"UpDated" 2018-19 Figs Cuttings Rooting Propagating Experiment in Coco Coir Vs Perlite Vs Sphagnum moss Vs Pro mix HP Vs 3-1-1 Mix

[Naeem]

I just posted this on ourfigs and thought to share over here, may be somebody can benefit from this.
Please post your comments and figs Cuttings rooting Propagating process pictures too.
Last Year I did all of my cuttings in Coco coir and I was close to 100% rooting but in transition lost so many cuttings.
So this year I decided to do an experiment with different methods so here is my findings. Please read whole post for
better understanding. I know there are so much information available but I want to try it by myself and finalize my final rooting method.
You can ask any question and post comments pictures with your experience. Here we go

(1) Coco Coir in plastic Shoe Box

Coco Coir = Moist not wet
Temperature = 75F to 79F
Rooting Harmone = No
Heating Mat = No
Para Film = No
Number of Cuttings put in one box = 10
Number of days to show significan roots= 21
Rooted = 7 good roots and 3 with some rooting initial.

(2) Perlite in plastic Shoe Box

Perlite = Good Soaking and drain all water out
Temperature = 75F to 79F
Rooting Harmone = Yes
Heating Mat = No
Para Film = No
Number of Cuttings put in one box = 10
Number of days to show significant roots= 18
Rooted = 9 good roots and 1 with some rooting initial.

(3)Sphagnum moss in plastic Shoe Box with para film applied on cuttings

Sphagnum Moss = Wet and well sequeeze
Temperature = 75F to 79F
Rooting Harmone = Yes
Heating Mat = No
Para Film = Yes
Number of Cuttings put in one box = 10
Number of days to show significant roots= 22
Rooted = 5 good roots and 2 with some rooting initial 3 cuttings with no roots.

(4)Pro mix hp with para film applied on cuttings

Pro mix hp = well moist
Tree plug Trays 5 inch deep ( I like to strat in 9 inch tree pot but due to space limitation I had to go with these trays.
Temperature = 62F to 63F
Rooting Harmone = Yes
Heating Mat = Yes
Para Film = Yes
Number of Cuttings put in to test = 38
Number of days to show significan Progress growth = 24
These are growing good and showing top growth on 17 of 38.
In second picture pro mix is on right side and custom mix is on left.

I my opnion pro mix hp hold too much water and may be an excellent rooting medium in hot climate but not for me.
So many people are very satisfied with this product. So please if you live in hotter zone you can try this.

(5) My Custom mix (3-1-1)Pine Bark-Perlite-Orgnic Potting mix with para film applied on cuttings

Custome mix (3-1-1) = Well drained moist
Tree plug Trays 5 inch deep ( I like to strat in 9 inch tree pot but due to space limitation I had to go with these trays.)
Temperature = 62F to 63F
Rooting Harmone = Yes
Heating Mat = Yes
Para Film = Yes
Number of Cuttings put in to test = 38
Number of days to show significant Progress growth = 17
These are growing good and showing top growth on 26 of 38.
In second picture pro mix is on left side and custom mix is on right.

I think from now on I will go with rooting in my custom mix because it is very well drained and no or less chance
of cutting rot.
For people who are just starting figs please consider trying perlite because it will give you more chances and less root rot.
I will update this post as long as it will allow me to show progress.

[tonyOmahaz5]

I used the Baggie method to root. Once the root developed, I then planted them straight into a 1 to 3 gallon pots with Miracle Gro moisture control potting mix. I don’t have to worry about repot until the next season.

Tony

[Drew51]

Interesting results, I think I will stick with my custom mix also in the future.I usually use promiix cut with DE instead of perlite. Results are decent too. I do like promix, I just water with less water.

[JustAnne4]

Thanks Naeem for posting this. I love experiments like this. They certainly give us good data to improve our results. Now some things I don’t understand:

@Naeem

I was close to 100% rooting but in transition lost so many cuttings.

Sounds like you had already nailed the rooting phase (100%) but the ‘transition’ phase needs the attention. The parafilm and rooting hormone may have helped with this some without any changes from your original rooting method of using coir. (I use wax instead of parafilm on the cuttings or sometimes I’ll bag the them when I transplant for a week or so.)

Sometimes cuttings can push leaves without roots so it is difficult to gauge rooting success by looking at just the leaves. Your 1st 3 examples show us the roots, but the last few don’t, so it is hard to make a comparison.

[Drew51]

@JustAnne4

Sometimes cuttings can push leaves without roots so it is difficult to gauge rooting success

Yes that is true, when they start growing stems, they almost always have roots. These are in promix with some custom blend thrown on the top as promix settled. They were rooted in these pots. I don’t like to grow in small pots, it saves me transfer time. I will be using my custom mix in the future though, even though results are close to 100%. In this batch of only 7 cuttings, all rooted.

[BahamaDan]

Very nice post Naeem, I’m glad to see that the container with perlite worked so well as I just bought a bag of perlite on special and have been thinking about trying the baggie method with damp perlite for a few cuttings I have on hand.

[Naeem]

I heard good things about Baggie method. Any method should work fine figs are not hard to root.
These will go into one gallon or 9" tree pots and in summer will go to five gallons.

[Naeem]

I am all in with custom mix, you can control everything. I am so happy with my custom mix and it lets me eat about 15 types of figs last year on rooted cuttings.

[Naeem]

Thanks I am just learning and enjoying these experiment. Bag and wax worked great too.
I did 80 cuttings with coco coir last year and lost about 30 during transfer in cups and some in pots. For me this is very high number of cuttings not making into 5 gallons pots.I had to watch humidity and other stuff so this year I did all these to finalize one. Every method may not work for everyone due to different rooting environment.
For your second question about top growth, those have some roots because I can see from the bottom. I will post
pictures when these will go into bigger pots.

[Naeem]

You will love perlite for sure just the number of cuttings I am doing is not feasible for me. If I have to do 10 or 20 cuttings I will go with perlite.

[speedster1]

Excellent work Naeem! I too love these types of experiments. I think to me the most impressive results is the straight perlite. I would not have predicted those results. I’m not a fig rooting expert and have had mixed results with the baggy method. So your testing gives me plenty of alternatives to try.

[Naeem]

Thanks I am just trying and learning something new every time. I am only little over one year in figs rooting
and growing. Its so much fun doing these experiment and I am so happy with the results.

[hoosierbanana]

Last year I used pine bark sifted through a half (or maybe quarter?) inch screen and liked it better than coir. What I usually do is layer the cuttings in a big tub with their bottom ends towards the outside so I can tilt the tub to one side and shake the coir or pine bark off any roots without having to carefully excavate them like an archeologist to avoid breaking any.

[Naeem]

I am a big fan of pine bark, my growing media is mostly consist of pine bark, Thanks for the tilt tub tip.

[alanmercieca]

I’d like to give my input on this.

I have noticed that people who place the cuttings on top of the medium they have way better results then people who bury the cuttings in the medium to any debt. People who are shocked by the growth of roots that is one reason why.

Also 70 degrees - 75 degrees Fahrenheit is said to be the best temperature for the soil, yet if I remember correctly about 73 degrees Fahrenheit to like 76 degrees Fahrenheit is the very best. More testing should be done for what temperatures are truly best, also the best temperature may be different buried in the soil VS not buried in the soil.

[Naeem]

Thats interesting, I love to see some results. You ever done any testing or just noticed from people?
I did the best I can with my limited space.

[markalbob]

Anyone try opti-sorb instead of perlite?

[BahamaDan]

Does this work with non-fig cuttings too, the placing on top of the soil?

[alanmercieca]

@Naeem

Thats interesting, I love to see some results. You ever done any testing or just noticed from people?

I did the best I can with my limited space.

I only noticed from people because I did not start noticing the growing on top of the soil method being used until last year, I did not start rooting any cuttings after I started noticing. I forget what country yet last year I read that one country when they root pomegranate cuttings they lay them down and do not bury them, they refuse to use any other method. They have used the method for a very long time. I think there may be a reason for this.

[alanmercieca]

@BahamaDan

Does this work with non-fig cuttings too, the placing on top of the soil?

I know it works great with pomegranate cuttings too as you can see in my last post right before this one. Fig cuttings and pomegranate cuttings are all that I know it works for, then again those are the two types of plants that I am most interest in, and that I have paid most attention to online