Frank, How far does a brick go? It says a brick expands to about 8 litres (that's 32 measuring cups worth). I guess that would = 10 to 12 cuttings worth per brick? 

I hydrated a brick into a 1 gallon plastic pitcher and the pitcher was too small. I put about a 1" layer on the entire bottom of a 10"x20" planting tray. I set in a bunch of cuttings. (Figure you could get 20 ten inch cuttings in there). Then I topped that with another inch of coir and topped that with a humidity dome.

I started 13 or so fig and elderberry cuttings towards the end of january in coir, in small cups. All of them started getting roots after about 8 weeks. The hard part now is taking them out of the bin and getting them to adjust to less humidity after uppotting. I also started juneberries, aronia and gooseberries in the same manner and don't have a sign of life on any of them.

Is this Coir the same material found in pet stores or is Coir used for rooting a different product?  This is used similarly to Spagham Moss in a bag or plastic box?  trying various rooting methods to see what works best. thanks!!

coir with a little gnat-nix on top just in case

     

Dave, really nice roots that u have growing there. Looks great.

Thanks Mark I've used spaghnum moss  and it's not bad I've tried perlite and it wasn't coarse enough and it turned to cement  coir is the best thing I have used thus far followed up by pro-mix HP It's been an excellent combination and zero gnats 

I just found some long roots on several of my cuttings that I started mid February directly into pots right after they arrived. That was fast. They are not as extensive as Dave's, but are coming along quickly. The coir/perilite, lights, Buddy tape, heat seems to be working great so far. I think putting five holes in the bottom helps with the drainage -four on the sides and one in the middle. It's so much fun to watch my fig forest grow. 

 

Dave,

I am so jealous! Those roots look awesome! How do you water the plants? Do you pour from the top until the coir is drenched and wate flows from the bottom? My problem is I don't know how to water the plants without causing waterlog. I recently lost a lot of cuttings due to rot. : (

Maybe we can make our own coir?

@ Harvey
both of my cousins are dentists in Florida.
i am guessing they would love the idea of more people making their own coir.

Check out the photo montage at this web-site:

"Plumeria Care/Burlap Bag Rooting"... 

This method should work for fig cuttings, also.  It's easy, and tender roots do not get disturbed when the newly-rooted cuttings are potted up. 


Frank
Bronx/NYC
Zone-7

Harv-

Thanks for providing the link.  (Actually, I can't wait to try this "burlap bag" method for fig cuttings, Plumeria, etc.).  This method looks easy, and fool-proof... which is right up my alley.



Frank