thanks so much for your info!  I really want to do this right for him.. I do not have a green thumb so its kind of a big deal!

Paul,  I had thought about it, but not quite ready to go there. Not sure about the durability of cuttings in that state. Still have packaging issues to work out as well. Maybe next season.

one more thing, could y'all tell me how long I can keep them in these little baggies?
thanks again!

It seems to be working for me. Less soil. Less work. Less space required. And roots galore. Each time I cup-to-pot, I notice how much medium is unused. This was is impressive. Note I have three cuttings that started with no roots initials (primordia). The others already had initials.

Thanks for the 411 Jon

JD

Here are a few snapshots:

JD, for the benefit of others, what kind of bags are you using?

 I dug up my buried cuttings yesterday.   In he fall I took a double handful of cuttings off my bronze Paradiso, the Joe Morle tree.  I put them in a bucket on sand, covered them with more sand and buried the bucket to the rim in the ground.  I then put a half barrel over that.  Two of the cuttings were left sticking out of the sand.

The two sticking out of the sand had leaves growing yesterday, but not a root or sign of a root.  Those buried deeper had green buds showing, some already splitting, but no roots.  I did not even see anything resembling root initials.  The sand was damp but not soggy, and quite cold.  I dumped the sand in the half barrel and set it in a shady spot.  I then potted fourteen of the best looking cuttings in 32 ounce cups of potting mix, tossing the rest.  I put another half barrel over that to control humidity. 

We will see what happens now.  I fully expect the cuttings to "take".  Using the potting mix VS vermiculite or perlite does not bother me as those I rooted earlier this year took well and the roots show very well in the clear cups.  When the cup is full of roots you really do not care that you've not used a "standard:" rooting medium.

The half-barrel is one of the white ones that soda syrup comes in, fifty gallon size.  It would have held perhaps twenty cuttings.  The clear Walmart boxes I've been using crack from sunlight.  The white barrels seem to be indestructible, and of course the half barrel is much deeper than the boxes.   No telling how many of the newspaper baggies it might have held.  For a serious grower, baggies in a barrel might work out very well.  I paid, I think, $7 for these barrels, then cut them in half.

I will remove the half barrel on top and replace it with a film of dry-cleaner plastic when the cuttings have started well. 
Ox

Since I started using this method I have not bothered with anything else.

Hardy Chicago cuttings









Violette De Bordeaux

That is what I am seeing, and I have even stopped pre-rooting them in bags (with moss or paper or whatever). I am going straight from frig to the "new bags" and into the greenhouse. I am convinced that the organic compounds from the compost or other organic material in the mix is a natural rooting hormone/stimulant.

Here's one example.








Here's another.

Lovely pics Jon, thats what I like about the baggie easy to cut the baggie and the roots never stick to the plastic wich wich gives it an excellent trasfer rate with no root damage.

Jon,
I am using vacuum bags (Food Saver) cut at 3.5" wide. Figured I give them a try since I had them. They are working VERY well.I am about 60% of the way to having roots like those you show in the May 1st photos.
JD

In the two weeks I was gone, a coworker cared for my cuttings. She thinks she might have under-watered them, but I assured her that they look great, and in fact it was much better than if she had overwatered them!

i think i spy a schuyler fig ;)

A new source of rooting bags: air pillows used in packaging.

Over the weekend, I received several items from Amazon.com and saw that the box was nearly filled with a string of 7" x 4" air pillows. They have perforations that makes it easy to pull them apart.

Anyone who receives packages on a constant basis probably gets [and tosses] these air pillows.

I think I am going to try this method exlucisvely for rooting this year.  I ordered a carton of the baggies this eve for delivery.  I will probably be starting my cuttings when UCD cuttings arrive this year (hope that's soon based on others' experience?)

Jason, I use it for about 99.5% of my rooting, currently. I do some in potting soil, in bulk when I get tired of doing them on per bag and I have 50 extra cuttings of something. Otherwise, it is "new bag style".

Love the recycled air pack idea.

My source of "Jon bags" is I make them myself. I take quart size zip lock bags, cut the zipper off and then use my vacuum sealer to make two seals down the middle of the bag. I then cut between the seals to get 2 smaller bags. It takes a little time and attention to get the seal just right but for the cost of the bags, $1.50, I get 50 "Jon bags". Worth the trouble if you don't need 1000 bags.
"gene"

Picked up 90 air pillows at work today, and probably 40 last Friday. They were happy to get rid of them.

Hmm...maybe I should offer to trade these for cuttings!

Gene: That's pretty much what I've been doing. I've just been recycling used zipper bags. As long as they aren't too badly "used".

I don't have a vacume sealer per say but I did pick up this old thing at a yard sale over a year ago. It just heat seals the edges. Not bad for $1.50. Especially considering it works just fine :-) :

Bill, a good thing who ever sold it didn't know it was really a "Jon Bag" maker. Then it would have been like some lost piece of art and the price would probably have been double, ha. Good find on your part.
"gene"

ha. Yeah Gene. It certainly ain't nothin fancy. But you know that old saying - "One mans trash is another mans treasure". It's wasn't considered entirely trash, but not far from it at only a buck & a half. Works great as long as I don't need anything larger than 8" X 8". 

Hello all!  I'm a new fig grower, and have been trying a variation on what you all are describing.  In orchid growing there's something called "spag and bag" where you wrap an orchid plant in damp spagnum moss, seal it up in a plastic bag, and forget about it for a while.  (Or at least that's how I interpret this technique.  And it has worked for me.)

Anyway, I'm doing more or less what you all suggest, with some of the cuttings that I picked up at a recent scion exchange. 

But in my case, I've sealed up the top of the bag, because that's how I got orchids to come back from the dead.  No top opening, no drain holes.  It's kind of a set-it and forget-it approach.

The tips of the figs are sticking out from the bag, and there are nice green swellings where leaves seem to want to form.

What all of your photos suggest is an opened bag.  Do you have any thoughts on my method?

Hi Lisa. Welcome to the forum. You've found the best place on the web to learn about figs & fig propagation -IMO.

There may not be anything wrong with your method. Personally, I'd prefer the option of being able to open my bag to check on the cuttings every couple days or so. Most of us here might be a little too paranoid about not letting in the fresh air every now & then to help keep mold at bay (one of the biggest issues when rooting fig cuttings like this).

Not saying your method  won't work. Just sharing my personal thoughts. As long as the sp-moss isn't too damp, your cuttings will likely start to root. Otherwise mold and/or rot may become a concern.

Keep asking questions. Everyone here will be glad to help :-) .  

Hi Lisa,

Welcome.  :)

It will be interesting to hear how your experiment with the fig cutting works out.

noss

How seriously should I worry about mold? 

(And thanks for making me feel welcome.)