My experience with rooting cuttings that have been stored for periods has been less than satisfying.
I routinely see a fair amount of failure rate regardless of rooting technique
(undoubtedly a tribute to my brown thumb).

This year I took some cuttings fresh from a few different trees and tried rooting them in ziplock bags
wrapped in newspaper, in pots with a sterilized potting soil, and in cups with perlite/soil mix . . . . . .
In all cases I have experienced exceptional success and vibrant plants. Whereas, with my purchased
cuttings from all the normal sources has been again, a crapshoot and anemic showing in comparison.

I was wondering if anyone could weigh in on this and explain the rationale in regards to taking cuttings late
in the season and storing them through winter and then starting them in February after languishing in a
vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. I can understand this to some extent for one who lives in a cold climate,
and also for those who trim their trees back at the correct time of the season for next year's growth . . .
But again . . my fresh cuttings from three different sources(and different varieties) doing so well,
as opposed to purchased cuttings . . well, it lends one to challenge the status quo.

any thoughts?


ps: I live in a year round warm climate

Yeah well . . unless that's a greenhouse . . you hav'ta live in the tropics to spit out crops this early

and I should know . . just look at my avatar . . you don't turn a glowing green without ample amounts of spirits and the tropics

precisely

Interesting . . it's early in the year . . even for southern states I'd imagine . . I see that corrugated plastic sheeting up in those pics . . so . . it appears you have created a large greenhouse? . . is that the case? . . where are you from?

I mean . . I'm in a mediterranean climate here . . and I have nothing to show.

And what do you think of the Panache? . . I have several cuttings rooting right now. But the donor told me the skins are thick and not pallatable

Hi Herman:
Wow, the thought of foregoing the main crop to grow out the breba crop seems almost, counterintuitive.
I was under the impression that the breba crop was less desirable. That the fruit would be less flavorful
and possibly drier and chewy. If I hear you correctly, based on your climate it'd be beneficial to nurse that
breba crop over the main crop, in regards to a potted tree you bring in for winter.

Down here in Southern Calif it probably isn't much of an issue then. I mean, some of the figs I've started
didn't  even  drop  their  leaves.  It's  been years since I  had  fig  trees. Really only had them as a kid.
And I remember some fruits that weren't much good . . but later in summer, the crops were wonderful. 

Ha Ha Ha
Very Funny Dale . . .
I knew someone would pie me with that one

 

Nice! . . that thread tells it all

Well . . I'll weigh in . . I think that'd be fine . . albeit while they're young . .
the more you mess with them, the more losses you'll experience. I see no
reason you shouldn't go to a larger pot if you wish to. 3 gal is not all that
large

Great Story:
welcome to the Forum . . It's so nice to see people who have their roots tied
to the old country and in the soil. We are all here from somewhwere else.
No matter if it's second or third generation . . it tugs for sure.

Good Stuff, your excitemnt over fig growing

I checked out your Family's home town. your family is from pretty far south
Pretty cool . . pulling up stakes and going to a new country . . real pioneers.
Amazing to see people able to make those commitments in life

Beautiful inland So Cal, I'm along the foothills of the Angeles range. .
I was out in the yard tending my vegetable garden and babying my tomatoes.
Got a little sunburn on my back to boot . . I hear rain is in the works for this weekend !
Woo Hoo! That'll be good, as we've had a very anemic supply of percipitation thus far . . .
a rather non-existant winter . .  even for a so cal boy(in his 60's)

Happy St Patricks Day to everyone . . hope you all have an enjoyable holiday with friends
and loved ones . . eating corned beef and cabbage and drinking beer and whiskey . . I know I will . . .

Be headin over to the coast to hang next week . .
I'm sure it will be idyllic . . Dana Point . . no climate better


So . . as I finish my post . . I see 295 views and 19 posts . . c'mon folks . . this is a community. 295 views . .

everyone should stop and say Hi!

OK . . time to tell the truth now . . .

I have been looking at posts on the internet in discussion of the B. Violetta fig actually being a Brown Turkey.
I think it's been some time since the discussion hit the fan . . Does anyone care to weigh in? . . .
I've searched out a lot of photos and there seem to be some similarities, depending on the sources of photos
and what they really had . . in other words . . I've seen pictures of foliage and fruit that looked almost identical
between the two . . and I've seen pics of fruit that appear different.

Has anyone here got the inside track on the B. Violetta?

I wouldn't want to get figs off a cutting . . yes it's possible that they produce something . . but rule of thumb is: You want the plant to grow and develop first. For that matter . . if you have a young sapling . . and it tends to produce a few figs . . well . . you might pinch them off to allow the tree to work on growth . . not spend it's energy supporting fruit.

That being said . . .I have a black mission in a 15 gal container . . and the 1st year I had it(albeit probably a couple of years old from a nursery), it produced a handy amount of fruit . . . I let them mature . . and they were worth the wait . . but a young tree potted, is much more viable than a 1st or 2nd year cutting

I used Encanto Farms new method of potting the individual cuttings in 2"x 8" plastic bags.
This has really worked out well.     Link: http://figs4fun.com/basics_Rooting.html

I call it the Bag and Tag method, as I simply use indelible marker right on the Bags and write the name of the cutting there.
I went to my local Box Store and bought a pack of 2"x 8" open end plastic bags. I cut the corners out of the bottoms of the
bags to provide drainage. The rooting medium is 80/20 perlite/potting mix. I take the cut bags and write the names on the
sides and place them with each cutting. Next take a cutting and drop it in it's bag and then fill it 2/3 - 3/4 full of potting mixture.
 
I used a large utility bucket that I had lying around as my rooting box. I took a nursery flat and traced the outline of the bottom
of the bucket on it and cut out a round mesh grid to place in the bottom of the bucket. I cut cottage cheese and yogurt containers
into 1" high spacers to set in the bottom of the bucket and act as supports for the plastic grid to sit on. Then I irrigated all of the
bagged figs and let them drain out and placed them in the bucket standing straight up. I was able to load 28 bagged cuttings.

I have reached about 90% success rate so far. I have only a plastic grocery bag draped over the top of the bucket and it is sitting
upstairs in my office where it's nice and warm. Plenty of foliage on cuttings and 34 days in roots are growing out the base of the bags.  

My intention is, once I get some viable saplings started . . I plan on taking cuttings and grafting them to other root stock so I can have
multi-varietal fig trees . . .I plan on trying to match similar branch/leaf/and growth structure . . well . . we'll see.

I've currently got my figs in a large bucket . . doing very well so far. I used the 2"x8" bag method. I picked up 2"x8" plastic bags at my local box supply store. Notch the two corners in the bottom of the bags for draining. Use indellible marker on the bags to identify the fig cuttings instead of making tags. Drop the cuttings in individual bags, and then fill them 2/3 or more with an 80/20 perlite/potting soil mix. Add water and set aside to drain.

I have already cut a round grid from a nursery flat that fits in the bottom of the bucked . . and also cut 1" spacers from cottage cheese containers to sit in the bottom of the bucket and then place the plastic grid on. I just loaded all the Bagged and Tagged cuttings in the bucket and keep a large plastic bag loosely on the top of the bucket to hold in moisture but allow air some movement. (I have to peek at them regularly you know)

twigs are doing nicely . . even some (marseilles vs blk) that I thought were gonners that I had tried to root in a 1 gal container and had been dormant and rotting back for a couple of months. This method works quite well . . was able to salvage 3 of 5 of those bad cuttings so far. I'm expecting over 90% success rate.  (method found on Encanto Farms link)  http://figs4fun.com/basics_Rooting.html

I think it's safe to say that Tip cuttings have more possibilities for vegetation due to the fact they have more bud-type growths . . .