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Subject: Unknown Cuttings Package Replies: 45
Posted By: itsAndrew5689 Views: 1,368
 
I got mine today! Thanks so much Aaron for the very generous offer! I'm looking forward to seeing what these twigs will grow into.

Subject: How to promote stronger root growth? Replies: 17
Posted By: itsAndrew5689 Views: 783
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rafaelissimmo
Strong lights do promote leaf growth over root growth. To counter this, make sure the containers have dark time, ie at night no light. Also, you can add dilution of "rapid start" for root enhancement. That works great for me. Up-potting to soon seems to be a problem as well-wait till you see roots wrapping around the cup before you up-pot. And don't up-pot too soon. And don't up-pot too soon!


Wow, I've been doing so much wrong. I haven't been turning my lights off at night at all! Seems like there's a lot to fix. I will post updates with pictures as the weeks go on.

---Andrew

Subject: How to promote stronger root growth? Replies: 17
Posted By: itsAndrew5689 Views: 783
 
Thanks everyone for all the quick responses! I don't know where you guys are getting all of these potting materials. I've never seen any of them at the local garden centers. I think I will try to order them on amazon since I have amazon prime. My roommate will be very surprised when he sees a big block of "dirt" delivered to our door, but he already thinks I'm crazy for growing out dozens of fig cuttings as is haha!

---Andrew

Subject: How to promote stronger root growth? Replies: 17
Posted By: itsAndrew5689 Views: 783
 
The humidity isn't so high in my house at 60%. I do indeed have strong lights above them so that could explain the abundant leaves. The cuttings were started in 18 OZ cups. Should I directly start them in the 2 quart pots, then? The idea that they don't have enough space for growth sounds like a very likely reason, but I noticed that a lot of people start them in similar sized cups or am I just really bad at interpreting size, haha? The potting soil I used was some miracle growth cactus mix. There was a sale so I stocked up on it. I forgot to mention that I mixed in a lot of wood chips into the cactus mix. Too much moisture is also likely getting in the way. The cactus mix seems to be mostly peat, which is like a sponge... I will look into getting a better soil mix and more perlite stat. Do generic garden centers like Home Depot or Lowe's commonly sell really well draining mixes? 

Thank you all for all the fast replies.

---Andrew

Subject: How to promote stronger root growth? Replies: 17
Posted By: itsAndrew5689 Views: 783
 
So the cuttings I've started these past couple months have been growing very well. However, even with all those leaves, there seems to be very little root development. At first when the roots started appearing, they were nice and thick with lots of new growth. Now there seems to be very little root growth and all the roots are very thin. Also, I noticed some roots starting to turn brown (dieback?).

I just transplanted my cuttings from clear cups into 2 quart pots and only the bottom half of the soil had roots in it and there were very few holding the soil together. They were potted up in a 50/50 perlite/potting soil mix, and grown on a heated surface (~80 degrees) to keep the roots warm. I am very surprised that these cuttings have been able to support all of their leaves (no wilting with continued growth even after transplant). Is there a way to encourage more root formation or is this normal and I just have too much time to think about fig propagation?

I should have taken pictures of the fig roots while they were still in clear cups before transplant. I'm starting newer cuttings in more clear cups so I'll be sure to take picture documentation of those if that would help.

---Andrew

Subject: Available cuttings 1/26 Replies: 85
Posted By: itsAndrew5689 Views: 4,176
 
Thank you for making so many interesting varieties available at such low prices.

Subject: Hey all, just an introduction. Replies: 23
Posted By: itsAndrew5689 Views: 504
 
Thank you for the welcomes and kind words everyone!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ampersand
Hi Andrew, welcome aboard!

Do you mind if I ask where in SE PA you are, at least county? I'm in the center of Berks, there are several forum members in the area.


Kelby, I'm either in Lancaster or Philadelphia. My in ground figs are in Lancaster. There are many fig trees growing in the Philadelphia area but I've only ever seen 3 houses with in ground trees in Lancaster while driving around.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie
Welcome Andrew.  The HC that died to the ground, did it send
up new growth? 


Charlie, they all grew back to 8 feet tall and managed to ripen most of their crops! I whacked off their tops in August to prevent further growth. Everything more than 2" off the ground was toast. I was horrified at the discovery since they never suffered winter damage before growing unprotected.

Quote:
Originally Posted by eboone
Welcome Andrew. 
You wll find lots of info using the 'search' feature about various ways people have found to protect their inground figs here in the north.   


Ed, yeah I did manage to look up some methods of protection back in December, and wrapped mine up this year with burlap and a tarp. We'll see if it was enough this spring. Fingers crossed for a milder winter!

Subject: Hey all, just an introduction. Replies: 23
Posted By: itsAndrew5689 Views: 504
 
I figured I should eventually introduce myself, haha. I'm a student who can really get into hobbies! I live in SE PA, zone 6B. It was really lucky that I got referred to this site by VS when I got some cuttings from him.

I have some large hardy chicagos in ground. I bought them at Lowe's out of curiosity ~5 years back, and didn't bother doing anything special to them. They flourished and produced quickly; then the polar vortex knocked them down. I had no idea figs died to the ground from cold, since nothing like that happened from the start. Now, I have several 1-2 year old plants in pots, mostly random varieties -- nothing special, and a few I found while walking around various neighborhoods that I'm rooting. We'll see what those are like in a few years. Maybe I will plant more in ground as they grow larger.

I am learning a lot and there is an obvious wealth of information on here that's hard to beat. I've just been lurking around and reading but hope to participate more. Here are some cuttings that have been growing since December. There are many more that are still rooting and others that were transplanted into larger pots. I will likely transplant these into larger pots soon, too. I hope I don't mess up posting the picture.

Other than figs, I can grow aquatic plants and used to be much more active therewith but school, work, and everything else left little time for that. Figs are definitely lower maintenance. I also like to fish, learn new things, and stay active in general.

[image] 
Sorry for the longwinded first post!
Greetings and salutations

---Andrew