What Did You Learn In 2012 That:

1.  You Value The Most?

2.  Changed The Way You Do Things? 

3.  Worked Well For You?

It can be a new concept...A proceedural change (as in...a variation in how you root cuttings), or something you tried for the first time that worked well for you.

For me, it was rooting green cuttings.   I think I got the idea from Grasa.  I had never tried that before, and had no idea that it would actually work.  So one day last September, after reading about it here, I took some cuttings off a tree I was pruning for shape,  stuck them in my compost pile under some shade cloth, and the one that survived is now in a pot waiting for a new home this spring.

The cutting was all new growth.  Green and soft.   Untill reading Grasa's post I had no idea.

i learned that i can kill soft green cuttings like nobody's business. 0 success this year on soft green cuttings. need to experiment more on the soft green cuttings this summer.

i'm not changing anything that i'm doing. success rate is high enough that i don't feel the need to change anything. why fix things that's not broken? 

peat pot method. it works for me. still working great. 

Patience.
Not smothering the twigs

Orchid moss, rock wool blocks

Stick twig in dirt:
Vermiticulite
Perlite
Compost
Soil
Lime

I am not a cutting killer!!

Sp moss all the for me - in containers, they stack nicely on a shelf.

Orchid moss doesn't breakdown like the other sp moss.

In 2012, I learned there is more than one fig variety!

I also learned there's more than one way to grow a cutting.  Thankfully they're very forgiving.

What I am still practicing:  Patience

Took me several months to finally settle in on a rooting method that works with a high % of success.  Killed a lot of cuttings along the way.  But here is what works "for me":

        1.  Scar all cuttings(between the bottom 2 nodes)

        2.  Dip bottem end of cutting(including scar) into Hormex rooting hormone.(full strength).      

        3.  Place cutting into 1gal. zip lock bag filled with Orchid Moss.

        4.  Place the bag on the tile floor next to my wood burning stove.(80 to 85 degrees)

        5.  In about 14 days open bag, see roots, place in 32oz. deli cups.
.
        6.  Wait for roots to come to the sides and bottom of the cup.(preferebly with some leaves)

        7.  Slide out of deli cup into 1gal. pot, and water in new tree.  

        8.  Go back to step 1 and begin again.  :)

1. Rain resistance!

2. Herman2 mentioned that he would begin planting his trees out in the first season to cut down on the work of raising trees in pots. There was not much discussion at the time but I took it seriously. He also reported that planting on a slope helps reduce splitting.

3. I moved to a nicer place this year and as a result gained an excellent site for a fig. At my house there is a much higher amount of sand, but both soils are silty. When I talked with the landlord about planting a fig tree he told me that the spot I picked on the west side of the house used to have a drainage problem and he excavated and backfilled with rock, "perfect" I said. So in late May I placed a 4 month old RdB on the border of the native soil and rock. Well, this tree set a record for growth, it reached over 4ft, branched and suckered the base of the trunk swelled to about an inch thick. There are several variables that could have helped this tree so I can't say for sure that it was the rocks, the sand, the perfect ph, the variety, or the initial health of the cutting. This was a spare RdB and I have also lost trees after planting out for mysterious reasons, accidents and poor choice of location. I am glad that I took the chance though.

new methods of propagation, which has led to new ideals for new methods of propagation that i cannot wait to try out.

waxing cuttings (cut ends and tops)

and that i have becoe a figaholic

Learned
Perlite does not work for me
Sphag Moss works for me
Cups do not work for me
Plastic shoeboxes work for me
I can root cuttings very well
I kill a lot of infant plants by over watering
I think that there may be a situation where you can have too many spider roots on a cutting
Root pruning may work on cuttings with spider roots
There is no such thing as an all around potting mix

Figinosis is a type of insanity.......No one seems to mind when eating your figs

Anyone that grows things that take eight yrs to fruit/flower has too much time

I can grow American Chestnut trees

Not learned
Why do I do this?
Is there a cure?
Do I care?

That I'm getting shorter.

I learned that figs can be kept here in Ontario, as long as I drag them inside. - I know, I was/am a newb.  But it was a revelation!

I learned that F4F existed and the members are very giving - Thanks to all!

I learned how to root from you good people - currently have 8 out of 10 early december starts rooted and leafing out under lights in the basement - Yeah, initial success with the first test subjects!

I learned that my wife already thinks I may be crazy with this fig thing, but there are other cuttings, and greater plans for the future!  She ain't seen nothing yet!  :)

dave, 

make sure she gets her shoes and purses while you get figs. that will help with the argument :) my wife puts the line on the sand and said.. "ok, figs, but no other fruits." now my younger son wants his own peach tree and my older son wants cherry tree. she's having harder time saying "no" to them. i'm pushing for persimmon and mango :)

Lol...you're probably right Pete!  Besides which, I'm also considering looking into a few Pawpaw trees from a trip to Grimonut nursery in the spring! 

Actually, my wife is interested in a peach tree herself...maybe a peach tree for a few more fig trees and some pawpaws??  How many fig trees would you think one peach tree would be worth to her?  Is there a conversion rate for this?  Haha!

Shoes and purses eh?  Do I have to be there as she tries them all on?  Or hold the purse as she shops?  Because I don't know if I could handle that.....any more...  ;)

Dave, I'm sure she will do fine with out you:)  But I do like the "anymore..."  you added - what a man!

Not to screw up the names of figs 
If there unknown ? make it known that there unknown.

I learned that for me:
Sphagnum moss works better,
Once roots show to pot them up in pots not cups, I really don't need to see the roots growing,
Don't talk figs to people who have no interest in them, that just gives them more confirmation that your nuts

So funny.. ditto on the "Don't talk figs to people who have no interest in them, that just gives them more confirmation that your nuts."  

 I learned I am getting shorter! LOL
 I guess you can sit only so tall in a wheel chair huh! LOL

I also learned that my experiment with Cinnamon,
and powdered sphagnum moss really does prevent mold and mildew!
Even after 30 days sealed in a ziplock wet with condensation at 77F-82F, 
ALL of my cuttings had NO mold! or mildew!
I'm now getting 100% success rate with rooting so far!!

I too am thankful to all who shared cuttings with me!
May God Bless you as you have me!! :)
      Dan~

Lol @ "Don't talk figs to people who have no interest in them, that just gives them more confirmation that your nuts." !

Dave, and Figfinatic
That's exactly how professing Christians feel! LOL
Excited about sharing what they've discovered,
and no one wants to hear it! LOL
They thinks youre nuts ! LOL

That's Ok Dan, tell 'em anyway, you're under orders.