I've been reading up and have found various methods for rooting cuttings. Paper towel, newspaper, bag, sphagnum moss. But I'm curious which method you've found works the best, as I really don't want to bungle things up since this will be my first time dealing with figs.

Tried them all...for me it's Root Riot all the way !!

I use 3 parts perlite 1 part vermiculite in clear cups inside a large rubbermaid tote sitting an inch over the floor vent. Stays very humid and 25-30 Celsius. I use liquid rooting hormone on the cuttings also.

Tyler

I am like Tyler but no hormones. I also like a baggie method.

I swear a lot during rooting, seemingly whichever method I use.

Root Riot Cubes

@ Quackmaster...when I use the root riot cubes, I place them right in the RR tray (which holds 50 cuttings)...then I place the humidity dome on the top of the tray, and turn on the T-5 grow light...within 30 days I have roots and leaves on the cuttings...last year I did 4 trays (200 cuttings) with 95% to 98% success rate...other methods work well too, but this is the one that I have settled on after trying all the others...good luck with your cuttings.

With RR you either got it or not. You have roots and leaves or rotted mass. There is almost no middle ground. With a beggie or moss you still can save some hopeless cuttings.

paper towel and ziploc.

agree, with Pete, but I used those color newspaper, they seem not to get moldy as the paper towel does, every week open to exchange air... that really help protect them from the stupid gnats... at least for this stage.  once, they sweat and form those little pimples... they are ready to push roots.  they do not like much handling...so, peak at them, but try not picking them up...(not sure this is a myth)

So far any of the above method including glass jar with water worked for me to produce roots in 1-4 week time depending on the time of the year, quality and variety of the cutting.
After that all of them did really well in large/extra large (star buck) clear cups in 50-70% coarse perlite and 50-30% MG seedling/cutting mix.
The problem occurs about 10-14 days later...
At the stage when:
the secondary roots developed and primary roots are growing up to the "soil" level or all around the cup bottom and with a few leaves developed
just about when "soil" appears to be dry and first watering is needed (all the condensation that used to be visible from day one on the cup walls disappeared),
roots turn brown, I water about 1-2 tablespoon per cup, next day leaves droop, buds turn brown and withdraw.
small flies show up around cups.
cuttings in those cups upon examination had complete bark rot while soil did not appear to be too wet.
Those that survived managed to develop more new white roots beside the brown roots.
All the cups were on the desk under fluorescent light temp 75F plastic tents already removed from cups.
The failure at this stage is from 40% to 80%.
What do I do wrong?
Is browning of the roots normal? How long do roots stay white in colour?

Any response greatly appreciated.

Damir

My suggestion is to try a few methods and see what works best for you.  I tried damp spaghnum moss in a ziploc bag with minimal success.  Root riot cubes were somewhat better.  But my favorite method is given below and it is the one I'm going to use this fall/winter.

Directly plant cuttings in 32 oz clear deli containers filled with 60/40 (MiracleGrow perlite/MiracleGrow Organic Choice Potting Mix) and watered thoroughly. I let the deli containers drain thoroughly before placing inside another same size deli container and using a bottle top as a spacer between the containers to allow water drainage for later watering. I drilled 8 holes in the bottom of each deli container to allow the water to drain into the second deli container. These containers were placed on top of an electric fermentation heater (had this from homebrewing) in a 27 gallon Sterilite container. The heater is controlled by a temperature controller (had this from homebrewing too) set to 76F. The lid was placed on the Sterilite container and placed in a north facing window. When possible I directly planted two cuttings of each variety, one a large diameter cutting and the other a small diameter cutting and I also saved some cuttings (stored in my refrigerator door lower shelf) in case of failure to try again in the spring.

I am trying bubbling system with hydroponic lighting. I have not heard anything good on this forum about this method, but a lot of people swear by water rooting in cups changing the water daily. Too early for me to tell if this will work. Newspaper in baggie is also a good system. Good luck!

Also, check thread by FMD on 5 minute sip, intruiging stage 2 method.

If you are doing large number of cuttings from different cultivars, the root riot system in the provided tray with a humidity dome is hard to beat.  If you are doing a smaller number (like less than a dozen) the "spanghum moss in a 1 gallon ziplock" method is very easy and effective.

Don't have time for any extra steps with 2 kids... My method is straight into a clear cup of perlite and soil (75/25). Once roots show it goes straight into a sunny window with no humidity chamber. Once its warm enough and has a handful of leaves they go right into the ground.

Success rate was about 75% last year which (if your really busy) beats 99% with 3x the effort.

I lightly score cuttings between nodes that will be coverd by medium and treat with rooting harmone. Then set pots or cups on top of the fridge for under warmth. Had a solid 95 % with more than 200. Its not the rooting that's the problem, its those darn gnats. But think they won't be a problem anymore with that gnat away stuff or whatever.

Damir, I have had the problem you describe many times and it is difficult to know what is really causing the problem. I don't have the issue with the fungus knats but  the fig cuttings die, anyway.( A few drops of liquid soap in the water you use to water your plants will kill the fungus knat larvae. But they may be showing up after the problem...) For the last 2 years I have been using a product called Hormex - just a small amount in the gallon jug I use to water my cuttings with. I use between 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water. I have not had the problem since I started using the Hormex. I think it is a common problem and I have heard it referred to as "Sudden Fig Death". Try the Hormex - I think it will help.

Also, it has been said on the forum, that cool temp. changes can cause that. Now, I don't take my cuttings outside until the following spring.

I've tried papertowels, and newspaper with limited success.
Using sphagnum moss increased rooting success a lot.

When I used rooting cubes my chances of getting any cuttings to root increased to almost 100%.
I think one out of 116 cuttings rotted.
I used the tray made to hold the 98 cubes and placed that into a clear tote that was about 2 feet from a bright window but made sure the sun didn't shine directly into the tote.
If it's in direct sun you'll bake the cuttings.
Every day the lid would be opened for an hour to keep any chance of mold from growing on the cuttings.
If mold started forming on the sides of the tote I just wiped it clean. That only happened a couple of times.
Other than that it is a very simple method and takes up less space.

In the vein of using what I have immediately available, since my cuttings just got here, would placing fig cuttings directly into a light, airy, peat-rich mix potentially work? I have this potting mix branded as New Era that contains Sphagnum peat moss, humus, sand, composted forest products, horticultural perlite, and ground dolomitic limestone.

Also, how moist should things be?

Does this seem like a good idea, or a bad idea? I butchered a grocery bag into strips, wrapped one around a cutting (this one a willow cutting for the sake of safe testing), secured it using twine with the top and bottom exposed to the air, and then stuffed in moist soil around the length of the cutting that was enclosed before folding and binding it. Does this seem like it could work for figs, or is it a horrendous idea? My logic was based on air layering, and the fact that I don't want to expose the cut areas to potential rot until I really need to.

Hi all , i am new to Figs- 1 year now but have a 100 plants rooting experience.
for at home on a budget amateur gardner the Paper wrap method in a bag is the best... still high alert is advised- watch out for mold and change diapers (hmm paper ) when mold appears .
Used A4 papers  maybe do the job better cause they are rough and dont stick to bark and cause mold.

Chtonical probably will work for you to root 5-10 takes an hour.
with the paper method it takes 10 minutes.

Might have to look into those root riot things