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Water method for cutting

I have been using water method for hard wood cutting for the last few years and the success rate in general has been pretty good but takes time and need to be patience. 
My question is can I plant my 2 years old fig tree in ground where the drainage is not good. That's why I pot all my fig trees in containers as I am afraid they will be killed by overwater and rot etc. (the drainage of my back yard is awful during winter and raining reason) Since water cutting is workable to produce roots and leaves etc., what do you think to plant in ground where can be overwatered for a few months in a year.

You have not bothered to show your location/zone in your profile. So as a general comment, you can plant in that location by making a raised bed (about 4'x4'). That will help the roots mass avoid drowning. It all depends on how bad is the drainage and the amount of rain but surely a raised bed can help a long way.

Quote:
Originally Posted by OttawanZ5
You have not bothered to show your location/zone in your profile. So as a general comment, you can plant in that location by making a raised bed (about 4'x4'). That will help the roots mass avoid drowning. It all depends on how bad is the drainage and the amount of rain but surely a raised bed can help a long way.


I am from Vancouver, B.C. Zone 8b
I did raise bed by at least 5 - 6" above, but still not good enough as they killed my 3 x Japanese Maple in the last few years. I am not sure if fig tree is possible to plant in ground over there. Right now I pot my 3 years old fig tree in a large container and place it over there for 3 years already. I have a feeling that my fig tree will be happy to be in ground over there only if positive

Sure many people grow in pots in BC and you know your ground drainage situation.
I lost two apricot trees in area that used to stay moist constantly, not too wet but moist.
All my figs are in pots.


  • ricky
  • · Edited

I live at same river as you with same wet soils, I build 12 inches high raising flower bed with fig tree, Japanese maple , spring bulbs are all fine, Last year fall, I planted 4 testing fig trees without raising bed and 2 of them was having roots problem, so I build 2 small raising flower bed for them hoping that I can save them, Also, I use sand base top soils mix with mushroom manure and fir bark mulch, I did water test and its shows very good results to keep roots dry, Fig trees do not like wind,  I have strong wind problem as well, anyway, Keep trying.







Personally I think the best way to grow a fig tree in ground in my yard is to grow it with its pot and allow the roots to feed
from drainage holes. Most times I never bother to dig a hole. If I did, its not more than 2" deep. Note, I plug the drain hole
in the middle of the pot(if there is hole).

Does it make sense if I still place the fig tree in pot on top of the garden soil (raised by 5 - 6" height) and cut out the base of the container so that the roots an grow like in ground ? I did ask some local nurseries for same and the answers are 50% and 50%.

That will almost be like self-watering pots.

Quote:
Originally Posted by OttawanZ5
That will almost be like self-watering pots.


You are right but only for the raining reasons. In summer if not raining often still need to water it at least once in a day. In Vancouver, B.C. winter time can be a lot of raining and easy to get flooding, I am afraid the roots can be rot and die back.

Fig tree roots spread out & stretch far. Once the roots start feeding out from the pot, the fig tree can take
off like a weed. Hence I like to root prune to manage tree size. This has never given me any less figs. I have 
trees with root rot when they they are less than a yr old but never experience root rot with older trees either
in pot culture or in-ground.

  • ricky
  • · Edited

You may try to open up a small corner at bottom of your pot to limited roots spread out, you may test if for a year, If it work well, you can open up more bottom area of your pot for another year.

Basicly, roots inside pot provide water, air, nutrients, and roots in ground provides water, air, and nutrients, During wet winter months, If fig trees are still active, Its roots are still able to breathing air inside pot.



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