I watched a YT video on it. He had special pots, wrapping tape for the top of the cuttings to keep them from drying out, heat pads, a lighted mini-greenhouse, hygrometer and rooting hormone.
Do you need all that stuff, or can you propagate a fig cutting by sticking it in the dirt and keeping it moist?
I did mine in dirt from the garden with 50% sand in a sandwich ziplock bag with the cutting in it and stuck the whole thing in a bucket with lid to keep humidity and put it in a dark place until I saw roots.
Usually those who do all the things are concerned with getting 100 out of 100 cuttings to root. You can keep things simpler if you’re willing to lose some cuttings here and there.
To start all I did was put my cuttings in 50/50 peat/perlite and left them in the dining room, which is in the ~70s F. If it were colder I would’ve used a heat mat.
About half my cuttings rooted. Most of the ones that didn’t root were still alive, so only then did I apply hormones (coated the bottom with fresh aloe + rooting powder). Waiting on those to root now.
Some say certain types of fig are more willing to root than others, eg Campaniere is said to be an easy rooter. You could always add one of those in.
I cut the top off an empty 1/2 gallon Lemonade jug, punched a few holes in the bottom, put soil and the stick of Fig wood (dipped in rooting harmone) in it (dirt was only moist not wet)
Then put in in a moderately warm (mid 70s) degree spot, placed the top part of that Lemonade jug over it to act as a slight humidity dome and let it do its thing. Just watered if the top if the soil got dry (trying to err on the side of too dry vs rot insusing too wet)
Once it started pushing leaves I put in under some gentle grow lights
and once it had more leaves and had a little more root development I upped the light it was getting and it was off to the races.
I’ve only started 2 figs myself so far, but it was a lot simpler than many things to root and was a hoot.
Its really easy. Take some produce bags from the grocery store, get some tree pots. Moisten some sterilized soil or promix or similar brand to the right moisture level (clumps when squeezed but doesnt drip) weigh your treepot with the stick in it and write it on there in a paint pen. Bag the tree pot with the product bag. Water when they weight drops a good amount back up to the weight on the bag.
I rooted these in a pot filled with promix hp.. outside..
Started them in early April… kept the promix conservatively moist.. put a pot on top the first month to block all light from the buds… and let roots develop before shoots.
Kept them in a sheltered location on the north side of my home the first month.
After that first month.. let light get to the buds.. moved them to the east side of my home (good early morning sun).. then after a few more weeks moved them to south side.. all day sun.
They did very well.
TNHunter
I have grow lights, heat mats, “super fancy" pots, parafilm, and a special potting blend for my fig cuttings.
But … I would have all that stuff anyway for my vegetable garden and fruit growing endeavors.
My first cutting was a HC. I stuck it in the ground outside in April and it grew. However it hasn’t produced edible figs yet and in behind and smaller than the cuttings I started last year inside before planting out.
I wrapped the top bud in parafilm, scored the bottom and stuck them in a raised garden bed up to the top bud in full sun after threat of last frost. had 100% takes last year, like 50/50. I tried a bunch of indoor methods, nothing else was even close .
