I have a temperature / humidity meter that looks like this:

 

What humidity range should I aim to reach?

Suzi

I keep mine around 85-90. You could probably get away with as low as 70 with no problems. When I let it go above 90 there is more chance of brown tips.

I use a $20 harbor freight mini greenhouse. It does not hold in the humidity as well as a plastic bin, but I stuck a vick's vaporizer inside. If humidity gets too low I turn it on for a few minutes. To humid and I open the door for.a few.

Good topic Suzi.
Great info ,thanks Paul. Now I know why I get those dark tips!

The more cutting that is exposed, the higher the humidity needs to be to keep all that surface area from shedding moisture.

If it ever stops raining ( CAN YOU BELIEVE I"M SAYING THIS IN DROUGHT RIDDEN SO CA?) I'll go get some more coarse perlite that is stored under the big deck and add it so that all cuttings are completely covered. 

Thanks Jon!

Suzi

Suzi,

You are a sick puppy. 16 hours of light rain and you are wondering if it will ever stop?? ;-)))))))))

We should send you to Boston for a visit!!

Jon, it's not stopping through Tuesday here.  JD is a big strong tough dude, and he got me one cup of that coarse perlite from under the boat deck.  I added it to the cutting incubator, and the humidity is still pretty high.  What I'm trying is an experiment.  The treasured cuttings will arrive in a couple weeks.  Just saying.......

Suz

I have been keeping 75F and 70% RH and my rooted cuttings like it. I often see roots on soil surface.

Ottawan75, you are my hero.  I needed to hear this.  Thanks so much!

Suzi

Suzi. Didnt you do a rain dance two days,ago. Well you got what you wanted.

And jon my ITALIAN"S ARE ALL LEAFING OUT.

I agree with Jon that it depends on how much cutting is exposed.  This season I have tried the parafilm tape with so far great results.  I can wrap the top part nice and tight to just below the surface of where the cutting is going to sit in the potting mix.  Then I just stick the cutting down in it and keep the mix with some moisture but not too much.  Then I just keep them in my heated/cooled basement, which probably has a relative humidity of around 30 or 40 percent in the winter, temperature around 70. 

If I didn't use the parafilm I would not just leave them out like that, for fear they would dry out. 

An alternative would be to use a tall enough cup/pot that you could bury almost the whole cutting, maybe just with one or two nodes sticking out the top.  Then you can place a cup with holes in it over the top if you want.  This will increase the humidity somewhat, but will still allow plenty of airflow, depending on how many holes and how large. 

As other respondents have mentioned, the optimal humidity range depends a lot on the rooting media (or lack thereof). There are many different successful method of rooting fig cuttings. Mixing humidity parameters among them is a recipe for trouble.

On the other hand there is general agreement in the literature and ANR publications that 74 F is a good temperature, regardless of method. ANR in particular recommends propagation under mist. I've visited their greenhouses and where they are propagating figs (among other deciduous fruit cuttings) the temperature is "targeted" at 74 F and the humidity (under no direct control) varies between 60% and 70%. They are rooting in standard 4" x 4" x 12" rooting pots using a course mixture of organic and inorganic materials. By "misting", they mean that automatic spritzers (medium drop size) come on every 10 minutes for a minute. Works great. But I'd also point out that Jon's method of putting cuttings and a damp paper towel in a baggy in a drawer works equally well -- at least in his desk drawer!

Quote:

Originally Posted by DesertDance
I have a temperature / humidity meter that looks like this:

 

What humidity range should I aim to reach?

Suzi

Well I got issues with this humidity thing.  Either it's 100% or 70%, depending if I take the plastic lid off.  This isn't really working so well for me.  Wing it seems much better.
Suzi

Is keeping the humidity high important if the part of the cuttings above ground are wrapped in Buddy Tape? The Buddy tape stretches to almost 4 times it's length and makes a tight cover on the twigs. I spray with water every few hours.
 
I'm keeping half my cuttings in a humidity box and half on a plastic tray, both over heating mats. The ones outside the humidity box seem to be sprouting green leaves faster. Do leaves sprouting have anything to do with roots sprouting? I can't see any root growth yet.
 
The moisture in the cups stays between 1-2, on a scale of 1-10, as read by my moisture meter. There are water drops on the inside of the cups, so the coir/perilte keeps it moist. Should it be wetter? Everyone says to keep them on the dry side, but how dry?

Mara:

I don't use heat mats so don't know how that changes things.  But generally if you see water drops on the inside of the cups you have plenty of humidity, no need to add more.  Only exception to this would be if you had very loose media that didn't wick water around well.  I make sure I pack it tight enough that water at the bottom would wick up to the top if the top was dry.  The wicking action will help to keep all or most parts of the mix at approximately the same moisture level (the very top might be dry though). 

You can have a cutting with leaves but no roots or a cutting with roots but no leaves.  If you have the latter, eventually it will sprout leaves, but there's no telling how long it will take.  In general the appearance of one does not mean the other is imminent. 

I haven't used buddy tape but use parafilm, which may be similar.  See my earlier post with my experiences regarding that.



Suzi:
If closed is too humid and open is too dry, then try it with the lid partially open.  Maybe it'll be goldilocks.

Rob, that's what I am now doing.  Partial lid.  I covered the whole thing with a towel because I think roots like to think it's dark.  Then, I put the lid on partially.  Seems to be working.  I had no problems rooting when I just winged it, but now I have this fancy temperature meter, and it's pretty confusing.  LOL!  I'll soon be back rooting them in the dirt outside.  I do have part of my cuttings in a damp paper towel in a drawer.  No mold.  No roots yet.

It's getting warm enough.  Planted tomato seeds this morning.

Suzi

Thanks Rob for the information. Perhaps I should have packed/compacted the rooting mix a little more.
I read somewhere keeping the root zone at around 75-85 degrees would speed up rooting. I bought a mat thermostat, but have been measuring the temps inside the cups with a soil thermometer. They stay almost exactly at 80 degrees so haven’t used the thermostat yet. Without a heating mat, the soil in the pots would be a lot cooler. The only room in my house with any temperature control is the room directly opposite the hall wall heater. But in SoCal, that's all you really need except a warm sweat shirt.

Mara, I just sowed seed in the ground.  Gets too hot here for full sun summer tomatoes, so I'm trying a Big Boy next to our Jalapeno plant.  Gets partial shade in the hot afternoon.  We may get rain, but I doubt it will freeze.  If it's predicted, I'll have to cover the seedlings.  Planted 5 hoping to keep the strongest one.  What kind did you plant?

I may try a couple in the shade of our big boulders for afternoon sun protection.  I have some of those root riot cubes and the humidity dome.  Previous owner left lots of seeds.  Might try some pansies.

Suzi

Great info. I am rooting in spagham moss in bags and after week so far no mold. Moss feels slightly damp and some moisture on inside of bag. Question: I open bag every 2 days to let fresh air in but is it ok to take the cutting out of the moss for closer examination ( or curiosity )

Barry,
Definitely OK to take them out for examination as often as you like.  They take hours to dry out, not minutes. 

I would recommend you don't completely seal the bags.  Airflow is just as important as moisture.  Helps keep decay away. 

Suzi, I'm trying a few new varieties of tomatoes. One seed package can last for years. The tomatoes that came up this year are: Amy’s Sugar Gem, Anna Russian, Black Truffle, Bloody Butcher, Brandy Boy, Cherokee Purple, Courleon, Earl’s Faux, Florida Pink, Jersey Boy, Matina, Momotaro, Parks Whopper CR Improved, Paul Robeson, San Marzano, Redorato, Steak House, Sun Chocola, Sun Sugar, Super Sauce. 
My best hope for tomatoes is to get a few set by July. Once the heat turns on late July, it's pretty much over for any new tomatoes, except for the cherry tomatoes. Last year there was very little "June Gloom" and we went right into our hot weather. I hope some of the new varieties will surprise me. 

I hear what you're saying about the boulders. I lived in Tujunga for a few years and remember having to sift the soil to find any. Nothing grew well there. The snow topped mountains here are beautiful -from a distance, but the flat lands are better for gardening. Altadena has a nice balance of both.