So I have few mature fig trees with plenty of suckers that I want to save and start new trees with.  My concern is how to do this?  Do I store them like normal cuttings I take in the fall?  Could I over winter them in my grow area of my house with lights etc?  Any info on the matter would greatly help me.  I am in zone 7 NYC if this helps.

Gently push way the soil to see if they have roots.  If so separate them from the main tree with lots of roots and you're done   :)   If they don't have enough roots to support the leaves then you can either separate them now and cut off a lot of leaves (some people dry them for tea) or wait till it's dormant and do it then.  Or wait till next Spring but then you risk die-back.

If they don't have roots I'd wait till the tree is dormant and take cuttings.

Another way is to put a clear cup with soil and no bottom over it, a little soil at first, as it grows, put more soil to fill the cup in stages.  it will continue to push and eventually you will see roots through the cup, and when you see, whoolah, you have a tree, just cut it  and pot it. My experience cutting the sucker in the soil is not good, I ended up cutting its own roots out, as sometimes, they coil around before coming up.   a multitrunk tree is also good, you can keep them short.

Steven...

Look up information about "stooling" for rooting and propagating suckers rising from around the base of a tree.  If the suckers are developing on the trunk or cut branches, look up air-layering techniques.  Either technique or a combo of both, will give you new trees.  You still have a good month in which to do this, and still grow roots, but it needs to be done now.

After the stems root, continue to let them grow under your high intensity lights.  If they go into quiescence, or go dormant, don't let them freeze.  Roots can still continue to grow if soil temps are kept in the 40s and 50s.  If the trees have leaves, gradually, very gradually, introduce them to full sun when the small trees are brought out next spring, and they will continue to grow quickly when weather conditions are favorable to support new growth.  If warm spring weather arrives and the newly-rooted trees have no leaves, they can be put into full sun, and Nature will take over.  Keep them watered at this point.  I'd give then the "kid-glove" treatment for the first couple of years, when cold weather returns.

Good luck.


Frank

Hi snyc88,
a. Are the trees in ground or in pots ?
b. Are you trying to make backup trees ?
c. Are you just propagating your tree ?
d. Are you trying to make your trees get focused on ripening the figs ?
e. Are those root suckers Grey or full green stems ?

If b. and/or d., then do it now.
if c. then I would consider doing it in April - for having less mess around .
Nevertheless consider point e. - if the stems are still green, I wouldn't attempt to take them away from the main tree.
I have two such root suckers waiting on my Pastiliere ... But they are still green, so I'll wait until April.

Good luck !

I also have some suckers on my tree. One of the largest ones has 3 figs starting on it. Obviously they wont finish this year so should I just pull them off or will they ripen in the spring or next year?

They wont ripen next year. 

Stephen,
Since there is still time in your season, Stool layering or air layering the suckers should work. The layers can even be remove, potted and grown indoors if the weather starts to get colder.
From an earlier topic on stooling,  http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=1283407964&postcount=5

Pictures of stool layering in 1 gallon pots and air layering in a 1 liter soda bottle...
   .

Good Luck.

If your soil is light, you should be able to dig down easily and remove the sucker with some roots.  Even if you get only a small amount of roots, it is okay.  Once out of the ground, follow Bass' (and others) method for rooting green cuttings.  In about three weeks the trees will be on their way to being fully independent.

An option I like to use for stool layering containerized trees is to leave the bottoms open.  I cut the tops and bottoms off ~1 liter bottles and slip over the sucker.  I "tie" the bottle down  using bamboo skewers through slits in the plastic.  I wrap it all up in foil.

   

These will overwinter in the basement as is.  I need to repot the parent trees in the spring.  I will bare root the layer as well and cut at the base to get maximize the amount of roots I am taking with it, as well as to eliminate the sucker.  You can do this with inground figs, it will require a bit of excavating.

I have a Verdal Longue in Texas which I mounded dirt around then covered with mulch last year.  This year the tree grew through the mound.  What is below the mulch has rooted.  I just need to find time to get back to Texas to separate the offspring.  If you want to take the time, either of these methods will extend the root zone of the sucker.

Hi scnyc88,
My experience of last year : I took two (weak and small) root suckers inside to make them grow during the winter.
I didn't have grow lights or a separate room for that - so I had to come up with everything to make it work in a corner of my living room .
All the new suckers from this year have outgrown my two from end of 2013 ... But ok that's me, and in my flat I don't have all the right conditions to get fig trees to grow properly .
Or said in another way, outside in the season "I'm so good at" making them grow, that I won't do it again except for playing again with different potting mix or rooting varieties that I can't get access to at own will.

So the choice is yours.
I would choose the bigger root suckers and give it a try at taring them apart - that should work . Remove all leaves except the two smaller.
I generally just pull them for not disturbing the mother plant.I removed six on Monday just by pulling them . They are now in pots of compost with a plate of water underneath to keep them feets wet for two weeks.
With more time say in July, I do go ground layer like James shows - except that I mostly use regular pots to have more volume for roots.
Good luck !