How can a fig root in water and grow yet if it's rooted in say smag moss and potted it can die from too much water?

Its because it is smuthered. No air access. In water it is still getting air.
This is what i think is happening. I have no luck at all in water. Never rooted. But it didnt rot either

If you're considering rooting in water, keep in mind the roots are more fragile and will have a higher rate of failure once moved to a potting mix/soil.

Oh no I have a almost foolproof way to root cuttings but I have a problem not understanding how I could overwater a cutting in a pot. I don't believe there's breathable oxygen for a plant in water?

Frank you are from Italia? What part ?

I rooted a Desert King in water last year. It took longer than other methods and it seemed like I had to change the water all the time. I think that a mixture like coco coir that allows air and water to the roots and which is also resistant to rooting its the easy to go.

I understand the difference between the two methods and how the separate methods work water vs media rooting. My initial question was how can you overwater and kill a rooted cutting that was rooted in media and potted yet you can root and grow a fig cutting in water? It makes no sense

I have no answer, but I think your question is valid.  I'm also hoping someone can explain this conundrum.

Water does not hold much oxygen and what it can is used rapidly by bacteria in the potting mix. It is a funny concept, for instance watering a cutting in perlite 3x a week will kill the roots, while 3x a day will not. Forget to water for one day and the plant may die though. The oxygen either needs to be replaced by air or fresh water for the roots to remain healthy.

Hi Taverna78,
Sounds crazy, but still it is real life.

One thing is, while rooting in water, I had to change the water every two or three days or the cuttings would look dirty and mushy and would probably have rotten - but I didn't allow the status changing to rot.
In dirt, once the water is in the soil, you can't change it. It could be that the dirt itself will start to rot and contaminate the cutting.
I don't have any better explanation .

Now a good experience would be to fill a bottle with dirt, add water , and keep the bottle full of water with a cutting in it, and see what happens ...

Pics of the cutting in question would help. At least describe the container, potting mix, temperature, lighting etc.

The initial stage, in the humidity bin (or with a cup on top) uses air as a supply of oxygen. So you should have used pre-moistened perlite, or watered one time and then not again because they will not dry out in high humidity.

Once you start watering though, it might be wise to follow Rich's directions and treat them as hydroponic plants- "Dutch Buckets" as he briefly described to me watering at least once a day. Perlite is a finicky media, it dries from the top down and holds very little water compared to others, so using it alone does not work very well to let air in between waterings.

That is one way to do it. I think people have had good success floating the perlite away with water to avoid root damage. In that case you will use moist potting mix with added perlite, 50/50 usually, and slowly introduce the plants that have roots to lower humidity. Wait until the containers are very light, nearly dry, until you water again and then continue. They will use more water as they grow more leaves and roots and dry the mix faster.

I use Promix MP Organik or sometimes BX. Promix HP can be used straight out of the bag because it has much more perlite already. I also used coco coir last year with 25% Growstones (a recycled glass product like perlite), it was a little trickier to fertilize but worked well.

I have seen Promix HP at Lowes before.

It is a seasonal item though so you probably want to call around.

Taverna,

I also root in 100% perlite.  From your pictures i can see plenty of condensation which to me indicates your humidity is too high.

I water with diluted Foliage Pro after i see roots.  I look through cup and if I see lots of water droplets I don't water, but usually water every couple days, but note, I personally stopped putting the lid on because I was having so many problems transitioning them from high to low humidity, never failed that I would lose all leaves and stress over the cutting til the leaves sprouted back.

With that said, Yes I believe the humidity bin can grow the fastest.  I'm not trying to be confusing, everyone's mileage may vary, and I agree with hoosierbanana "Rich's method" has seemed to help lots of people.