Hi,

This year I learned that I am not good at rooting figs. Rooting them was not so much a problem as moving them after roots developed. Most people would give up at this point, but I am made of sterner stuff.

I have two figs (BT and a NOID) that are large enough for me to practice with. I have several ideas to try, but need some information before I begin. I've been looking at posts where folks "sterilize" a fig cutting by putting it in a bleach solution. Most refer to a 10% solution and I know the detailed information is here somewhere. I can't find it, so I have a couple of questions.

A 10% solution would be 1 part household bleach and 9 parts water. What bleach strength do I want to use?
What I have right now contains 2.75% sodium hypochlorite. I believe I have seen brands where the percentage ranged from 6% to as high as 33%. Which one is correct for my purpose?

How long should I leave it in this solution, and do I need to seal the cut ends before dipping it?

Do I just rinse it off with plain water after putting the cutting in this solution?

What did I forget to ask about doing this procedure?

To all the folks who gave me cuttings, I apologize because I lost a lot. At least, I learned a lot about rooting them, and you learned a lot about giving me anything. I have a list of you folks, and maybe someday I can help you (probably won't have much to do with rooting figs though).

Thanks for any help or advice,
John

I personally don't use bleach, but many people do. Bleach is used to prevent rotting of cuttings before they root. If you are getting rooting, but having trouble moving them up, bleach likely won't be a solution to whatever problem you are having.

Perhaps you are moving the rooted cuttings too soon. I don't know what technique you are using, but I like to leave mine in their individual rooting containters (one cutting per) until roots are very well developed into a rootball and ready to transplant without damage. I even acclimate my rooted cuttings to full sun while still in their first containers (cups, bags, bands, whatever).

I have used bleach mainly to preserve cuttings for storage in the 'fridge according to a method posted by Axier.  I soak them in 10% bleach (9:1 dilution of generic bleach I got from the grocery store - not sure of the % Na hypochlorite) for 20 seconds and then allow them to fully dry on a paper towel without rinsing in water.  Once they are dry I write them tightly (individually) in saran wrap, roll them up in a 1 gallon zip-lock bag and store in 'fridge.  They should be good for months that way. When you want to root them rinse them with water first.

If you wanted to root them right away I would rinse them in water after the bleach soaking step.  I would not worry too much over the precise % bleach as it seems like cuttings can tolerate a wide range.

Hi John. Took me a couple of takes to understand that NOID is not a new
variety to me!
Sounds like you did what I did last winter - too much love.
By April I was a Pro...
...Not!
Rooting is easier in warmer weather.

I use Clorox at 10% with an old toothbrush, and
I wax the exposed cut ends.

There are many approaches to this. Just like soil mixes..most are right.
I soak in the 1/10 solution of whatever brand bleach I have for a couple of minutes and then scrub them with a tooth brush while still in the bleach water. I give them a warm rinse and then put them on a plate with a paper towel to mostly dry. I like to then trim the ends to a fresh cut, let the cut dry while I get my wax ready and then dip them. They then go in their bags to root. Like Gina said, one per cup when they start to root. I move them out of the cups when the roots mostly colonize the medium, often I have to use a butter knife to free them because the roots like to stick to the cups. This is a careful procedure and about half the time my medium crumbles, keep it close to the table so the roots don't hang and be gentle; it will all work out.

What was the problem you had after the roots developed?  Lets focus on getting you over that hurdle.  I agree with Gina that bleach isn't likely to solve that problem.

Thanks to all for the information. I am grateful.

Concerning my problem, I still am not certain what I did wrong. I tried rooting them in several kinds of medium (hydroton, pure perlite, coconut husk "croutons', etc.) and almost all of them worked as far as producing roots. I did not callus the ends first.  I tried on some, but they molded like crazy in the spanghum moss. I did buy a small container of Clonex and dipped the base ends in that.
Several even started growing a small branch with new leaves. Up to this point, each was in a 16 oz. clear cup with lots of holes in the bottom. Also, they were kept in a plastic tote, and I was pretty careful to open it and let everything get fresh air, once or twice a day.

Then, I started moving some of them into larger plastic pots, and suddenly everything went south. I used a mix of perlite and Fafard #3 in the pots. 
It is possible that I got complacent and thought I had everything figured out. Also, our weather got hot. Maybe it was something completely different that I have not thought about. All I know for sure is that those I took apart were rotted at the base (the bark was falling off). I tried to salvage those I thought might make it by cutting off what I took to be molded or rotting parts. I heated toilet sealing wax and  sealed the ends  (it was probably too late for that to help). The stuff melts at a very low temperature so I don't think I burned them. I sealed a finger to see just how hot it was, and it was not hot at all.

I am probably leaving something important out, but hope not. From failures with other plants, I do know our summer heat is hard on everything. We have heat and humidity and that often causes mold on things.

There are still green leaves on my two figs. When all the leaves are gone, I am going to practice on them. I want to try storing the cuttings, or at least make sure they are as clean as possible before I do anything to them.

I am very grateful for the information on bleaching and other things. One thing I know for sure is that what works for others does not always work here without some fine tuning. It is possible that has more to do with my mentality than anything else.

Thanks all,
John

John,
I am in SE Texas and the heat and humidity seem to do nothing but good for my little ones. I am wondering if you got bugs in them after up potting. Most of the country doesn't have a problem with things like fungus gnats outside BUT WE DO!!! With the rot you explained that would be my first guess. I sprinkle all newly up potted figs with Sevin on top of the dirt and water from the bottom. I dip the pots and cups in a pan of rain water. Since starting this practice I haven't had problems but I did before. Try it with a couple and see what happens.

In my fig rooting practice and trial, I have learned half of my cuttings rot when I used the Ziploc method.
I have tried rooting in sphagnum peat moss, and Spanish moss. I had so-so luck with both. About 85% of my cuttings rooted in a month And hated getting transferred into a pot. NOTE: Roots get tangled and break-off in Spanish moss. I have discovered by dipping the cut end/ends in Clonex gel rooting hormone, and planting 1/2 of a 8 inch cutting in Miracle Grow "potting mix" (pre-moisten your potting mix first) have the room at 80º or have a plant heat mat. Your figs will root anywhere from 2-3 weeks.NOTE: Use a see- through container so you can view the roots easily.

For me Rooting Panache is the hardest...they take 3 weeks to start anything.........Next time I will put Clonex Gel on the bottom and the top....I did this to a cutting by accident and it rooted very well and then after a few days after placing in a cup I cut the dry roots on the top.......for me I try to avoid putting them back into a humidity bin or plastic bag and wait for the strong ones to continue.....got tired of pulling out the Q-tip and bleach to knock off the mold.

It sounds like possibly overwatering, which rotted the base of your plant.  My "diagnosis" is based on your statement that everything started "going south" when you up-potted to larger containers.  When you have a larger container, it holds much more water, and when you have a young plant with undeveloped roots, it can't uptake the water quick enough, so it sits in moisture longer and is prone to root rot, etc.

I have copied and pasted this thread to a text file. I appreciate your comments and help. Who knows, I may even learn to do this successfully!

Thank you,
John

Fafard #3 is a heavyweight mix with a high volume of bark and contains Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss, Bark, Vermiculite, Perlite, Dolomitic Limestone, Wetting Agent.


Sounds like it holds too much moisture with not enough air space.  seach on 5-1-1 mix and perched water.  Fig roots rot when there's too much water and not enough air.  Bark and vermiculite hold a lot of water and peat moss fills all the air spaces and absorbs water, too.  That's why they call it a 'heavy' mix.

John,
Thanks for the posting about your cutting failures.   I was going to do the same before rooting any more cuttings next year.   Terrific discussion and reply’s answered many of my questions.   

Like you, I had no problem rooting in moss but, the move to cups or 1 gal ending in disappointment for too many.    Especially later in the spring!  Think my problem was basically potting mix ratio and too much love (water).   Or, was it neglect?  Turns out this made for an environment that gnats couldn’t resist.  Being a beginner and babies being in the garage or outside at the time, I didn’t recognize the severity of the problem until the loss of many precious cuttings or plants.  I was unknowingly running a huge gnat farm……….. urgh 

John42,

There was one important bit of info you left out, ratio of potting mix to perlite.  As others have mentioned it sounds like your mix held too much water and the cuttings started to rot from over watering.  I start my cuttings in 70/30 perlite / potting mix in 32 oz deli containers.  When significant roots show through the deli container I up pot to a 1 gallon nursery pot with the same 70/30 mix, sometimes I will tweak it to 60/40.  When the 1 gal pot shows a nice root ball I up pot to a 3 gal nursery pot using 30/70 perlite/potting soil. 

Thanks Steve,

After thinking about all off this for a long time I believe I have way to much Perlite in the bag in my garage and not enough in my potting mix.

Next time I'll use a lot more Perlite.

Hi John,
I had a 2 cuttings die on me this fall. One never properly rooted in the sphag and had tiny pinholes in the stem (I don't know if they were already there when I made the cut or if my sphag got contaminated with pests.) The other rooted well but rotted in the pot. I made the mistake of not removing all the sphag from the roots when I potted. Although the surrounding soil mix was just slightly moist, when I pulled the dead plant out, the root section (covered in sphag) was soaking wet.  Lesson learned: remove as much sphag as possible before potting.

I had mold forming on my USDA cuttings last year as I didn't open the package right away. Wiped it off with Listerine mouthwash. All survived and smelled fresh too. Need to make sure you have a fluffy soil that dries out quickly.