If you had a single 3 node cutting of a super rare variety and your goal was to produce as many viable 3 node cuttings in a 2 year period, how would you do it? How many cuttings could be produced in 2 years? (Assuming normal risks and success rates and typical resources available to hobbyist growers.)

I had few varieties I got 2 years ago that I tried to maximize cuttings from.

I put them directly into 25gal pots with premium well drained soil, 1/1/1 Promix, coco coir and Perlite #4. First year I got 40-80 cuttings from 6-10ft trees. Second year I got between 400-1000 cuttings. Always remove the figs if you want them to grow faster.

I think the rarest tree I have propagated lots of cuttings from is Preto. It's only been one year after I got 14 cuttings to root and I am now rooting 600 cuttings.

So by next year with I could easily have at least 6,000 trees from those 14 cuttings I got 2 years earlier. I also have 500 panache cuttings from a single 6 inch rooted plant I got 2 years ago.

I have bad luck rooting green cuttings, I wait till the wood hardens off when the trees go dormant to take cuttings. I get around 95% success with dormant tree cuttings VS 30% on green actively growing cuttings.

@Figgysid1  Wow.... those are amazing numbers.... you have 600 figo preto cuttings rooting right now.... awesome.... sounds like a huge preto fire sale coming soon...   :-)

@tsparozi: I'm planning on planting those 600 trees in the ground and in 25gal pots in greenhouses. But next winter I'm sure I will have a couple extra cuttings maybe.

Figgysid1:   I see you're in Hawaii, so you've got a big advantage over us mere Zone 5 folks.  Are you able to grow year round?  And I was also wondering how your plant looked at about the one-year mark.  Did you pinch to cause branching and had three or four ten-foot branches on a tree?  I'm asking because I thought I did good with getting a couple trees out of many to grow 4-5 feet.  The rest were in the 2-3 foot range, but they had good branching.  Looking for tips here.

<If you had a single 3 node cutting of a super rare variety and your goal was to produce as many viable 3 node cuttings in a 2 year period, how would you do it?>

I'd send it to Sid,offering him 90% if he returned the other 10%.<G>

But then again,you'd send a "rare" fig into his rain forest and receive
cuttings with the rare designation stripped.

Good one, Tyro ;-)

@verynew2figs: Here is a pic two of Preto about 8 months after they were well rooted. One had four 4ft branches they other was a 6.5ft tall single trunk with some branches on top. They both grew another 2ft each more before I trimmed them at about 1 year old. I had 12 others about the same size as these two.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.websitetoolbox.com/30989/3033852

https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.websitetoolbox.com/30989/3033856

Very, very nice!

1) root the 3 node cutting
2) sow fig seeds (from one fruit can get 100+ seeds)
3) when the seedlings are large enough (after a year) use chip budding technique to graft them with your rare fig

Yes, helike13, that would work if you had the space for it. 
I've only tried to do the chip budding twice.  Is that the same as bud grafting?  Neither time worked for me. 

Thanks for the info on your results Sid. In 2 years you got about 500 cuttings starting with only one. Doesn't hurt having Big Island, Hawaii as the locale :-)

Here's what I would imagine best possible for me in my 7 months of growing time per year location if I swung for the fences:

1) Cut original cutting into 3 pieces and single node root each. Those 3 plants each produce a single 6 ft trunk tree.

2) At end of first growing season cut each trunk leaving 3 nodes at bottom. Remaining 4 ft of trunk provides about 10 viable single node cuttings each x 3 for each tree = 30 single nodes.

3) At start of season two, root 30 single node cuttings which (with much luck) will also produce 10 single nodes each = 300. Also have a contribution from the three first year trees that we left 3 nodes on: assume each node produces 5 ft of growth: 15 ft per tree x 3 trees = 45 ft total growth which should provide another 100 single nodes. So at the end of season two I'd have 300 + 100 = 400 single node cuttings plus 33 well rooted trees.

So if I did the math right my one cutting could produce 400 single nodes after two years. In terms of standard 3 node cuttings this would be 400/3 = 130 cuttings. Factor in some reality and quite possibly 1 cutting could become 100 in 2 years. Sound realistic?

My only issue is the single nodes. Your cuttings need to be a good size in diameter to have enough energy to root a little piece with one node. I can tell you they are very finicky and require a lot of babysitting. There will be plenty also that won't have the energy either. Personally, unless you are like Charlie I would go with two nodes and have a better and bigger tree. JMO

I would keep the cutting intact and root it horizontally but don't lose track of which way is up.  Try to lay it down so one node is pointe dup and the other 2 are sideways.  If you have roots below any or every node you can cut the node with roots below it and grow as 1 plant.  If only 2 sets of roots grow you can get 2 cuttings, just make sure each bud has roots somewhere below it.

Root it very carefully.  Once you have roots you can use very dilute fertilizer (1/4 - 1/2 houseplant strength every other watering) and gradually increase to full houseplant strength.  That will optimize growth.

Absolutely.  1 cutting to 200 in 2 years, but depends on variety.

Once you have plants I'd let them grow straight up their first year.  At the end of that year when they're dormant, take cuttings leaving 8-9" of the original tree.  Do that for as many trees as you have.  A fig tree can easily grow 1'/month after the first year.  9' in a season is common.  You could easily get more.  Root them right away repeat the process.  Since you're growing for wood instead of fruit hit them with increasing amounts of fertilizer the older they get.  Put them in larger pots or in the ground when they're ready.  Be sure to give them trace elements with your fertilizer.