Someone gave me some cuttings that are about 6" long and about as big around as my thumb. I know I have nothing to loose by trying to root them, but I was wondering if I should do anything diffrent than you would do with a average size cuttings, like maybe try to root them on there side. They where cut a few days ago and are in my fridge. There hardy chiago if that matters..

Hello Grant,

I have rooted things up to 2" in diameter, using the same methods I always use, and they do fine.  I don't have pix yet, but I did a 2" by 20" "log" this season just to prove that it can be done.

Should I keep them in the fridge for a few weeks ?

Jose has rooted logs so I know it can be done.  I think the fatter the cutting the strong the tree....my theory.  I got some fat Kadota cuttings from Jon in Spring.  They rooted and became nice beautiful trees!  Cheers and Merry Christmas!

From what I learned last season, the larger the cuttings the greater the energy reserve the cutting has. I heard this referred to as being energy in the form of carbohydrates. But I haven't confirmed this.

Does anyone else know anything more about this? Is it actually carbs that are stored in the cutting and that's where the cutting gets its energy reserves from? -Jon? -Bass? -Others? What have you guys heard?

Here's a picture of one big, ugly cutting that started quite easily for me last season. The variety is Italian Honey:

Some people down the road have a big old fig tree,I told them I would pune the tree for the cuttings . You guys got me thinking it would be cool to root a log...........

how do you go about rooting fig tree logs??

Hey Bill how did you get that started ????

Grant,

As an experiment, this is how I would do it:

Method one:
I would probably loosen the soil outdoors in a spot I wanted to start the tree. Make a mound or hill, then scratch out a slight depression in the soil, along the length of the hill, large enough to lay the "log" in (on its side). Not too deep. Only enough to set the log in about 1/3 its width. Leaving the top end elevated slightly higher than the bottom of the cutting. Then I would simply cover the entire cutting with a quality pine mulch (water it lightly as needed) & leave it until a week or two before your last frost. At that time I would scrape back enough mulch near the top end to expose at least 2 nodes. I might also "thin" the mulch along the log in case a bud further down wanted to push through. But keep most of it covered to keep it from drying out too much. Let nature do the rest.

Method Two:
Place the log in a appropriately sized garbage bag (or storage container w/lid) with some slightly damp sphagnum moss. Check on it periodically for root developement. Once roots start to develope, start the cutting in a storage bin or some other large container designed to approximate a pot/planter. Care for it indoors as outlined elsewhere here on the forum.

Not saying this is the way you SHOULD proceed but this might be how I would go just as an experiment.  

Grant,

I started that cutting in a plastic bag wrapped with slightly damp paper towell. I would get a couple paper towels wet them & then squeeze them out as hard as I could. Then just roll the ctg up in the paper towels & zip 'em up in a storage baggie. If the paper towels are too wet your cutting will rot. Trust me I learned the hard way.

By the end of last season I started using slightly damp sphagnum moss instead of the paper. As mentioned in my post right above this one. Do it similarly as the paper towel. Place some spag in a clean bucket or similar & soak it good in water. Sphagnum takes a little while to fully saturate. Then squeeze it out thouroughly. Place some in a plastic bag or bin with a lid, fluffing it up as you go. Make sure the cutting is covered on all sides. It will root in due time. Mark the date on the bag for reference.

The sphagnum moss has become my preferred rooting media method & I doubt I would go back to using paper towel or newspaper. Make sure you don't use peat moss but instead use long fibered peat sphagnum. You might need to get it from a nursery this time of year as Lowes & HD are so seasonal.

Here's a picture of some wet (maybe too wet) sphagnum moss in one of the containers I used last season:

I think that Jose,  loslunasfarms hold the record, quite amazing!:

gorig,

That pic says it all doesn't it :-) !?
Personally, I believe you could grow a tree from any size fig log as long as there is a viable bud on it.

I have a lot of fig log cuttings that I am burrying in the yard I will photograph the procedure.   I have one the size of Jose's that I am going to try and get going.. Who knows I might even go for the record....They were all cut with a chain saw.......after christmas they will be started stand by for photos....

Jose (loslunas) is my reference for large log (or cutting) rooting. Much of what has been said here is what he told me about 12 months ago when I received this log from him. I was initially surprised. The log grew slowly through winter and exploded almost 5 feet during the growing season. I prefer up-sized cuttings because they have always rooted; in sphagnum or direct to dirt, it didn't matter, both worked well. Here's a chronology of the log from Jose then to now...

JD

Early this Spring when I was getting my outside rooting bed ready, I pruned some one inch plus diameter branches from the Yellow Unknown fig tree growing nearby.  I quickly cut them to about two foot long lengths and buried them in the compost pile just to see what would happen.

With no care at all they rooted and grew very strong all summer.

I'm relatively new at this, but based on what I have seen so far, I would generally prefer a cutting that was a little large over a cutting that was a little small.

I have, however, had very good luck rooting the terminal ends of branches too, especially if they are pencil size or larger.

In generally, figs seem pretty easy to root.

Happy holidays to all.

John
North Georgia Piedmont
Zone 7b

Anyone interested in buying some "fig logs" :-) ? I have a few pieces from an Italian Honey tree that range in diameter from about 1" on up to about 1 1/2". The lengths range from just 7" on up to about 18". Many of them have at least one shoot growing out of it but some don't.

I have to get little something for them since they aren't from my trees. But I can offer them for a low cost to forum members. So I'll ask for just $1.50 on the smallest ones & $4.ea for the largest + shipping.

If anyone is interested please PM me. I can also post some pics upon request if there is some interest...  

All of the large cuttings I mentioned in the previous post have been spoken for.

I know you will have fun with them. Italian Honey seems to be an easy rooter :-) .

Thanks!

Bill I got the "cuttings/logs" today ...thanks.....good thing for flat rate shipping....

A couple questions..
I was wondering if I need to put them in the fridge for awhile befoore rooting the??
should use moss with small trash bags and do them one by one??? Should I just use one plastic tote and put moss in the tote and root them all together?? Or do it some other way??

Any input??

Grant,
I'd say you don't need to store any ctgs in the fridge to 'chill' them before rooting them. In fact IMHO I think the sooner after taking the ctgs the better (faster maybe) they will root & take off for you.

Either of the methods you mentioned will work just fine. Just bear in mind that if you put multiple pieces together in one container, try to keep each ctg seperate in some way one from the other. If you stack them vertically, say in a bag, seperate them by placing moss on top each one before placing the next ctg in the bag & so on.

If you put them in a stage container or similar, just try to leave a little room in between each piece. The reason I suggest this is simply to keep the delicate roots from inter-twining with each other. I found myself having a little trouble with this last season. You go to separate them & almost always break a few roots.

This translates into energy that the cutting has now lost since it had expended energy to make those roots in the first place. If it was a small ctg in the first place it could spell doom vs just recovery time.

Larger cuttings equals more energy stores in the form of carbohydrates. These carbs are what the ctg will use in order to form roots & even buds/leaves before it is able to start taking up nutrients via the soil - based on what I've learned so far.

Having said all that. I don't think you will have a problem Grant with getting those monster cuttings too root and grow for you as long as you are able to keep all the other neccassary requirements within the correct parameters - that's the hard part :-) .

How about posting a couple pics of those ctgs so others can see what you're working with? Then maybe you could post some progress pics as you go since not everyone gets/takes the opportunity to root really big ctgs like that.   

Makes since about keeping the roots from all growing together,, I just checked and I think I would just be able to stuff them in a gallon baggie from corner to corner (diag) but it will be tight. Will it matter if the ends of the cuttings are//tight to the corners of the bag? I was thinking clear baggies would be cool because you would be able to see what's going on inside with out opening up all those trash bags when I want to check on them.. should I wait and go get some 2 1/2 gal. Baggies? I'm just full of questions

I will take pics as I go to show what's going on,and take pointers to make sure I get it right..

1st pic... contents of the package Bill/Saxonfig sent......






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If y'all can root logs, then is it possible to air layer larger branches on the tree?  I think I asked this once before, but I can't remember.

I got a large diameter water bottle and I'm going to put it around a larger branch that I was going to prune off the tree.  Do I need to scrape the lower end to rough up the bark?  I will also bury a couple of pruned off branches soon to see what happens.

noss

Noss, The issue is not branch size, but the ration/proportion of plant (branches and leaves) to roots. The higher the ratio of roots to plant, the better the chances of success.

I just found this forum and it is great.  I am completely new to figs. My zone is 8b here in south Puget Sound.  My neighbor has a large fig tree and wants me to start some cuttings from it.  We have had 30-37 degree weather for past several days.  My garden has been frost covered now for 3 days and same with area where neighbor's fig tree is located.  Do I need to wait for warmer weather?    Thanks,  skogkatt

You can take cuttings at any time and start rooting them.  If there's snow on the ground, you probably want to start the cutting indoors.  There are plenty of instructions on how to root in a baggie at the http://www.figs4fun.com "Growing tips" section to help you get started.