Hey guys...so this will be my story of how i'm attempting to save a fig tree from brooklyn.

The house where my in-laws live and where my wife grew up, their neighbor always had a HUGE fig tree (~20ft) and i remember many summers reaching near their fence and grabbing any low hanging fruit coming over. Its been a few years since i had a ripe fig, and i really cant remember what it looked like to be honest (green/white/brown).

Fast forward a few years and the owners of the house live in a nursing home, sandy wiped out the tree (so they probably thought) and the house is in shambles! They had the tree cut down almost 2 years ago, and i guess they assumed it was dead. I just got word from my wife's family that people have been reporting the house to the city as it looks like its going to collapse, which i don't doubt since my wife's family's house got tons of water in basement from the house leaning over and roof kinda collapsing. City inspectors have been frequenting the house over the past week and my urgency to collect some cuttings has been expedited.

The neighbors were always nice ladies and were very friendly to my wifes family, so i want to keep their tradition going. The tree has resprouted ALOT of growth, i can see last years canes that probably froze and they were about 7ft tall, this years growth is around 4ft already. I attempted to do an air layer with a plastic bag last time i was in brooklyn, but between the heat, weeds and being rushed...i don't think it will be that successful. I plan on going over there in a  week and am going to attempt another air layer with a large container since this is green wood and not as strong to hold up the weight. I am also going to attempt to take a bunch of green cuttings since i'm unsure if the plot will be demolished by the time it goes dormant.


It looks like there might be a second tree on the back part of the photo, i didn't realize this till i got home. The tree was so large, i could have not realized there was another one in the back. So i'll attempt cuttings on both and will reattempt in winter if they don't make it. 

 

Matt, take a shovel with you, and dig up some of the suckers with some roots. Pot them up, cut the tops back, and keep in mostly shade until they perk up. That would be your best way, I think.

gary - i was attempting that as well, but its such a hot mess in the back and most of the new growth i found was coming out around the main trunk, which was HUGE. I couldnt get around it, but i will definitely attempt it again and maybe come at different angle. So now my two options (greenwood cutting & air-layer) has now become three options, my wife is going to kill me doing all this.

A few of each Matty just to make sure. Green cuttings are ok as long as the bottom starts to turn kinda woodsy. Take three or four nodes Chop the leaves off, stick in a bucket or pot filled with damp potting soil and cover with a trash bag place on a shady spot .check every other day to let fresh air in and you should be ok. Good luck and let me know if you have any cuttings to share. Oh and wach out for the wife man! Lol
take care.

Hi brooklinmatty,
this is my way : Put your hands on a stem at dirt level. And pull. Most of the times they come out with roots.
As for cuttings - but I would advise you to take a rooted stem-, cut, remove all except the last 2 small leaves, put in a jar of water for 3 weeks changing water every two days.
Then pot them in a gallon pot - nothing smaller - and keep moist in a shady area.
Good luck !

If you cant get rooted suckers, I have tried this method recommended by Bass:

http://www.treesofjoy.com/content/rooting-softwood-fig-cuttings

I modified the method only in putting each cutting into it's own 44 oz drink cup to keep the roots from eventually tangling, covering each cup

Be sure not to let the potting mix get too moist

Thanks Chris/jdsfrance for advice. I am still contemplating how i will store them to travel from brooklyn to home, could be a few hours before i can plant or store them better. Was thinking the cuttings could go in a ziplock or container with wet papertowel to keep moisture since i know green cuttings need moisture (read bass's article on it). I know there are 100 ways to skin a cat, i mean root a cutting...still trying to figure out my method :)

I will try the pulling from stem level, might be better than shoveling. The pulling method is what my neighbor did for the suckers i first tried growing, those roots i think didn't do to well. 

Chrisk- i will keep you in mind for cuttings, i know green cuttings don't fair well in travel, my biggest concern on getting them too. But if they don't demolish house once they go dormant, i will take many many cuttings and you'll be on top of my list. If not, ill have it hopefully once the tree is growing @my place.

A noble effort, good luck with it.

Will do ,thanks Matt and good luck.

If you had a friend to help it could be easier to get it out with a shovel. Two people on opposite sides will create a wedge shape using shovels. When both people push down on handle it could pop out a tree. I seen a stump get removed that way so I should work on a tree like this. You can get one of those tubs from Walmart with the rope handle to transport it.

Nice story of your rescue    Hope you are successful.    Maybe they like a  Florida vacation  ;)   Joyce

Thanks guys

Jarrett, it was a big tree like I mentioned. Probably 20 or 30 years old (maybe more) The base of the main trunk is probably 3-4 ft in diameter not including all secondary branches over years, you would need a forklift to pull the stump. I would think the root ball is 6 ft in diameter.not an option , wish it was that easy :)

Hoping I can spread the wealth once successful on its transplant, will keep people posted.

Matt,

    This is a mission. First, when  you collect cuttings, do not leave them in a hot car. You will cook them. Second, spread the cuttings around to people willing to help you start them. I am not looking for free cuttings (or cuttings at all right now), but I would be willing to try to help you start some and send them back to you. I'll bet several on the forum would.

Good Luck, Matt! : )

Dale- the hot car has been my biggest concern, i am hoping i can take what i need right before i leave so i can put my stuff in the car and travel home (~1h). Most of the cuttings are brand new growth (softwood/green) and i am unsure how these would be best transported in the mail, especially now in the heat. Once these goes dormant, if they don't demolish or quarantine the house , i will work on sharing with others. I appreciate the offer to help root these! :)

Thanks Frank

These are the plans for this weekend:
-i will try and take photos while onsite there if possible. Time and weather permitting, i might just want to rush through since i hate the heat and its very weedy back there -who knows what else is growing in there. 

-check status of air-layer started on 7/5. If it looks like decent root growth, i will take home.
           -Options for transporting air layer home are: 1)bucket with soil in it. 2)empty bucket and just moisten the roots and existing soil from AL

-take green cuttings off both trees.
           -Options for transporting cuttings are as follows: 1)cut them into individual pieces, take off all leaves except 1 or 2 and cut those in half, then using my rooting hormone immediately and place in humidity dome with different mediums  a)100%perlite  b)50/50 perlite/growing mix  c)100% growing mix) OR 2)cut them into individual pieces, then place them all in moist soil (in humidity dome) till i get home, then clean with water , use rooting hormone and place in mediums?

-attempt to pull any suckers if available from the ground. If im successful, i will keeps moistened in a plastic bag during transport   ??????
-look for figs ;) - i remember having figs in july, so i assume this fig has a breba crop. But since all of the dieback there probably isnt any :(

Hi Brooklynmatty,
For the transport of the rooted stems, take several one gallon pots with you and pot them approximately directly on site.
You could as well take a 2 gallon pot and put them all in and fill a bit with local dirt . Once at home or the following days, you'll pot them better.
For the cuttings, take wet paper towels in a plastic bag with you, and "bed" the cuttings in there .
Good luck !

I have never had good luck rooting green cuttings, but I think using rooting hormone can't hurt/ might be your best beat. Checking out this video about rooting the cutting it might be good for your in transit time and lesson the chance of them drying out.

Thanks. I have read bass's writeup on green cuttings and I have watched all of Toms videos on youtube. His channel is my favorite for fig videos and similar climate, so it's very helpful.

Hi,
Because you're in Zone7 (just like myself) the green cuttings are not the best choice. That wood won't harden off until the winter comes
and the stem will easily freeze . Of course if there is no other choice, then go ahead ! But if you can take a hardened branch .

Lengthy Update ;)

Went to in-laws on Saturday after coming back from the beach with the wee one, so i was tired hot and sandy! But i did manage to go to the neighbors house and grab some stuff, an assortment you might say. When i pulled up to the in-laws there were papers all over the neighbors door from NYC department of buildings and the door was hard core padlocked -NO ENTRY! 

I couldn't check my air-layer in their yard because i had no room, so i figured since this might be my last shot i just cut it and will inspect in front of in-laws house. I also did as jdsfrance instructed and i went around to each branch i could and started yanking hoping i would get some suckers with roots, to my amazement - i got a bunch! I successfully pulled 4 suckers out with roots, some more than others. I took the 4 suckers and 1 air-layer in front to inspect and work on placing in my humidity bin and in soil buckets.

air layer= fail. Duct tape sucks, with enough heat -the residue melts on the branch and all the plastic material - was a pain in the rear to get off. The roots weren't developed enough and looked like they were too immature. So the air-layer became greenwood cuttings to experiment with. I took about 12-14 cuttings about 8" long with at least 3 nodes and placed them in my humidity dome. In the dome i had a few gallon pots and solo cups with either 100% perlite or 5-1-1 mix. I just wanted this as shelter till i got home and properly prepped and put rooting hormone on them.
 
This is a picture of the cuttings with different options, one leaf/no leaves/cut leaves/tip cuttings. I rooted them with dip'n'grow per suggestions on this forum. I have this container in my office and humidity seems high - i will probably run fresh water through the perlite cups every 2 days.

Onto the suckers, here is a picture of the suckers i pulled. I did cut them down since they were about 6' tall and transporting them would have been detrimental. Also, i figured that was alot of growth and the roots might not support them all.
 
closeup of the roots.
 
If you notice that long one with roots, it was actually a limb that fell over and got itself buried and rooted itself. Got to love mother nature! I actually couldn't fit that long one into one of my 7gallon containers, so i cut a piece off (should have taken 2) since those are basically rooted cuttings (photos down below).
 
here they are potted up, they are very droppy today (monday) after two days in the shade, one of the suckers leaves look like they are going to shrivel and die soon. I used that old door as a tent and have them up against a wall so they only get ambient light. Not sure if they will make it though.

 
Here is the part of that sucker i cut off, if you notice - it is actually budding on the top node, i am most hopeful for this part of my experiment as it has great root development.
 
Here it is buried in a 1gallon pot.

All in all, i think it went well and i'm hopeful for my cuttings. I have some family i plan on sharing with as well as trying to grow 2 or so myself. But i believe i might have some extra cuttings - so i will definitely offer what i have left to the group once they begin solid root development and i know my leftovers :). 

Stay tuned for more updates as things progress.

Please add me to your list.  :)  What about the second tree?

You got it Bob! So after closer inspection looking for that second tree in the background, i found out that was actually on the property next door. I did some asking around and found out that the neighbor helped the old ladies with their backyard and i assume were gifted some cuttings at some point - so they are growing the same tree on their property.

Please add me to your list as well. Looks like you have a handle on things already. All the plants look great.

I am so glad everything worked out well! Please add me to your list when cuttings become available. 

Thanks Guys/Gals for encouragement, it means alot.

I will be building a list for the rootings i'm currently growing. So once they start growing and i figure out survival rate - i will be sending them out most likely in solo cups once it cools down. I expect that by end of september or early october they should be well rooted and suitable enough for transportation, i will only ask for what it costs to send via usps priority mail.

I hope they all make it so i can give to lots of members though.

Before i left on a small business trip, the rooted cuttings looked great...nice and perky. The suckers looked horrible, so i hope they make it.

I will keep everyone posted once i get some status updates.