I just wanted to share my experience of acquiring cuttings here in New Zealand. When I first got here and started asking around about figs, I found that my variety choices were limited. Many nurseries would just haphazardly name figs... the same tree could have several different names depending on the nursery (haven't we all experienced THAT before!?).

So I started searching the internet for everything and anything about NZ figs. I even joined a Tree Crops Association because they had a fig growers group, along with many publications on growing figs. With everything I was reading, one author's name kept popping up. After a bit of sleuthing, I was able to get his contact information. So I contacted him and asked about where to get cuttings, as I was keen on starting a heritage fig orchard on my property. He kindly invited me to his property to collect scions from his accessions, so I eagerly agreed :)

I was expecting to leave with maybe a dozen or so varieties, but this was no ordinary fig collector. He had a database of almost 150 different fig trees he'd collected and sourced and identified... and to my surprise and delight he was eager to share most of them with me. I'd discovered after talking with him that he has the most complete collection of fig varieties in all of New Zealand. 

His property was located about 4 hours from mine, and my wife & I arrived around 10 am, expecting to stay an hour or two. We ended staying for lunch, talking figs, looking at his research books (which included Ira Condit's works), walking the property, collecting more and more and more scions (even digging up a few trees at his insistence). Didn't leave his house until 3:00, soaking wet because it rained all day... with my truck loaded to the brim with fig trees & cuttings. Fascinating guy, and it was a heck of a day.

The biggest takeaway from all this, aside from now being the proud owner of over 110 different varieties of fig cuttings, is that this guy has handed over the management of his fig database to me and it is now up to me to upkeep it and manage it. Woohoo!!! (I think...) 

Wish me luck!! 

 
 
 

Congratulations !
This is a dream come true ... !!
Good luck now

Francisco
Portugal

The varieties he is growing are known in the forum or they have different names?

That's so cool

Talk about going from 0 to 100 (or 110) in no time flat.  You must have really impressed him your benefactor.  Congratulations.  You are a lucky man. 
This makes me wish there was still a UC Davis type of thing still going on here. 

Wow! Talk about an instant collection. Congratulations. 

You are in for a lot of work with all the rooting and the up potting though.
With those long branches, depending on the time of year, i would go for the traditional approach of rooting - burying them in the ground, almost horizontally, with only a few inches of the ground. I did it this year and it worked flawlessly.
This would be the easiest way to proceed and the trees would be in his final location from the start (i might cut one or two cuttings to root in pots, just to be safe, but i sure would go to that approach)

Wow, that’s a nice surprise! For most of us it takes a couple of years to acquire such a collection. It will involve a lot of work but I’m sure it will be rewarding.
Do you know the names of the best figs in the collection?

Good luck!

Congratulations!

What is the climate like in your (and the collector's) area of NZ?  Is winter protection needed?

That must have been a really enjoyable day.  Congrats.

Looks like you've got your work cut out for you!  It will be worth it, I'm sure.  Thanks for sharing!

What a wonderful story. Congratulations...

Wow! Congratulations! As others have suggested and you likely know yourself.... you are in for a lot of work.... the rewards, however, can be amazing!

Wow! What an amazing day! I know nothing about NZ climate but I would be cautious about putting all of my eggs in one basket. Taking cuttings from those huge branches and trying 2 or 3 different rooting methods may be a wise option. Best of luck to you!

Forgot to add earlier, the smart a$$ in me has to say, that when I saw the topic heading I wondered what kind of GI reaction you had in trying 110 varieties in one day....

Thanks Everyone for the well wishes. I definitely have a LOT of work ahead!

This database he compiled contains some great descriptions of what the figs look and taste like, along with each one's history (if known). The names of many he's classified are very clinical, such as MT10, etc. But some of the good old familiar names include Brown Turkey, Panache, Celeste, Kadota... and then there's ones like the Mission Fig that one nursery supplied him that turned out to be a caprifig. As for the weather at my place here in Hawke's Bay, I believe it's Zone 9. I would compare it to Northern California but with more rainfall. Not more rainfall in terms of annual measurement, but rather the rain comes all year long here, instead of just the winter rain that California has. The cuttings came from an area further south near Wellington, where it's windier, wetter, and cooler than here. Hence the struggles he was having in getting good production. The weather here is so mild that once the trees are established, there should be no need for winter protection.

As for starting the cuttings, I've decided to take 2 basic approaches. First I'll start with sphagnum moss in a plastic container; this way I can put about 20 cuttings in one large tub. This scares me a bit because there's a greater chance of losing/confusing the identification of each cutting, rather than keeping it neat and tidy with small shoeboxes. At the same time I'll be starting duplicate cuttings in a pine bark compost/perlite/pumice creation (similar to what was suggested). I'll be doing 75 varieties at once, which means 150 cuttings or more. With some of the longer branches that yield more than 2 cuttings, I'll take the extra and try the traditional approach to rooting (horizontal, buried shallow in the ground). If I haven't died from exhaustion, that is!

Will keep you updated!

Hi,
I would use bigger pots and put 3 cuttings of the same strain in one pot for the thinner wood ( up to big finger large ).
For bigger wood, I wood root in the dirt. But are you in winter there right now ? Perhaps wait till your "Spring" climate to come back to start rooting.
Just one last question: How scared is your madame ?

Congratulations on not only making a new friend, but also starting your fig collection with an established data base. That is phenomenal! 

Since you mentioned worrying about getting the names of 100+ different fig scions mixed up, here's my hint: The Zone 9 sun and heat in Waddell, AZ means that plastic tags and tape written on with permanent markers aren't really permanent identification for any plant exposed to the sun. Write on metal tree tags like the ones sold by National Band & Tag have been a wonderful timesaver for me because it doesn't take long to write the information and twist the attached tag wires around a scion, and the markers don't deteriorate. https://nationalband.com/products/2702-write-on-tag/ Hope you can find a supplier that sells a similar product on your side of the globe. Wishing you success in getting all those scions rooted!