of the rooting media after planting. I sprayed these with WiltStop after planting to help prevent shock and desiccation.

Two more Group H cuttings put out roots today (that makes 6 out of 8 in this group in the past few days). The Group I cuttings [Current season’s partial wood, dormant (4 weeks chilling)] continue to have mold issues unlike the other two groups in this part of the experiment. These cuttings were left out to dry for about an hour and cleaned with peroxide solution where mold was seen. The newspaper was changed and they were returned to the “nursery”.

Some clear trends are already apparent in the experiment:

• The “green” cuttings have rooted much earlier than the woody ones and have a higher rooting success (100% so far).
• It would appear that for the green cuttings, the “dormant” condition has resulted in shorter rooting times. The dormant condition represented by cutting post-leaf fall and a pre-chill period of 4 weeks.
• For the green cuttings already rooted and moved to rooting media and then onto potting media, they are more susceptible to desiccation then the woody cuttings. Measures should be taken in addition to a humid environment to sustain these cuttings.
• For rooted & potted green cuttings, the growth rate and vigor is lower than the woody cuttings.

All "green" cuttings have now completed rooting with 100% success rate (see table). The 3 groups E, F, and H are:

Group E - Green Wood, no pre-chill
Group F - Green Wood, 1 week pre-chill
Group H - Green Wood, 4 weeks pre-chill - dormant

In my earlier post, I had indicated that the pre-chill period benefited the rooting process for "green" cuttings. This is clear in the table of results. The longest chill period of 4 weeks (H) resulted in the shortest rooting times for the green cuttings (17.1 days vs. 25.8) and the most consistent times as measured by standard deviations (1.8 days vs. 5.8 days). Group F benefited slightly from a 1 week pre-chill in rooting times but more so in the consistency of times. What is not clear is if the improvement was the result of the pre-chill period or the "dormant" state of the cuttings (this will have to wait until next season to test).

Regarding the other Groups still in the experiment, no other roots have developed yet. I continue to have severe mold issues with Group I (partially woody cuttings, dormant) for some unexplained reason. All the treatments to-date have not controlled the mold and one was discarded that was very bad. The remaining 7 were scrubbed in diluted bleach to address the issue and allowed to dry. New paper was used when returning to the nursery.

Well, no new rootings on the experimental groups since the last post. The mold issues with Group I have been somewhat abated using the "hand sanitizer" spot treatments. This method works well at killing the mold and preventing return longer than the 50-50 peroxide/water or the 10-90 bleach/water treatments. The down side of this is I have seen some surface desiccation of the cuttings around the treatment sites resulting from the aggressiveness of the 60% ethyl alcohol content. I may try some isopropyl alcohol (IPA) in future spot treatments to see its effects.

Santa was good to me this year and gave me a bunch of fig-related toys. I have upgraded my "Nursery". I have moved to a larger clear tub because of my growing collection of rooting figs. The tub is also large enough to allow me to lay a heating mat completely flat (the mat is about 12" x 24"). You can see my improved set-up in the photo.

I keep some standing water at the bottom of the tub (about 1/4") with a little bleach in it to keep out mold and algae. There is a wire rack elevated about 1/2 inch above the water. The heat mat is on top of the rack and is plugged in to a temperature controlled power supply that uses a temp sensor. The sensor is placed into one of the rooting containers and is set for 75 degrees F. With this set-up the rooting area stays at a nice constant warm temperature. I have a thermometer that measures the nursery ambient temp and humidity. The ambient temp has been around 70 F and the RH about 65-70. I keep the lid open a little for fresh air flow. This set-up is working really nicely because I can know the exact temp of the root zone and not have to guess from the ambient temp. In the past I found that I was either cooler than I wanted or over heating to get the ambient readings where I thought they should be. You can also see the bags of cuttings kept in the nursery during the experimental warming cycles.

Next I will have to set-up the grow light I got from Santa for my potted cuttings. I have a second heat mat that I can use with this as well.

Three new cuttings put out roots today. These were from Group G (dormant, woody, pre-chilled for 4 weeks). It is 27 days into the warming cycle for these cuttings. They have put out roots far quicker than their complementary groups (B and D). I have posted an updated table of results.

Again, we can see in the data that the dormancy and/or the pre-chilling has benefited the rooting process. The "G" cuttings are rooting much faster than B or D. This was also seen clearly when comparing the "green" cuttings groups E, F and H. I have also posted a graphic of the green rooting results showing the trend in the data (an alternative view of the data contained in the table).In the chart, each rooting is indicated by a "dot". The large "bubbles" represent the standard deviation and is centered on the average rooting time. This is a nice way to view the data compared to each other and see the spread of results. The trend is clear on shorter rooting times for the pre-chilling and dormancy of the cutting stock.

Three more Group G cuttings put out roots today as well as an Armenian. I have included the latest table of results and an update on the other approximate rooting times for other varieties I have recorded.

I am now spraying all cuttings with WiltStop after they are put into rooting media (vermiculite/perlite) to reduce the occurrence of desiccation. The recent rootings with WiltStop seem to be doing much better than the early ones without. I am also now using a water mist once or twice a day on the cuttings in the nursery for a little extra moisture/humidity. All these measures are to combat the desiccation problems I have seen especially on the green cuttings even though the nursery stays warm and humid.

I have also started to use IPA to spot treat the mold as it appears on the problematic Group I cuttings. I am using Alcohol Swabs (pads) that have a 70% IPA solution. The swabs allow me to lightly scrub the spots very conveniently. I'll see if this is a milder treatment than the ethyl alcohol from the hand sanitizer which caused some surface damage to some of the cuttings.

Since the last update, the final cutting from Group D has rooted. Group D (current season woody cuttings with 1 week pre-chill) had an average rooting time of 66 days but a very highly variable result indicated by the standard deviation of 13 days. Comparing this with the Group G results thus far, shows a major improvement in rooting times due to the dormant condition and the 4 weeks pre-chill.

The additional results in the table from last time are: the final Group D cutting, and additional Group G cutting and the discarding of another Group I due to the problematic mold issues with that group.

Since the last update, The first Group I cutting rooted (two were previously discarded due to advanced mold growth). An updated table of results is attached.

Also attached is the updated table of other cultivar rooting times. Additional Armenian and Osborne Prolific cuttings have rooted.

Steve, you sure are doing great since you started this experiment, the charts are excellent, come spring your going have some fun it looks like with your plants!
Beats cutting the grass.

Thanks Martin. I think I'll be over run with plants soon! The nursery is full with about 30 cuttings that rooted. Soon they will have to be potted and moved to under the grow lights. I am finishing the basement for a playroom for the kids so maybe they will rent me some space for the figs ;)

Elizabeth,

Thanks for the tips on the oils for mold control. When I first take the cuttings I soak/scrub them with diluted bleach and that has really improved results. Since you are allergic to bleach, this wouldn't work for you. The peroxide treatments (50-50 with water) only work for a short time but then mold returns. I have tried "hand sanitizer" that has 60% ethyl alcohol and it aggressively kills mold but desiccates the surface of the cuttings (not recommended). I have been using isopropyl alcohol recently and it seems to do a good job and is less aggressive than the ethyl alcohol. I have not seen any new damage to cuttings that I can attribute to the isopropyl alcohol. Another member also mentioned using a "tea" made from corn meal that has natural antifungal properties. I am planning to try that next. I think the oils you mention are a good option to try following that. I'll keep you posted.

BTW - I know exactly what you mean with the duct work made through floor joists. My house was built in the late 40's and had several air returns that went through walls and floors. I have since rebuilt the entire house and replaced with new ducting. I did remember a similar odor/mold issue that you have. Sounds like you found a solution - wish I knew about it earlier as it could have saved me some effort in replacing ducting.

Elizabeth,
You mentioned clove seed. Could it be dried clove buds available in spice sections at grocery stores?
I have also heard about Chamomile (Camomile) tea used on seed germination trays for mold suppression. I also read about Cinnamon helping with mold. What a nice concoction it will make to have clove (bud or seed), chamomile tea boiled in water and Cinnamon added with some Hydrogen peroxide to make a spray or dip solution.
Probably I may make this mixture one day and keep it ready. I will not use it on new cuttings until I notice that the cutting shows side of being mold prone. Using it on good cuttings may not prove much.

Attached is a photo of the cuttings in the nursery. I have circled the Group H cuttings in GREEN and the Group G cuttings in BLUE. As was noted earlier in the experiment, the "green" growth cuttings rooted very fast (for Group H the average was 17 days) the "woody" cuttings rooted slower (for Group G the average is at 28 days). There is an significant difference in the vigor of growth between the green & woody cuttings which is easy to note in the photo. The woody cuttings are on average 10 days since putting out roots. The green cuttings are on average 18 days from putting out roots. This difference remains for earlier cuttings that were compared at 2-3 months after rooting. Another observation made during this experiment is the difference in the roots from green vs woody cuttings. The green cuttings put out very thin and long roots with little branching from the main roots. The woody cuttings put out roots that are about 2-3 times the thickness and significantly branch-out at multiple places from the main roots and those branch again several times while observed in the clear rooting containers. Thought this was a good illustration of the difference in growth between the two different cutting stocks.

Since the last update, Group G has completed rooting with an average of 29.8 days (dormant, 4 weeks chilling, woody cuttings). Far better results then the complimentary Group D at 66 days (1 week pre-chill) and Group B (no pre-chill - with poor results). Also updated the other rooting data for comparisson where additional Armenian and Osborne Prolific cuttings have rooted.

I also moved the first four Group G cuttings into potting mix and moved them under a grow light. These guys are doing slendidly and only rooted an average of 14 days ago.

Ottawan,

Sorry I missed your post until now. 

Yes, the clove buds from the spice rack at the store should work.  I have bought in bulk from health food store or online herb company.  And the cinnamon combination does sound even better.  The essential oil I have with cinnamon and clove (and other things) is listed as anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.  I remember clove gum as a kid, my favorite, so it is no stretch to think that if we drank the flavorful tea and gave it to our kids (and grandkids) it might help prevent or treat winter nasties.  And chamomile is soothing and relaxing and I love the fragrance.  A bit of honey (kids over age of two) or agave nectar would be my choice for sweetening.  Just don't use the hydrogen peroxide for tea.  :-)

Two Lessons Learned that hopefully will benefit others so they do not repeat my mistakes ...

(1) Use of "hand sanitizer" for combating mold. If you have been following this thread then you know Group I has been problematic regarding mold. I tried a number of methods to control mold including using ethyl alcohol based "hand sanitizer". The ethyl alcohol damaged the surface of the cuttings causing local desiccation of the cutting. This has led to necrification and black mold growth. The attached pic shows the result. I will discard this one as trying to salvage the ends that have some life to them will throw off my experimental data. I did not see this same problem with using isopropyl alcohol but I can not be definitive because of the prior use of ethyl alcohol.

(2) Proper Hardening-off of cuttings. The cuttings I potted yesterday and put under grow lights are showing signs of damage from the lights. My concern yesterday was wilting and transplant shock so I took steps to prevent this (WiltStop and periodic misting). I was so focused on the low RH (20-25) I completely did not think through the amount of light I was giving them. I initially set up a timer to give them two four hour lighted periods separated by 12 hours. This is clearly too much, too soon. You can see the damage on the leaves in the attached picture. I have since lowered the light dose to one 3 hour period per day. I hope this will be good and I can increase it gradually later. Sometimes you forget the fundamentals. Glad I only did this with a few to try it out first.

SteveNJ
From looking at the first picture, it appears that the cutting with mold can be salvaged because it has initials over a good length of the stick. Moreover it appears that you can cut blackish part away by slicing through the pith lengthwise and most of the initials can be saved and the cutting planted horizontally (if you have not already cut it differently).

I thought about it, but since this is one of the experimental cuttings I can't really count it in the results if I cut it up. I discarded it this morning. If it was another cutting outside of the experiment, I would have tried to save it. I appreciate the input though. I think that whole Group is cursed. Mold was not an issue on any other one than this (Maybe Group B but not as bad). I can't seem to keep the mold under control for this group.

Update:

Experimental cuttings - no new rootings since the last update. I have 1 Group B cutting remaining and it has been "in the bag" for 114 days. Although no roots are apparent, it developed some leaves a few days ago. I also have 4 Group I cuttings remaining that are putting out some leaves and I think the mold issues are somewhat under control (see following). All other cuttings had previously rooted and an updated table is attached for easy reference.

Mold Control - If you have been following the experiment you are aware that Group I has been problematic due to mold issues far exceeding all other groups (unknown reasons). I have tried several methods to control the mold with varying degrees of success and failure. Jazzbass tipped me off to using a cornmeal spray for this purpose. Cornmeal has natural antifungal properties  http://gardening.about.com/od/naturalorganiccontrol/qt/?once=true& . I have been using this for several days and it seems to have some merit. The mold has been reduced on treated cuttings and eliminated on some. I will continue to use this to see if the benefits continue.

Other rooting results - Nearly all the Osborne Prolific and Armenian cuttings have rooted (only 1 of each remains). I have attached an update for reference. I also received cuttings of some other varieties and was surprised at how quickly Gillette rooted. It was stored 3-4 weeks in an unheated garage before brought into the heat for rooting. It rooted in about 5 days and had 2 figlets as well. The figlets were removed and the cutting put into rooting media in the nursery.

Cuttings moved under grow lights - last week I moved 4 Group G cuttings under the lights. If you recall, they suffered some damage from over exposure. I have since lowered the light duration and the distance to the lights was increased. These little guys seem to be recovering. Some new growth  is starting to emerge and the damaged leaves are still hanging on. I moved 6 other cuttings into pots and put them under the lights (at a greater distance and indirectly under the lights (off to the side). I added a heat mat beneath them all. One of these was a Sal's cutting that had great root development and 2 green buds that shed the brown "casing" but have not put out leaves. I am hoping the lights will encourage this one to leaf out finally.

Earlier in the experiment I had described that the woody cuttings grew more vigorously than the green cuttings. Attached is data collected on growth rate after 30 days from when the cuttings first rooted. I compared two groups: the first, Group G was dormant woody cuttings that were pre-chilled for 4 weeks and had diameters of 3/8-1/2", the second, Group H was dormant green cuttings also pre-chilled for 4 weeks and had diameters of 1/8-1/4".

Rooting times: the green cuttings (H) rooted much quicker than the woody ones about 17 days vs about 30 days respectively, but the roots that they produced were very fine and had less root branching then the woody ones. The woody ones (G) put out thicker roots with multiple levels of root branching.

Growth rates: in the table you can see that the woody cuttings (G) were much more developed than the green ones (H) at 30 days with more branches, leaves and greater overall height. You can also see that leaf development (as measured by overall size) was further along for the G cuttings. The branches that developed were also about twice as thick as the H cuttings.

Survival Rate: I found that the thinner green cuttings have a lower survival rate than the thicker woody G cuttings. About a week after taking the measurements, better than half of the green H cuttings withered and died. When removing from soil to examine what happened, you can see that the roots had rotted and were still very fine. I suspect than the thinner cuttings have three major disadvantages when compared to the woody ones: (1) the roots are finer and more prone to root rot; (2) there is less stored energy to support the cutting's growth until photosynthesis can be established by introducing to light; and (3) the thinner cuttings are more prone to moisture loss and dessication. The woody G cuttings are all doing very well and continue to grow under the grow lights (none have been lost at this time). Similar results were seen with the earlier groups of cuttings (woody vs green).