Hello All,
I'm new to this forum, though have been growing Fig Trees since 2009. I think that this site is great since it can be difficult to find good information about figs and because there are so many knowledgeable and passionate people on here. In the past few years, I've just started to bulk up my collection by taking cuttings to make new trees.

This spring I took some cuttings from an old family tree. They seem to be doing well, the roots are growing rapidly, though the leaf growth seems to be stunted. Naturally, I want to make sure the cuttings overwinter successfully, and was wondering if there is anything I can do with young cuttings to make them grow faster. I am essentially an organic grower, and would like to avoid synthetic chemicals.

Just to get some perspective on others' success, I' m wondering if you could additionally answer: How much new growth do you (in your own experience) generally get on a tree propagated from a cutting in the first year?  What, if anything, do you use to feed the cuttings?

Thanks for any information.

"FigTrees2013"...welcome to the forum...If you look at my avatar picture to the left, that tree was rooted in the winter of 2011 / 2012, and planted in the ground in April of 2012...the picture was taken in Sept. 2012 so It was 5 months old at that time and approximately 5 feet tall...the cutting itself was 4" long at the time it was rooted....not all varieties grow that vigorously, but that one was a real winner.

welcome to the forum

growth depends on lot of things. how much you are feeding it, how often you are up potting it.. what type of fig you are growing. if you go to vince's route as above, you will get better result then keeping it in the container. if you do what i do, you get at most 2' in first yr. more then likely 1'. i keep all my first yr cuttings, well most, in 1 gal container. i give them minimal fertilizer and lime. i do not up pot unless it has to have larger container. most i got out of it was 2'. on the other hand, ones that i moved to larger container.. 4 gal, then to 10 gal grew up to 4-5' in a season. 

as to top growth not happening.. some cuttings will do that. i had a cutting that had great roots, but no top for good 4 months. then it put out very small leaf and didn't do much from that for another 5-6 months. this yr, it started to grow and it put on about 1', and still growing. if it wasn't a fig that really wanted, i would have dumped it. but i was looking forward to this one, so kept it and i'm glad i did. 

Welcome!  I fertilize mine and expect them to grow at least 1'.  Some grow 5'.  Most are in the 3 foot range.  I use a combination of organic and non-organic fertilizers.  I put my figs in to 3 gal pots or bigger their first year or they get root bound.

Out of the 25 or so of mine (that survived the up potting), rooted 4 months ago, nearly all of them are at least 3 feet tall now. One ronde de bordeaux is about 4 ft.

FigTrees 2013,

Welcome!

My recent post (below) regarding Frank's Carini gives an idea of timeline for growth.  Note I'm in Houston, TX so your results may vary.


Frank,

Thank you again. Your cuttings, now small trees love it here in Houston so far. Started cuttings in 60/40 perlite/potting soil & DipnGrow on 1-26-13. On 3-16-13 transplanted to 1 gal nursery pot with same ratio perlite/potting mix. Finally, 5-27-13 transferred to 3 gal nursery pot with 3/4/7 parts coir/sifted coarse perlite/black humus + 10-10-10 fertilizer + pellitized dolomitic limestone + worm castings. Here's the result today......

Attached Images

__________________
Steve
Houston, TX
Zone 8b

I use half regular cheapo potting soil and half rice hulls or perlie and top it with composted manure and local wood mulch. Lots of sun helps and keep on up-potting as needed. I moved from cutting to 15 gallon pot within a single season. In early stages, they really need good drainage, so I use greater percent of perlite.

Roots are the hard part. The leaves will come. Sometimes, if they were started late, they only get a few leaves and then go dormant. The following season they go crazy with new growth. Rooted and alive is always good.