This impressed me as a simple and repeatable method.

Has anyone noted the rooting success with this method?

Also when you open the container every 2-3 days to air out is it OK to disturb the cuttings and check for roots or mold issues?

I'm trying it now on part of the cuttings I just received.  I hope others who have tried it tune in.  Those are all great questions!  I did add a tiny bit of Vitamino to the water.

Suzi

Ofcourse you can disturb the cuttings no problem. I found that you don't need to open for fresh air very often. Once a week is enough. I rooted cuttings without even opening the container during the entire rooting process. This year I set over 200 cuttings for rooting and guess what....not one single cutting was lost. All rooted in 2-3 weeks.

It will save a lot of time to check on them 1 a week.
Thanks Pen!
Great rooting method!

Hey Pen, I am removing a few cuttings from the box that have roots. I am going to plant them in cups (with holes) of perlite, then put them into plastic totes that act as a humidity dome. 
When you move them to plastic totes, do you add some form of light (outside of the totes?) or are they still in or dark conditions?  Maybe just normal household lighting?

I have some doubles that have root4ed, I am going to try cup of perlite vs cup of perlite and Happy Frog (50/50 mix of each).

Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Okay I'm new and have been trying to root cuttings in water. I definitely want to try this method, but I am confused how you got 6-8 inch cuttings into that little pot. Do you cut them smaller before lr after rooting? Do you plant them vertically?

Quote:

Originally Posted by penandpike
When mixing 600 ml (2glasses) dry perlit with 60 ml of water the result is a media that feels almost dry to the touch.
With my experience I think, that using more water, than 60ml will provoke mold development.
At home is constantly around 22-23* Celsius and I don't use any additional heating source.
Because the perlit is so slightly damp the perlit does not stick to the cuttings or the new roots.
Using a ziplock bag insted of plastic container is not advisible because some cuttings root faster than others and will be more difficult to be removed from the bag, but very easy from a container with wide open lid. also the container can hold more fresh air and there is no need to open it very often (once a week is enough if you got no time). Some people blow air in the zip lock bags, but only God knows what other microbs and bacteria they blow inside as well.
After rooting I use 2l pot and I place a plastic cup on top to keep the humidity around the newly rooted cutting. On top of the plastic cup I cut a hole so air circulation can take place. Thanks to a post fromMariannaMiller   lately I started to dust some Cinnamon on top of the poting mix and so far it worked great. When you are sure the plant had settled in, then you can remove that plastic cup.

Or maybe the pot isn't as little as it looks?

I'm assuming you can use one large container instead of many small?

Can you use ziplocs instead? I would put them In individual bags.

Stephanja,  it is a 2 litre pot which is around 6 inches tall. Anyway because of some problems I did change the after rooting process and I no longer use any soil.
I posted this at another forum and now I copy/paste it here
(you can read the original post here http://www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-home/2483-rooting-for-dummies-from-pen)

Over the years I tried different rooting methods. 
Some with good and some with very bad outcome.
The worst was the "rooting in a bag" method 
Any time I used it I had to fight some fungus as well.
Today I have setteled over this method:
Step 1: First I make sure cutings are healthy and clean.
Step 2: ( you can skip this step but I find it very usefull for very fast and explosive rooting )The cuttings are wounded with a knife as 2-3 strips of the bark were scratched so the cambium layer is exposed something like rubbing the bark off and then treated with rooting hormone.

Step 3: I use a plastic deli container with a lid, Two cups of DRY perlit (600ml) and 60ml of water (You can use any volume perlit and add just 10% of the same volume water.)
Mix it thogether. Drop the cuttings inside and open the plastic container for fresh air from time to time. No additional water or anything else is needed from now on.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS use brand new perlit and plastic container to root each set of cuttings. This is very important.
Step 4: Keep in 22-23 Celsius. Cuttings root in 2-3 weeks. No heating mats as there will be condensation on top of the container.
Step 5: After I see the first roots..

I then plant the cuttings in plain washed river sand. I personaly use Tall 200ml transparent cups and I insert a strip of cloth inside the the cup for even better drainage.(in this case a strip from old jeans) 

Step 6: I Take a bucket and put a layer of sand at the bottom (It will contact with the fabric strip and drain the excess water from the cups)
Step 7: Place the cups in the bucket and cover it to keep the humidity.
Step 8: In the next week gradually remove the plastic cover and harden the plant for normal humidity.

Some time later......Wa-lah

Step 9: after another month or so transplant to your favorite mix and container.
Step 10:Go out Fishing and get some sun and Vitamin D.:)

Thank you so much!! I'm going to try this!

thanks for sharing this method

just wondering what is the best method that you guys have found tagging your cuttings in this method if you were going to mix cuttings in? thanks

White permanent marker :)

Thanks Pen. Saved me having a box of unknowns :)

Thanks for bumping this thread. This is my go-to pre-rooting method now. 

NOTE: careful on first putting them into cups. Much more sensitive than even normal cuttings to rot. Lots of pine bark  in the barely damp mix and a plastic bag cover working well for me. 

Thanks Pen for sharing this method, it's one of the best for me.

I look forward to trying this method!! thanks