With so much great advice on another post I seem to have managed to bring some of these twigs to life.

I'm just wondering at this stage if it would be a good idea to introduce fertilizer? I figure it's stressed and perhaps depleting the energy from the soil and the wood....

What do you guys do here?

I start MG as soon as the cuttings start leafing out. Just make sure to keep the dilution down to reasonable levels based on the label.

Forgive my ignorance here. What is MG?

So hold off while I have roots but still no leaves.....Ok

Of course....you are referring to magnesium.....,So how about Epsom Salts? (magnesium sulphate) I've used it on many other plants but never on figs?

MG=Miracle Gro fertilizer

Miracle Grow 24-8-16 with secondary and micronutrients. I go by leaf color. Apply often enough to maintain dark green leaves. It's mainly nitrogen that's needed for green leaves and rapid growth.

For fruit production I use less fertilizer and rely more on rate of growth. I prefer moderate growth rate until August. Then stop growth and harden off. Figs set after August don't mature in most climates.

Appears I got it wrong twice

I also use a very diluted Miracle Grow solution, but I also add several organic additives (i.e.  fish em, seaweed, molasses, etc.) too. All in weak concentrations. I started this because I was seeing deficiencies signs in the early leaves of some cuttings. I have had very good luck since starting this.


CliffH

Miracle grow seems to be the popular choice. Would you advise against using any fertilizer before there are signs of leaves or roots?

Well, until the cuttings have root there is nothing to absorb the fertilizer.... So not need to water. You might use a diluted fertilizer solution to do the initial moistening on you rooting mix if you want

I start regular light watering when the leaves bud out. I rarely have to add water to the cuttings until they start budding out (sometimes you might have to re-moisten if the mix starts really drying out). But getting the cuttings to root really requires just moister, not watering. You have to be careful not to over water until the cuttings/plants go into at least a 1 gallon pot.

I think a lot of people use MG because it easy to find, relatively cheap, and easy to use. That's why I use it.

Please take this with a grain of salt. I have only been working with fig cuttings for less than a year. Experiment and find out what works best for you.

How this system work? , Leaves work like water pump, and Sun light is energy source, root tips are pump tips. 
Therefore, you may fertilizer them when you see roots plus sprouts/leaves with sun light.

I like MG stuffs, They work great for me, use 1/2 dosage for new bady rooted cutting.
Good luck with your rooted cuttings.

Hi,
Ever heard of foliage fertilizer ? Sorry, but it is not just roots acting as nutrient-pump.
IMO, the stem itself can pump some. On  some trees more than on others, thus the first ones are easy to root from cuttings when the later are almost impossible to root.

Back to your cup: I see you have space above in between the dirt and the rim of the cup.
I would gently get that tiny cute one out of the cup, add some medium at the bottom (loam or whatever you are using) in the cup under the roots and put the rooted cutting back in the cup.
This is to have the roots in the dirt.
Do you use tinfoil or a dark cup (cup in a cup) to keep the roots in the darkness ? Are the roots currently exposed to light ?
You could try to pot-up to 1 gallon. Be careful to not over-water. The extra-medium will act as a sponge and it will be hard to get it to dry.
Perhaps for this time add dirt under, and in some weeks (2 or 4 ...) when the roots have grown more, pot it up to 1 gallon .
You want "lots" of roots for them to be sturdy and to be able to deal well with extra water.

The roots are currently exposed to light. I have them in the window in the cup as you see them. Is that a problem? What will the light do to the roots?

Do your cuttings has leaves?

I have leaves on two. Some just showing roots. On some I can't see the roots against the cup yet. Just that the wood doesn't seem dead

Don't know how much you're watering. When you're dealing with a new rooting plant, overwatering could kill it, moving it around also could hurt it.
Try to put this cup in a tray and let it get water through osmosis from below. A cutting could never deplete the soil that fast especially if you're using potting soil which should have nutrition for several months.

While there are many conflicting strategies on this forum the one consistent message that everyone drills home every chance they get is the necessity to not over water....It's painful but I'm basically waiting until these things are bone dry before adding any water at all...even then I'm not sure if -when I do water - if I should fully soak or just spritz a bit of water in....

Joe, I never ever fertilize cuttings. If they fail they fail for other reasons. Some just don't have enough energy to push new roots, some push new leaves but no roots then they die.
You're not doing anything wrong. When I root during the winter I use an Self irrigating pot in order not to overwater and keep my pot near a sunny window. Some cuttings might take over 90 days before you see active growth.

I would want to keep dabbling with the roots to a minimum. So in this case I would put this cup in about an inch of water and make sure there's always water in that tray. This way no need to water from top anymore until you're ready to up pot which would not be for a couple of months at least.
I also suggest you cover the cup with aluminum paper to prevent light from getting in.

Thanks for this. The aluminum paper....Why is this. I've just had them in the window in clear cups up until now. Why do I need to shield them from light?

I usually use pots similar to this one where I water from below.

https://www.amazon.ca/Bloem-llc-LP1056-Self-Watering-Planter/dp/B00AC2SD8W/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1477019644&sr=8-11&keywords=self+watering+pots

I cannot believe how expensive some of these pots are.

At Walmart in the US I usually get them for around $5

"A study published Dec. 8 in the Early Edition of PNAS reveals that the gene RUS1 measures UV-B light levels and passes this information on to other parts of the plant responsible for growth and development. A low dosage of UV-B light, for example the levels found in shady conditions or under fluorescent lighting, can provide important signals to the rest of the plant and is therefore beneficial to normal plant growth. It helps young plants stay on the right track of development and aids seedling morphogenesis, but too much UV-B light can be toxic.

The study found that plants with a mutated UV-B light sensor gene become hypersensitive to UV-B light and even under low intensity levels of UV-B light, their root growth is stunted and they fail to grow leaves. Therefore the RUS1 gene is responsible for ensuring that young seedlings develop normally even when their roots are exposed to UV-B light."

See ful article here

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081208180238.htm

Yikes! Yeah.....these are about double that here in Canada..... a lot of things are.... 

I am really curious about the shielding the roots from light....Why is that?

My mind is totally blown here. I completely respect your research on this...you think the way I do and it's why I look for the data constantly....I just can't help but chuckle when I think of my (very peasant) ancestors who "stuck twigs in the ground and grew big fig trees!"

Bravissimo! ....this is a great forum! Thank you!

I still do it the old fashion way too. The old timers knew that roots develop better in darkness.