I have tried many different mixes and I have never been completely satisfied with any of those. This year I decided to go back to what people have been using for hundreds of years before the so called modern agriculture. SAND!
After I see the first roots from my cuttings I transfer them in plain sand. I then put the cups in bucket and cover it with plastic. I put some 1 inch of sand at the bottom of the bucket as well before I place the cups on top of it.  The results so far are great and the plants really like it.
No shock, no problems with watering, gnats and so on .....
You should try it!

Pen, nice results. I have had good success using screened sand and perlite 50/50 for various other cuttings, I haven't used it for figs yet, but your right, no gnats and watering is easy. Very easy to transplant also as the sand is loose and falls off the roots, and the roots systems are well developed and healthy. I need to screen some sand and give it a try with my figs.

Mike in Hanover, VA

I like it, old school meets new school, kinda :)

Let us know how they do after transfer to gallons.

Nicely done!

Do you water them at all?  Are there drain holes in the bottom of the cups?

There are many types of sand out there. What type did you use? Is it screened?

This is just ordinary washed not sceened river sand that I got from a local concrete plant. They use it for making screed, and ofcourse concrete. :)
The cups do have draining holes. I watered few cups already although they did not really needed it. As you can guess the drainage is just perfect. :)

Hi Pen,
I know many old timers who only use sand.. When you put them in the bucket do you give them light ?? How long do they stay in the bucket?
You said that when you first see roots you put them in sand. Where are they before that?

Yes the buckets stay by the window and they get little sunlight. I use the backets not only for keeping the humidity, but also for ease of moving the plants anywhere I want. One bucket holds 9 plants. Also the ease of watering as wather does not spil all over the place, but stays at the bottom. In the bucket cups can not turn over and fall. So I will keep the plants in the bucket untill I am ready to transplant them in bigger pots, but I will gradually remove the plastic once I see sufficient roots that can suport the plants
I have diveloped this method for rooting my cuttings that is very foolproof. You can find it here:
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/the-best-rooting-method-i-found-over-the-years-6717809?pid=1282215217#post1282215217

I did answer this in post #6.

how big are the draining holes?
how does the sand not run out from there every time you water them?

Two strips cut at oposite sides
 

thank you for the picture.
its great help!
how long did it take to get from going in to the cup, to roots that size?

If you are near a beach, get yourself some sand..I know an old Italian man who has grown figs for 50 years and only roots his figs with sand from the Jersey Shore
Whenever I go there I bring an extra bucket

Pen, thanks for update!

I wonder if we could use pure pumice, it is cheap and easy to get at a HD in the US.
I use pumice a lot but mixed with perlite and coco coir with a great success. 

Coop, I thought about collecting some sand on an ocean beach but I think it will need to be washed well to get rid of salt, right?

Yes the high salt levels in ocean sand will be a big problem if not properly washed.
I don't know about pumice. I like the simple things. The simple, one thing is- the better it is.
Sand can be found all over the world.
andreas

 

andreas

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Pen: Those look like happy fig plants-keep up the good work.  I have been using 1/2" of play sand on the top of my indoor fig plants to get rid of nats with good results.  This was suggested to me by a exterminator friend of mine when I first noticed them and I have`t seen any since.

Great results! I will definitely try this.