Ross,
A kind friend of mine also sent me this same video. I love it. He himself has used rooting hormone. I just wonder if others use it. I probably will go with the brand this friend suggested.
@hoosierbanana, thanks for your reply.
No. You do not need rooting hormone and in some cases I find it to be detrimental when rooting figs because what you end up with is lots of roots, but no leaves. It throws off the chemicals too much.
I have had modest success without using hormones-- roughly 40% success rate, including this past springâs unusual losses due to the crazy April freezes.
Is it time now to start the process? Or, would keeping the cuttings in the fridge until later be wise? I am going to try this for the 1st time and am completly at a loss for what to do. I think I can do it, but the timing has me unsure. I have a brown turkey that makes delish sweet figs and also an unknown variety with large green and very sweet figs. Would love to have a few ready by spring.
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Iâve never started this early @justjohn. I donât like having to babysit them too long in the winter and have had good luck starting them early spring so I can start moving them outside once the weather cooperates.
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I also do not using rooting hormone and get a fairly high percentage of success. Figs generally root pretty easily.
Results: 3 new plants from 14 cuttings
A couple great names though
Sunfire & Unknow Czech- from cut bottles
Staten Island Bomb- from the strawberry container
The other two from the strawberry container donât look dead yet, so I suppose there is hope, though 2.5 months is a long time.
On November 12th, I cut some from the figs in my yard and tried another method. This time, laid them almost horizonally in a tray, covering the future root area with foil (darker) and the tops with saran wrap. I used rooting hormone, then put it in a warm room, out of direct light.
I looked at them about a week ago and didnât see much. This time, I was happy to see strong growth on all 4.
After 39 days:
This was the best one- I transplanted it right into a gallon pot.
This one rooted from two different points. They were far enough apart, that I decided to try to get two plants out of it. If the 2nd part (with 1 tiny root) doesnât work it is no loss- I was contemplating cutting off the bottom anyway, so that the part with lots of roots would fit in a pot.
It seems so, but only when I donât really need them to. I have the plants, so there is no pressureâŚWhen I only have 1-2 of the variety, I get 20% success and when my cuttings are not so limited, I got 100%. At least the co-worked who wanted to try growing figs will be happy 
I suppose it also gives me some insurance if the winter protection Iâm using fails. Interesting note on Alma from JFaE: âone of our most cold hardy, surviving 6Fâ. Of course, that is still about 10 degrees too tender, but it may mean that I donât need to do that good a job protecting it.
End result:
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Those look great Bob. My 2 new Chicago hardy I let drop leaves and then brought them inside. The hardy Chicago figs tried to develop 5+ Figs.
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Isnât that the truth! The easiest one I root is an unknown fig (probably Celeste) that I got from a friend many years ago when I first started growing fruit. The tree is large enough that I could probably afford to have a 2% success rate and still get plenty of rooted cuttings.
Of course Murphyâs law usually strikes when I just have one or two cuttings (that happened to me the past year with Panache)
Nice ones Bob, looks like you found a technique that works well for you.
I am planning to root out several hundred fig cuttings over the winter for a small nursery project, biding my time until March to preserve domestic tranquility. But photos like yours give me that itchâŚso I might just have to start a few earlyđ!
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Thanks- definitely better than what Iâve done in the past. I think the key was in keeping it in good condition for long enough. Iâm especially impressed that when I checked a week earlier there was almost no roots- it sure grew a lot in a week.
Same for me- my first year Hardy Chicago ripened 5 figs (and had 2 more which I pulled off). Of the potted plants, Jean de St Gris and Bryant Park are attempting to make figs in 1 gallon pots, so those are also very precocious varieties.
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I see you guys have a lot of varieties I do not, down the road I would like to try some. Right now I have so many, I need to evaluate and eliminate some. I want to give them some time though, as older trees produce better figs.
I need to clone some for Steve too, I have yet to prune my figs. I doubt I will prune most, unless somebody wants cutting or plants. I would rather trade plants. As I will make cuttings and immediately root them. Much fresher and a much better success rate.
Although if cuttings are desired not a problem.
Bob,
I am having similar success rates.
Three cuttings have rooted out of a dozen or so sent to me by a generous forum swapper here.
Two of them are Sodus Sicilian which has me stoked! The other is Staten Island Bomb, which has already grown roots to ChinaâŚ
Lots of mold issues, but these ones are fighting for life. I took them out of the bin today and put them in cups.
Incidentally, I have also found Alma to be a tough little fig. My cutting of Alma refuses to die despite all sorts of trevails. Impressive!
Nice- hereâs one of mine (and itâs neighbors). I need to get more lightsâŚ
Hereâs an update on the figs from my above post on 12/22. The 4 with large root-masses all look pretty good. The half of the one I cut in two, which had only a single hair, looks to have stalled. But even if it dies, I wonât stress about only getting 4 plants from 4 cuttings
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Bob,
Youâre way ahead of me, but Iâm catching up fast.
Three (3) new varieties rooted for me seemingly overnight.
I am most excited about this Nero 600m:
Here is Stella:
This is Morley:
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My first attempt at rooting figs, thanks for the wood @mamuang! I hope there are roots on the other endâŚ
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Sometimes their is not, I have found a little heat helps. I noticed better rooting under the hottest of my plant lights. Matt seems to be doing great!
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Thanks for the advice, I have them on a heat mat and in a warm room. So I am optimistic, this is four and a half weeks since I put the large one in tha potting soil. The smaller one in the cup I wrapped in paper towels and covered with a plastic bag until I saw callouse and what I thought was the beginning of a root.
Iâd bet those have roots. In the past, ones Iâve managed to leaf out but not root never put on that much growth. Next time maybe try growing them in clear plastic cups. That way you can see what the roots are up to⌠plus it makes it easier to know when to water.
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