In an attempt to add to the considerable lexicon of information on this forum, and to get my 3 boys interested in figs (they are young yet) and science (more than just gadgets), I am planning to conduct the following experiment. My goal is to try to quantify and document the best stock for rooting. We all have our expectations in this regard but I want to put it to the test. I will begin this weekend so would welcome any input before I start. The available stock for cuttings is limited so my sample size will not be very large (between 2 and 4 per group). I also plan to track and document progress several times a week (with the boys) and post an update at least weekly or as anything of interst occurs.

Current Season Wood vs. Previous Season Wood - (chilled/un-chilled)

• Group A – Last year’s wood
• Group B – Current season’s lignified wood
• Group C – Last year’s wood (chilled 1 week)
• Group D – Current season’s lignified wood (chilled 1 week)

Lignified Wood vs. “Green Wood” - (chilled/un-chilled)

• Group B – Lignified current season wood
• Group E – Green current season wood
• Group D – Lignified current season wood (chilled 1 week)
• Group F – Green current season wood (chilled 1 week)

In all cases, cuttings will be from “Bella-Unknown” trees. Cutting length will be approximately 6 inches and include at least two “joints”. All cuttings will be measured and photographed. All cuttings will be cleaned with dilute bleach solution. One gallon zipper bags will be used and all cuttings will be wrapped individually in damp newspaper. Storage temperature for bagged cuttings will be on average 75*F. Light will be limited to ambient indoor levels.

I cannot add anything but that sounds like a great thing to do with the family. One thing if you please what is lignified is that hard wood not green or something.
Thanks
Martin

For all intents and purposes lignified = woody. So I will be comparing green vs woody cuttings and utilizing a "cooling-off" period before rooting or not. I will also compare last year's wood vs. this years wood. Thought it would be a fun activity and give me some first-hand observations on cutting and rooting approaches.

This sounds fun and interesting!

Steve if i may, one more thing will you be comparing top growth of tree cuttings with the bottom of tree cut cuttings to see what happens , reason i ask is ive seen some talk about 1 has a better chance than the other possibly in rooting.
Martin

Martin, yes that's one of the things I want to verify.

October 4, 2008

Cuttings were taken and prepared as described above. Measurements and photographs were taken. Groups C, D and F were placed in refrigerator vegetable crisper drawer.

Sample Size:

Group A – 2                             Group D - 6

Group B – 6                             Group E - 4

Group C – 2                             Group F – 4

 My 2 oldest boys (ages 8 and 10) were very interested in assisting in the experiment. It had the desired affect on them - they were questioning the "scientific method", fig trees, and the origin of this tree (family heirloom). They learned a lot about propagating vs. growing from seeds, moisture/humidity, mold growth, etc. They scrubbed up like they were little surgeons before they started to handle the cuttings. My youngest (age 5) was busy playing with Star Wars action figures (I was "killed" several times with a Light Saber during the prep of the cuttings).

Sounds like a fun experiment Steve.  As an engineer/scientist, I'm glad to hear that young minds are being exposed to science in a fun way and learning about the scientific method.  I look forward to hearing about the results.

Thanks and welcome. I got my undergradutate degree in physics so experimentation interests me and my boys all exhibit that curiosity so I'm trying to kindle it whenever I can. I plan on posting developments as they occur.
Regards

Looks good, but I would change the pseudo-stratification time to two weeks, from my experience the cuttings with the 1-2 week rest seem to do better.

I was originally going to use 2 weeks but I will be on travel first week of November and I'm hoping that they are all into rooting media by then so they can go without daily monitoring. So I shortened it to 1 week. 

Good experiment & shall wait to see your test results, especially the ones on green cuttings.

I did not have opportunity for earlier feedback. However, if there is another chance, I would suggest to compare rooting trends between cuttings from the same tree, the same Length and thickness and from the same part of the plant but with different inter-node distances to verify what I had observed last year that cuttings with shorter inter-node distances had more vitality for more success in rooting than the ones with longer inter-node distance, all other things being equal.
Probably someone may be able to explain the reasons without experimentation (such as more stored energy/nutrients in cuttings with closer nodes, other attributes being the same?).

October 6, 2008

As expected Groups C, D, & F (stored under refrigeration) show no signs of initials. Initials were observed on all of Groups A, B, & E (stored at ~75*F). Group B initials were more advanced and numerous. Next most advanced initials were on Group E but quantity was less than B & E. Least advanced initials were on Group A but there was a higher number beginning to form than E.

In order of development (most advanced to least advanced) – B, E, A

In order of quantity (most numerous to least numerous) – B, A, E

Ottawan,
That would be a good comparisson. If you look at the pictures (only a sample from some of the groups) it doesn't seem to be much different at this stage within each group. All the cuttings are about 6-7 in in length so you can see some nodes about 2 in apart and some about 3 in appart. I will keep my eyes open to note any differences.

October 7, 2008

Refrigerated groups continue to show no signs of any initials as expected. All other groups continue to develop new initials and existing initials have enlarged. One trend is emerging at this stage: The thicker cuttings have more initials than the thinner cuttings. Another trend that is emerging is that the woody cuttings are out performing the green cuttings (regarding the number of initials). The highest number of initials observed at this stage is on last year’s wood although they are much smaller (less developed) than the current season wood and less consistent (high numbers grouped in one area of the cutting but low numbers is other areas). So far the cuttings that are furthest along seem to be current season wood about 1/2” in diameter.

October 9, 2008

All Groups were examined and photographed. The chilled cuttings continue to show no signs of any initials as anticipated. The previous trends continue for the other groups. Current season woody cuttings are significantly more advanced regarding size and quantity of initials. No roots have yet been observed. Interesting features of the initials are seen. Most initials are generally round in diameter and mushroom shaped in vertical direction. There are some initials that are long and thin along the cutting length and are shaped more like a pyramidal peak in the vertical direction. Some browning of the tips of the initials is also observed.

Steve, you do much better at getting thingsa started than me thats for sure, those are nice pictures too. I look forward to seeing future pictures this is nice.
Martin

Thanks Martin. I'm glad there's interest in the experiment.

October 11, 2008

No change in refrigerated cuttings. It is exactly 1 week for the refrigerated cutting so they are now being moved to the warmth. No roots yet observed on any cuttings. Initials continue to grow on all cuttings but Group B (current season wood) has by far the most initials and the largest size. The 1/2” Group B cuttings seem to be the most advanced. The Group E cuttings (current season green growth) are beginning to develop leaf buds at each joint while the others are not.

Steve-
WOW! Group B is out doing mine. This is cool! :))

Kim,
I'm a little amazed at Group B also. It is also interesting how different each group is at this stage. Glad you are keeping track of developments on my little experiment.

Question for anyone out there ... would it be wise to pinch the developing buds, say except for one near the top, or should they be left alone?

Thanks for taking the time to do this Steve, it is very informative!
 
We will be watching this project, as we have some cuttings coming from Herman this fall, very interesting.

As far as pinching the buds off, I haven't in the past did that.
 
Cecil

Thanks Cecil. I haven't pinched them off in the past yet but I have lost some to mold that had buds burried in the rooting media. Curious of anyone else's experience with this.

Steve
 
Have you ever visited Steve Cascio's website?
 
If not here is the link, you can see how he does it.
 
http://www.pbase.com/scascio/figs

Cecil