I received some cutting of a cultivar I really want, but the cuttings came to me moldy. I cleaned them with a 10% bleach allowed to dry and refrigerated them, and they continue to develop mold, and I repeatedly take them out clean with bleach and still mold forms. I am pretty certain if I try rooting them in a humid bin I will never be able to keep the mold in check.  I am thinking to try grafting them as I hoping I might be able salvage them on a host plant and by wrapping the entire scion tightly with Parafilm and being in a the open air environment with no roots forming I might still be able to deal with any mold forming. The buds of most plants will push right through the Parafilm assuming they will with fig as well.  If the graft takes later I could start by cutting or air layer to get the plant on own root. Opinions and suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks

Strudeldog types,
I received some cutting of a cultivar I really want, but the cuttings came to me moldy. I cleaned them with a 10% bleach allowed to dry and refrigerated them, and they continue to develop mold, and I repeatedly take them out clean with bleach and still mold forms.

I would ask the supplier for replacements .

Martin,

They were moldy I believe due to an extended delayed transit, that I will not detail here, but probably more due to my part then the sender. So although I do understand, probably I am more at fault in this situation.
Thanks

I don't know about the grafting part specifically, perhaps someone else can speak about that. 

Jon at Encanto Farms mentioned the same thing to me about spagnum moss a few weeks ago. He said on one occasion he received moldy cuttings and after wrapping them in sphagnum the mold went away. I'm testing it myself on two cuttings that went moldy on me.

SP Moss won't stop the mold.....at least in my experience. The absolute only thing that I found that will stop and totally kill the mold is Physan 20.

Give it a try and report back to this thread. It will surprise you and make you very happy!

Cheers,

I have also been unsuccessful at removing mold with Sphagnum Moss.  I have received cuttings from someone two years in a row.  Both times, two of the varieties sent grew mold in very short order.  I scrubbed with a toothbrush while they were dipped in a bleach solution.  Within 3 days, the mold was back. 

Dennis,  I was planning on dipping some other cuttings in bleach later tonight.  After reading your post, I found a local source for Physan 20.  Will you describe how you use this product?

Thanks
~james

Physan is great stuff.

There are some products out there specifically designed to combat rot.  Physan is one of them which has come highly touted by some here.

With that said, mold seems to love dead food much more than live food, or at least I believe this has been my experience.  I mean, mold just loves food, but more often than not, cuttings I've received which are persistently moldy like that tend to have very little "umph" left in them.

Not sure what to advise on this one.  I mean, if I was having that much of a problem, I would probably try a few different rooting methods... maybe try rooting a couple in a cup of water with a half thimble of bleach, try a couple in straight sand?

EDIT:  Took too long to submit.  Got distracted with dinner.  Looks like James beat me to the punch on the Physan. 

EDIT:  Jeez, Dom beat me to it also.  I'm slow today :\

Dominick,

Thank you for the information.  Are you using the same stock solution from last year? 

~james

After the mold returned so soon, I dipped in bleach again and planted it directly into the ground.  The cuttings had already begun to show signs of deterioration / discoloration.  Last year, it was the same.  They did root and grow, albeit lethargically.  They ended up not having enough "umph" (thanks Jason) to make it through the heat/drought.

Strudeldog, this year the mold showed itself within two weeks of being taken from the parent tree.  I think the wood from some trees are more susceptible to problems.

~james

The concentrate is good until mixed with water. It's the same one from last year.

Thanks for the input. I seem to be hearing to up my game from bleach. I will have to look for a local source for Physan 20, seems widely available online. I have other fungicides already in hand of Daconil and Captan has anyone used  those? The active ingredient is different.  

 I have not heard anything along the line that the graft may be less susceptible to mold, but I may try it on one short cutting just to see. I would not have all my figs in one basket per say. These cuttings as well as a long transit were very green and I am thinking that might have factored in as well.

Sorry....wife got me watching this darn dog show! I always use more than suggested. I use 4 tbls per gallon....sprayed every 2 days on seen mold. A gallon goes a long way. I don't have mold problems any more and gnat stay far away from the stuff. I think they can smell it coming!

I figure this is as good of a topic as any to share a little story that taught me something about the whole mold issue.

Bill, I would agree with you.  I typically leave my cuttings in a zip-top bag for at least a day with no cloth prior to sending them to anyone.  I'll usually take a full sheet of paper towel, wet, wring out completely and fold up into a ~2"x3" square and drop into the bag (not touching the cuttings) for the sole purpose of slight humidity, then send out to the recipient.  I stopped wrapping the cuttings - they don't need it.

I have never heard problems with mold, and in some cases, I've had to keep the cuttings on my desk for weeks before shipping (just had this happen for almost a week with cuttings that went out today).  Never had them mold.  they usually won't root with that little bit of moisture either, but also don't perish, so ... win-win if you ask me.

Yes Jason. I think I've rec'd cuttings from you packed like that. I do prefer that over them being wrapped in wet paper towels. Granted, most cuttings will survive a brief trip in paper that's too wet but I don't think that's best for them. It doesn't take long before mold or even rot begins the process of breaking the cutting down. It's one of nature's processes after all.

Bill, completely agree with you.
What you say is what I say for many years now. I learned it from an expertise member of this forum.
I have sent many cuttings to USA and never any problem, and sometimes the transit was very long (up to 5 weeks!).
Read this post:

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/Storing-Cuttings-3295179

Strudeldog, if your cuttings get mold continuously, it could be dead.
If it is not good for rooting, it is not good for grafting. Moreover, it is not time for grafting.

Yup "dormant " scionwood recently cut from tree and simply wrapped in saran plastic wrap sent out in this fashion is one of the best methods in my opinion to ship and is my method of choice in winter.

But
a month in transit ? Heck i did not know that they were shipping up there from the space station..   ; )

Glad I'm not the only one that feels like were on to a good thing here :) .

No not Glad! ; ) Saran wrap is PVdC, Glad wrap is LDPE, and others are PVC. Saran offers the best barrier to water vapor because of the density of that type of plastic. LDPE lets something like ten times as much water escape, I have been using store brand LDPE and drying does start happen after a month. So I am going to get some Saran, I can see a difference between it and the wrap on the cuttings you sent Bill.

I hadn't given that close of consideration to the composition of the types of plastic wrap Brent. That's good to know!

This is a timely thread for me.  I got a bunch of cuttings and towards the bottom of the bag was one with mold.  I've already bagged (as in new bag rooting method) several others.  I bought the Physan 20.  When I get back to where the cuttings are that I just bagged I'll water them with 4TBSP/Gal.  For the rest I didn't bag them once I saw the mold.  I'm going to soak them in the P20.  Anyone know how long the soak should be?