Dear All,

I took several cuttings from my grandmother's fig tree last month. They were doing well, but then suddenly stopped progressing, and began wilting or losing leaves. The roots of several of them are becoming brown.

After one began to severely wilt, I removed it from the container and also found browning roots. The one that appears to still be doing well has white roots. 

Any suggestions? Is it rot? Can these be saved or is too late for them?

Thanks,

John B



 

First thing I would do is find a different container to hold your fig. Something with holes underneath for excess water run through. I learned the hard way and lost lots of cuttings from over watering and root rot.

Thanks --- are the pictures, or symptoms (wilting, roots becoming brown) consistent with root rot?

It looks like the lowest portion of the original cutting, which was too wet for some time, rotted (it's soft and yields under pressure), and that this rot may have traveled upward to where the roots are. 

Is this how it works? Is there any way to stop it? Do cuttings ever recover from this?

Hi John,

i would change out the media, go with a lite mixture something that doesn't hold a lot of moisture/water.  place the plant in the middle of the container roots away from the bottom.  place the plant in full shade for a week or two in a outside spot.   i place all my plants that seems to need a little help on the porch, they seem to love the moisture from the air at night.  your plant should recover, still looks healthy.

good luck!