Register  |   | 
 
Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > What happens with current growth from new cuttings as the season ends?
 
 


Reply
  Author   Comment  
saramc

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 486
Posted Reply with quote  #1 
I don't mean to ask a silly question, but.... here goes:
    I have cuttings that I rooted earlier in the year and they are now young, healthy plants.  What will happen to the new growth once they enter dormancy?  I know the leaves will wither and drop, but will the new green growth harden off and darken?   If so, is it safe to take cuttings from that, and if so, what is an appropriate time of year to do this?? 

Thanks! Sara
__________________
~Sara~
Suburb near Louisville, KY//zone 5b-6b
nypd5229

Registered:
Posts: 1,903
Posted Reply with quote  #2 
Yes they will harden off and darken. I would say around NOV and yes you can, but I would wait a year or so to establish a bit more.
__________________
Dominick
Zone 6a-MA
Figluvah

Registered:
Posts: 1,111
Posted Reply with quote  #3 
I fully agree with what Dom has said
__________________
Cecil (Z 8b?) in the sticks of E.Tx

(Elkhart/Palestine TX)
hblta

Registered:
Posts: 711
Posted Reply with quote  #4 
hopefully most of the new growth will harden off before the plants go dormant. Reducing amount of water, and pinching the terminal tips will help them harden off. I think you are far enough south, relative to me, that you have lots of time for them to harden off.
Grant
z5b
__________________
*************
Grant
Kitchener Ontario Canada
Z5b
saramc

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 486
Posted Reply with quote  #5 
Thanks for the answers, just what I wanted to know (and to be honest those were the answers I had in my head, I just did not know if I was right).
I am learning, and you all contribute so much.  It is so appreciated!  
__________________
~Sara~
Suburb near Louisville, KY//zone 5b-6b
satellitehead

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 3,687
Posted Reply with quote  #6 
I have several plants that have already hardened new growth as hbtla mentions.

They harden off about 2-3 months after green growth begins.
__________________
Jason
Atlanta/Grant Park area - z8
rafed

Registered:
Posts: 5,308
Posted Reply with quote  #7 
Sara,

No question is a silly question.
Never beat yourself.

Gald you got the answers your were looking for but I have a couple rare ones that I might just take inside the house and let them stay awake for the first Winter.

It is a 50/50 risk but I rather place my chips inside the house rather than going dormant. At least for now.

Goodluck
pitangadiego

Avatar / Picture

Moderator
Registered:
Posts: 5,447
Posted Reply with quote  #8 
Sara, there are no silly questions, only people who ask questions when they have no intention to learn. If you need info, however basic, and intend to profit from it and use it, it is a good question. If you aren't asking questions, you either know it all (which is no one), or you have stopped learning.

Taking cuttings would depend on how much growth you had. I want my trees to be more like bushes, so I prune them to about 18", and let them branch low. In that case, anything above 18" is a cutting for propagating with.

If there is a chance the potential cutting(s) my be ruined may be damaged by cold, then take them in the Fall before first frost or freeze. Here in San Diego, they are seldom dormant much before the end of January. If you are not ready to use the cuttings, better to store them on the tree (uncut) than in a frig.
__________________
Encanto Farms Nursery
http://encantofarms.com
http://figs4fun.com
http://webebananas.com
"pitangadiego" everywhere
theman7676

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 361
Posted Reply with quote  #9 
hi jon,

can you please post a picture or two of an 18" bush style tree?
what are the advantages, excluding height, to go bush style? is it for re sale mainly?
why 18"? its very low. can one achieve same result - bush style plant say at 25" or even 30"?
thank you, eli
__________________
wish list:
Florea
Nordland
Tacoma Violet
LaRadek's English Brown Turkey
fignut

Registered:
Posts: 235
Posted Reply with quote  #10 

Sometimes if a fig has gotten a lot of fertilizer and still has a lot of green wood at the end of the season, I use a product that Al on the FF recommended, Dyna Gro Pro-Tekt http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/dyna-gro-pro-tekt-0-0-3  .  It works like a charm to harden off green wood. 

drivewayfarmer

Registered:
Posts: 773
Posted Reply with quote  #11 
fignut ,
I remember seeing some info on the GW fig forum last Dec. about adding a little vinegar to the water you mix the Pro-Tekt in. The Pro -tekt is apparently very alkaline. I didn't do this last year when i used it, have you ?
Thanks for telling me about this last year, I think it really helped get my one year old fig plants thru Winter storage with no damage.
Best,
Kerry
__________________
Kerry Zone 5 NH
Wish list :Galicia Negra , Col de Dame Blanca/Negra  .
Dan_la

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 1,438
Posted Reply with quote  #12 
Sara,

The only sillly question is the question that is never asked......for whatever reason. 

Dan
Semper Fi-cus
fignut

Registered:
Posts: 235
Posted Reply with quote  #13 
drivewayfarmer, I didn't see that post, and a search for "vinegar" didn't bring it up. 
But my gut feeling is that mixing an acid and a base isn't a good idea - it might trigger a chemical reaction.  I didn't use the Pro-Tekt full strength after the first application anyway, so that would probably lessen any effects.  I noticed from observation that some figs pulled it into the leaves more than the stems, and different varieties hardened up at different rates.
drivewayfarmer

Registered:
Posts: 773
Posted Reply with quote  #14 
fignut , just found the thread on Pro-Tekt ph on the GW container gardening forum.
I was using Pro-tekt last year at half the recommended strength. Think I started using it occasionally around mid August last year.
__________________
Kerry Zone 5 NH
Wish list :Galicia Negra , Col de Dame Blanca/Negra  .
Figluvah

Registered:
Posts: 1,111
Posted Reply with quote  #15 
Sarah,

I don't know what I was thinking when I said what I said about taking cuttings off of a young plant....I had one of them GIANT Cecil brain Flatus's

I have sent out cuttings on that year's plants(dormant) to several PPL and they were successful with rooting them.

Sorry about that, in fact I cut some down to only 3 nodes above the soil line. 
__________________
Cecil (Z 8b?) in the sticks of E.Tx

(Elkhart/Palestine TX)
saramc

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 486
Posted Reply with quote  #16 

Good reading today.  Thanks again for the feedback. It was nice to know from Jon's standpoint about the 18" pruning point should I decide to go bush like with the plants.  Hmm...
__________________
~Sara~
Suburb near Louisville, KY//zone 5b-6b
pitangadiego

Avatar / Picture

Moderator
Registered:
Posts: 5,447
Posted Reply with quote  #17 
The Man 7676

There isn't anything magic about 18". The point is to force branching at as low a point as possible (while keeping it off of the ground, more or less). The lower branching begins, the lower the entire canopy of the "tree" is, and the easier it is to pick the fruit. I started doing it because I didn't want to be on a ladder on my hill.

Some varieties naturally branch. Others really want to grow like sticks, so you have to persist.

See Japanese Figs by Ken Love for the most extreme form.
__________________
Encanto Farms Nursery
http://encantofarms.com
http://figs4fun.com
http://webebananas.com
"pitangadiego" everywhere
rafed

Registered:
Posts: 5,308
Posted Reply with quote  #18 
You don't want to be on a ladder on Jons hill. It's Suicide.
satellitehead

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 3,687
Posted Reply with quote  #19 

This year, I intend to let everything grow like mad, then cut everything down to 24" and share cuttings with friends.
__________________
Jason
Atlanta/Grant Park area - z8
AnnieBee

Registered:
Posts: 95
Posted Reply with quote  #20 
I will have some pruning to do this fall. I've allowed the figs I've had for a few years to grow as they've wanted, and a few of them are taller than I am.
  May need some hand-holding and guidance when the time comes to make the cuts. Having cuttings to share will make me feel like a real fig grower, too!
saramc

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 486
Posted Reply with quote  #21 
Well, I am only 66" tall, so bushlike figs will be the best for me.  Right now, everyone is in containers, but eventually some will go in ground, but I don't see that happening for another 2 seasons-at least.  
   I look forward to the day I can provide cuttings to others, as so many on ths forum have done.  
__________________
~Sara~
Suburb near Louisville, KY//zone 5b-6b
Figluvah

Registered:
Posts: 1,111
Posted Reply with quote  #22 
AnnieBee,

I just cut about 3/8 " below the node, more important is keeping track of which end is up (especially if you are sending them to newbies) which we all were at one time or another!And I might add don't mix the cuttings up.

And lastly use and clean your pruning shears at least when you go the the next tree.

Good luck.........Ain't nothing to it, even I can do that ;-))

 
__________________
Cecil (Z 8b?) in the sticks of E.Tx

(Elkhart/Palestine TX)
nkesh099

Registered:
Posts: 863
Posted Reply with quote  #23 
Cecil,

Very good advise that you gave. Whenever that I am sending cuttings to someone I mark the bottom side of the scion with either black marker or a orange colored tape so, the other party know which side is which.


goldie

Registered:
Posts: 61
Posted Reply with quote  #24 

Great question Sara, I've been wondering the same thing! Thanks everyone for your answers.
Previous Topic | Next Topic
Print
Reply