I have treated cuttings very badly in the past (paper bag/ 60 degree temp for weeks) and still had them root. I've been reading the forum for a while now, and it seems everyone agrees that they should be stored in the frig in a plastic bag. I have adopted these methods, but I'm not sure of specifics.

On shipping, there seems to be some variety of opinion on how to wrap them for shipping. I wouldn't think dessication would be that much of a problem, but it seems many think it's a big concern. I had assumed that if they were dormant, once the end was cut, it pretty much sealed itself, and that the bark was pretty much air and moisture tight. I've read that most people think they should be shipped in a plastic bag with a wet paper towel.

I'd like to hear any preferences, opinions or recommendation in regards to packing for shipping, and for storage techniques.

Thank you so much, Scott

When i sell on ebay i ship "Dormant Scion" wrapped in Saran Wrap nothing wet like paper towels as i feel that can start the rooting process and i want the buyer to choose when he or she want to start rooting them.

Everyone is different.

Thanks Diesler,

I was reading your shipping comments on the "mold" thread and it spurred me to create this thread.

I have another question. Can fig cuttings be too thick to root? I have had good success with skinny cuttings like the one I have pictured below. I was wondering if a diameter of 1/2 inch to an 1 inch is considered to be too thick?






There are actually 3 cuttings in the pot.

Here is a Log that Jose rooted

Alot of new fig fans do not understand the large cuttings. They all want pencil size cuttings. I send out a variety and try to include a cutting of a larger diameter say sharpie size because I know how much stored energy is inside. i keep the large for my own plantings. i have burried entire branches 4-6 inches thick 4-6 foot long and harvested trees from it.

I have received two batches of fig cuttings this year and got about 40 last year. Not an expert for sure but here is what I noticed. The ones wrapped in wet paper towels were less successful than the ones that did not have any moisture.

My personal opinion is, if you are shipping cuttings into an area that has a temperature below freezing, send them dry. and wrap them in paper towels not plastic wrap. Water may prevent freezing but once it is frozen it takes a lot of energy to thaw. Dry will heat up quicker.

Northeast newbie . The cuttings I got from you are the ones doing the best this year :) One is in a quart pot with four leaves. Two others have 1/2 inch roots. Thanks for the chance for some new figs this year.

I have rooted cuttings as large as 2" in diameter. I have one in the nursery that I keep just as a demonstration plant.

Momma goose that is good to hear.

How old was the wood?

I was at a local nursery last month and they had just trimmed a bunch of their fig trees a few days before. The cuttings had just been laying in the sun/part shade for days. I told the owner I was rooting fig cuttings and he told me to take all I wanted. I took the varieties that were directly below a pot and still labeled them with a question mark. I brought them home and started them using the baggie method. The rooted faster than any cuttings that had been in the rooting containers 3 weeks before them. Some are already happily growing in 1 gallon pots. My point is, fig cuttings are pretty tough and drying out inside a box shouldn't be a worry until the carrier looses the box. I wrap damp cuttings in just plastic and ship them in a priority $5.35 box.

Thought I'd share a couple of notes here. As Al mentioned above some don't quite "understand" the larger cuttings. Bottom line is; with a larger cutting, you have a greater chance of the cutting having enough time and energy to make roots and leaves. Energy is stored in fig cuttings in the form of carbohydrates. If these carbs are depleted before the plant has enough roots and leaves to support itself, it will likely fail. Therefore a larger cutting has a greater chance of making it through our fumbling efforts to get it to re-animate into a tree. But even mold and rot will quickly take down the largest of cuttings. (Please chime in here Jon if I'm missing something).

If your cuttings arrive with damp paper towels around them but the bark is all shriveled and the buds on the tips are dry and dead. The person sent you bad quality stuff in the first place. Therefor they do not get feedback if they were purchased on ebay even if they are rated at 100%  previously.  You know who you are :) You post here. I smell greed.

Hi Linda.

I leave the tips on when I ship. How do you tell they are dead?

You sent me Salice, Italian Honey and  Celeste. To date from a January order, I only have one Salice with roots. I have one Italian Honey and one Celeste with leaves but no roots.  The rest look just like the day you sent them. Dried out and wrinkled. I would prefer not to discuss this any more. I never intended to give you any feedback at all on this but since you brought it up.... let the chips fall where they may. The tips are dead when they look dried out and crumble when you touch them. If they are firm and glossy I figure they are alive.

mommagoose- The purpose of using tall baggies is so that there is a minimal amount of cutting exposed to air. If you have nice long cuttings they will grow much better if only an inch or so is showing. With smaller cuttings this happens naturally, but the ones I got from Bill- fruitnut, are closer to 8 inches, I was very happy with what I received. In sandwich baggies about 4 inches would be exposed and if they were not well hydrated first they would probably just dry out. I killed alot of cuttings last year doing this. If you root them first in sphag moss they will hydrate and have roots to draw up water so the cutting does not have to be covered as much. I also ordered from northeastnewbie so I know he does cuttings closer to 6 inches mostly and that would explain why you had better luck with his cuttings in short bags. Northeastnewbie's also came wrapped in moist paper towels so any dehydration during storage would have been overcome during shipping. I rehydrate wrinkled cuttings with dead tips, no problem using moist sphagnum moss in a sealed container.

I remember Bill offering you extra cuttings in your tread where you expected members here to jump at the opportunity to do you a favor, and then apparently abandoned.

I will tell you one thing, if Bill's eBay feedback drops I will not be trying to help you with anything here anymore, it seems dangerous!

edit: I saw your feedback. You paid $7.50 and indirectly accused Bill of being greedy, the regulars around here picked up on that! Shipping was free! He made about a dollar off of your transaction and offered a return in the fine print of the listing. So now I smell greed...

Linda, don't give up just yet.  Keep those cuttings moist and they may yet sprout.  Most cuttings will show roots within 8 weeks.  But I received a bunch of cuttings November 1st of last year.  I put them each in a 10 inch tall baggie with regular potting soil, and they have been sitting in a humidity bin.  Most of them rooted and leafed out months ago.  But there are a couple I almost threw out last month.  Then, lo and behold, a week ago they start shooting out strong roots, and now a shoot is coming out.  That means almost 4 months since I received them.  If you received them in January, it's still only early march, so there is still time.  Now, if they are totally dried out for whatever reason, then you have little hope.  But if just the tops are dry, the bottom might still have life.  What do you have to lose?

Thanks again, Linda.

I've been leaving the tips on when they are there, ... just so people will know which end is up, assuming they will trim them if the tip looks dead to them.


Scott

Definitely don't give up.  I have lots of cuttings where the tips turned black and they ended up doing fine.  Shoots came from elsewhere.