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Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > winter rooting and what we have learned.
 
 


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bullet08

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 
i think it might be a good idea to review what we have done during the winter so we don't repeat mistakes. during the spring till the late fall, we have lot of things going on and rooting isn't exactly top of our priority. but winter.. well.. nothing much to do but root them cutting and hope for the early spring. 

winter of 2012-13, i had more cuttings that i really should have rooted. i lost lot of them, but most of the lost were due to moisture control, well.. watering. i found out that bottom feeding the water works rather well. still there were few that didn't make it this winter, 2013-14, but most of them did well. 

also, moving to 1 gal as soon as possible and leave them out in the garage once roots and tops were more stable. 

i think the forum and the members came a long way since i first joined, we are having more positive results in rooting, but winter rooting still frustrates lot of us. 

any suggestions? 
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Pete
Durham, NC
Zone 7b

"don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash." - sir winston churchill
"the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." - the baroness thatcher

***** all my figs have FMV/FMD, in case you're wondering. *****
***** and... i don't sell things. what little i have will be posted here in winter for first come first serve base to be shared. no, i'm not a socialist...*****
rafaelissimmo

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
Well Pete how do you bottom feed the water? I found that not enough moisture was a problem for winter rooting, also a heat mat helps correct the imbalance.
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bullet08

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
you bottom feed it by letting it sit on the pool of water with light fertilizer for about 3-4 min for cup, and little longer for the 1 gal. moisture is the biggest problem for top and bottom. i keep mine in humidity bin until they are ready to go into garage. i keep my humidity bin near the air vent so they are warm enough during the winter. haven't used heating mat, but might have to do that next yr with different fruits. 
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Pete
Durham, NC
Zone 7b

"don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash." - sir winston churchill
"the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." - the baroness thatcher

***** all my figs have FMV/FMD, in case you're wondering. *****
***** and... i don't sell things. what little i have will be posted here in winter for first come first serve base to be shared. no, i'm not a socialist...*****
ako1974

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
I tried two methods:

* Large plastic bin with cuttings in cups of damp vermiculite on top of cooling racks. I kept them away from an artificial light source, mostly due to space. Success around 50%. I opened the lid now and again, to let some air in. Not much need for watering, but sprayed occasionally. All in all, I didn't have a strict regimen.

* A tray with cuttings in cups of damp vermiculite, each covered with a plastic bag. I kept a fluorescent lamp on them. I took the bags off once/day for a few hours. Success 100%. When the bags didn't have any moisture on the inside, or when I touched the vermiculite and it was dry, I sprayed the vermiculite.

I'm new to rooting cuttings. Second year. The second method above worked best. I like the idea of rooting in a container with damp sphagnum moss, particularly for space reasons. In both cases, I used rooting hormone, though I'm not convinced it's necessary.

In hindsight, I think the first method I used above didn't allow enough fresh air and more direct light may have helped? I had minor trouble with mold using the first method. Also, some of the cuttings I chucked from the first method had begun rooting, but it didn't seem significant or promising.
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Arne
Zone 6a - NJ
RichinNJ

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
All of my winter rooting was done this way: "From Twigs to Figs in 120 Days - Rich's Propagation Method"

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/from-twigs-to-figs-in-120-days-richs-propagation-method-6838912?pid=1282262854#post1282262854
ako1974

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Rich - the root growth looks great! How many weeks on average from when you transferred from the humidity chamber to the tray?
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Arne
Zone 6a - NJ
KK

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
I had tremendous rooting success this winter, for me best ever. Easily over 90%. That’s a good and a bad thing. I quickly ran out of room and was forced to do some pruning to reduce canopy size. They tolerate pruning very well.

I hate the heat and keep my place about 60 in the winter. This year I added bottom heat to the bins.   I root in 7oz cups, peeling away the cup when time to move to clear quart containers. I need to see the roots up until gallon time. I try to water only where I see roots, sometimes only on bottom, sometimes tipping the container to water the roots only on one side.

We have 4 TV set top boxes that generate good heat. At night I put the bins on dowels (12 inch glue sticks), on top of the set top boxes. I have to adjust the top of the bins from fully on to ajar depending on the moisture dripping from the top. I use grates meant for overhead lighting on the bottoms of the bins to raise the cups up so I can keep a little water in the bottom.

I fert as soon as I see roots (just a little bit of ferts). I rotate between  Miracle Grow (for veggies), fish ferts and fish ferts with seaweed. I use weak dilutions every 15 days or so. If water comes out of the bottom, I watered way to much.

 I use PRO-Mix BX. It comes in several formulations. I use BX cause that’s the only one my supplier carries. I add extra Perlite (I don’t measure) and crab shell (approx 2% volume of soil), kelp meal (approx 1/2 to 1 tablespoon per gallon of soil) and a general-purpose granulated vegetable fertilizer (this year is was Jobe Tomato and vegetable 2-5-3, approx 2 tablespoon to 5 gallon of soil)
rcantor

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
The only ones that don't do well for me are the cuttings less than 3/16 in diameter.  I use Jon's new bag method with a pinch of peat moss or Pro-mix HP in #3 perlite.  I tried Sunshine mix instead of peat for a while but every one that used the Sunshine mix molded.  I also added a bit of Napa floor dry to some but it didn't seem to make any difference.
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Zone 6, MO

Wish list:
Galicia Negra, De La Reina - Pons, Genovese Nero - Rafed's, Sbayi, Souadi, Acciano, Any Rimada, Sodus Sicilian, any Bass, Pons or Axier fig, any great tasting fig.
Ruuting

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Posted Reply with quote  #9 
Winter rooting, what have I learned?
That I should have left the cuttings in the crisper until April.
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Rui
Southeast CT, zone 6B
HarveyC

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
There were some that I had high failure rates with...Maltese Falcon specifically and fat cuttings, for some reason.  Success rate probably dropped below 90% simply because I couldn't monitor things as closely as I should have because of the numbers (well over 200 at one time for some of the time).  When I first bought ProMix HP at a large supply house they told me that Sunshine #4 was essentially the same.  When I temporarily ran out of ProMix HP I substituted the Sunshine #4 I had bought at the same time.  That worked poorly and I wish I had never used it.  It stayed much more damp and some cuttings rotted.  This is also when I noticed fungus gnats for the first time and I somewhat suspect that the Sunshine #4 mix had fungus gnat eggs in it, though it may have just been the rotting from the wet Sunshine #4 that attracted the gnats (but from where?).  The next time I went back I bought 4 of the large bales of ProMix HP.  As I wrote in a thread dedicated to the subject, I just root directly in ProMix HP in 3" square x 8" tall pots with bottom heat (85F) and it has worked very well for me.  I typically see rots coming out the bottom of the pot in 2 weeks or less, maybe 3-4 weeks for some slow ones.  Some plants grew well enough that they got moved up to gallon pots in 1 month but most took 2-3 months before they got to that stage.
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Harvey - Correia Farms
Isleton, CA (Sacramento County) USDA zone 9b, Sunset zone 14

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