My constant stream of newbie questions continues...

I've begun up-potting my cuttings from 16 oz cups to 32 oz containers.  I've made some observations...some good...and some bad, that I may need advice for.

The good:  Potting up a root mass when the cuttings have no leaves is great.  They act a bit like tomatoes...where its almost like they enjoy getting potted up.  It's like their roots double in speed.

The bad:  Those with leaves don't seem to appreciate it as much.  In fact, most of the ones I've transplanted that had any significant leaves on them (and were growing like weeds) have outright stopped growing since the transplant, and even lost a few baby leaves.  It's been 7-10 days since the transplants, and I see zero new root growth in the container, and all leaf growth has stopped.  They otherwise look healthy.

I know there's not a ton I can do other than wait it out, but I need some peace of mind.  Is this pretty typical?  Anything I can do to help them?  If it answers any questions up front, some of them had their root balls fall apart, others stayed together nicely, but they're acting pretty much the same:  if there were leaves, they quit growing.

I've never had the problem - or noticed a correlation - with leaves and failed cuttings. I'm certainly not an expert, but the more important thing is that the roots continue to grow. What kind of medium are you potting up to? Are you adding fertilizer?

I agree with the roots needing to grow.  The rooting media is a hodge podge of different things, but heavy on perlite to keep it draining well.  The cuttings that haven't leafed out yet love the stuff, so it can't be all bad.

Hi
I would pass on starting in 16 oz cups. Those are too small. Just start in the 32oz, they can go a long way in those cups and then transition into 1 gallon.

Coop,

In future endeavors, that'll probably be the game plan.  Those 16 oz cups fill up way too fast, and they're not deep enough for an 810 inch cutting.  Lesson learned.

Transplanting is always a disturbing event for a plant.

There are so many possible "side affects" and issues:

Disturbing the root to soil bond/connection.
Change in humidity if moved to a different location/environment when potting up.
Change in sun/shade amounts if moved to a new environment.
Change in soil moisture with new and/or different soil mix.
Did new potting soil get sufficiently/thoroughly watered?
Does the new soil mix hold too much water?
Root damage from handling during up-potting.
Were roots minimally sufficient to support vegetative growth?

An so on . . .

Good point. As opposed to other container plants, I pot up the rooted cuttings immediately into 1 gallon pots. With other things, including citrus, I use the two finger all around the pot rule when potting up - just more conservative to allow the roots time to grow and adjust. Figs don't care about that. The cool thing about fig cuttings is that you may have an abundance of them in fridge to start over again.

Rooting cuttings in a quart Deli containers,with 50/50 mix of potting soil and perlite.Has been the best
way for me.Once rooted you can let the tree grow,without having to replant in a larger container,at least
until it is root bound.

A general rule I try to follow is to only up-pot any plant when it's roots have filled the container it is already in, and the rootball can be lifted out intact.   See Rich doing that in his method as he up-pots in his propagation post?   At this point, they are less delicate, and should have sufficient root mass to handle the disturbance of being transplanted as well as being ready to grow vigorously.  I'm sure yours will bounce back fine, good luck.

ugh...WHERE are the pictures? ;x

I mean...I can make pictures happen if it needs to, but I sense jest.  Haha.  They just look like little fig trees...you'd have to take my word that anything is up with them.  I did a thorough examination of the roots through the outside of the container about 20 minutes ago, and I saw ONE little white end root, so that's encouraging.  Its also on the one I transplanted first (as a trial a few days before the rest).  Maybe they just do take a while to bounce back.

Hi brettjm,
Only one advice : start directly with pots sized to one half or one gallon ( 2 or 4 Liters ).
IMO, one should avoid touching or disturbing the roots before the cutting is 6 months of age - so an almost true tree.
As for your cuttings, I and some others saw sleeping cuttings react to more water with new growth.
Of course, if you overdo it, the cutting might fell to over-watering .
Because you added medium, I would try to water more just once and remove the water that will appear in the plate under the pot.
Good luck !

2 weeks after a transplant and it should be game-on. Like Jon said, there are tons of variables, but I rarely have cutting starts just start growing when up potted. Almost always a 1-2 week stop in growth, and I have never up potted a start that didn't have leaves so I wouldn't know anything about that.

I'm so glad you posted this question, brettjm! One of my cuttings had really good top growth but when I transplanted it from 100% perlite to a one gallon pot of 50/50 mix of coir and perlite, the leaves all wilted. It's only been a couple of days for me but I'm afraid that the leaves are doomed. :(

Figured out my problem.  After a few more days of no progress and a couple more dropped leaves I uprooted them and found quite a few brown roots....many already rotted, and many more darker than I would like, though not rotted yet.  Long story short...I overwatered them and the mix was soaked. I was thinking that watering a bit more would help with the losing leaves and help the soil settle a bit.  Yeah I'm special.  SOaB.  Two of them may be salvageable, as not all the roots were rotted (though I'm sure they'll be pissed about getting uprooted twice in 12 days), but I think the third one is doomed.  Being the best cutting is like a death sentence in my hands apparently...haha.  Fortunately, I've got duplicates of two of the three (though I fear I may have overwatered one of them as well...only time will tell).  Still looking like I'm going to have a reasonably successful time with my first rooting endeavor, but it sucks to lose your best performing cuttings.

As a friendly public service reminder to those new to this...DO NOT OVERWATER YOUR POOR CUTTINGS!

Hey Brett, I have lost most of my cuttings due to transplant shock or gnats(bastards). I feel your pain brother...

Figacide!!!

Lol.. glad you found your problem.  We've all done it in the beginning.  I've certainly killed my fair share.  it amazing how well those new cuttings grow with very little water.  Once they start growing lots of roots, they'll start taking more water, but must be careful in the beginning.