I noticed that a good number of my cuttings which I vacuum packed had a apparently lost their seal. This perplexed me since I am and avid fisherman and vacuum pack fish and other food items nearly year round. I have had broken seals before but it is a fairly consistent and low percentage. What I was observing with the fig cuttings was about 30% of them appeared to have lost their seal. Looking through them I noticed one very large cutting which was actually inflated. So, there is a some type of off gassing happening once I vacuum pack them. It appears that the ones which sat in the fridge for a  week or so, and were then vac packed, didn't have this problem. Anyone have a better idea what is happening here? Vac Packing with real Food Saver Bags is somewhat expensive and time consuming. I would prefer to do it only once.

So i would get them cold for two days first then vac seal them. Did you say the ones that were cold all ready were fine. It was the cutting that were,room temp giving you problems? Plant put off,oxygen when in active growth or non dormant.

Why are you vacuum sealing your cuttings? Is the purpose to see how long they will keep in the fridge? Are you thinking that vacuum sealing will retard mold and decay better than other methods?
I'm just curious. Thanks.

Does the gas inside have any odor?

I vac sealed 3 different cuttings along with waxing the ends about 2 weeks ago. Just checked on them now and did notice the seal on one looks like it has air around the cutting. I wonder if moisture is coming out of the wood causing this.

Airtight cling paper is used for cutting to minimize desiccation of cuttings. I think vaccum packing can achieve similar purpose. No surface moisture can decelerate mold too.

It will be interesting to see your results or to hear from anyone else that has used a vacuum sealer on cuttings.
 

Leon
Cellophane cling paper commonly used in home kitchens for warping food  (airtight meaning pressing to remove air pockets);
https://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081213223655AAfqWSt

I have used it for cuttings from my own plants and rooted them after a year storage in fridge (not claiming 100% success after a year but good results). Accident of minor mild are rare.
Also, I have received cuttings from outside North America, that looked like wrapped by machine with cellophane strips that were almost hermetically sealed and no sign of mold after many months. But of course an unhealthy cutting can cause problem any which way stored.

My main purpose in using Cellophane is to minimize desiccation.

Richie: The ones that have been in the fridge couple weeks and then vac packed seem to have kept their vacuum better. Has nothing to do with the temp since I wash them in 10% bleach solution then air dry for about 45 minutes so at that point they are at room temp. Besides, gases contract when the temp is lowered. So, if anything the vacuum would be amplified when going from a higher temp to a lower temp. Something else going on here. There is no mold or decomposition visible so it's not type of situation. These are visibly very healthy cuttings.

Leon: I am trying to give my cuttings the best chance of rooting after storing them since I cannot root all of them at once.

Matthew: I have not noticed any odor.

Chad: The moisture coming out of the cutting could not cause this.

Ottowan:  Your link does not work. I would be interested to see what product it is. 

Thank you for the replies

Black foot, use pick and place the link:

https://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081213223655AAfqWSt

(it worked for me a few times now it goes to a different location but pick and place still works)

Also:

https://www.google.ca/search?q=cling+wrap&biw=1345&bih=787&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwipzNmttarJAhWEKh4KHSZoDZ0QsAQIMg

That's interesting, Frank. Were the cuttings pretty fresh when you sealed them ( approximately a day or two)? My guess is that if they were still semi-fresh, the ends, now wounded are either still transpiring or could be producing ethylene to oxidize the wound. Again, only a guess, but I definitely think Richie is right about gas production. Even though it is at low temperature, the gas may not really be present initially ( or at least at very low concentration/volume) during sealing, yet over time exerts a pressure. Again, just a thought. Very interesting occurrence, though, for a nerd like me.

I read on a baking fourm about this issue. People were saying anything rigid sealed seemed to leak when they sealed about half the time. Especially since it is a stick I can possibly see when the plastic seals it creates a small pinhole in the plastic. This was there best guess. Some people recommended putting the item in a plastic baggie before sealing the item. I am going to try that to see if that helps.

Chad: This is not an issue of the bag being punctured. First. Foodsaver bags are very thick. Second. if you read my original post you will see I mentioned one cutting, a very large one, "which was actually inflated". Meaning it had positive pressure or pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. Similar to a balloon being inflated. I am wondering if it has something to do with the bleach solution?