Rooting fig cuttings - the method i'm using - video

Hi,

Here’s a video of the method i’m using to root fig cuttings. All the process happens in an improvised greenhouse (an old modified small barn) at room temperature from Jan-February to March-April.
The temperatures in March went from 30 ºF (4 ºC) to 86 ºF (30 ºC) and the humidity was between 35% and 65%.


Rooting fig cuttings - Enraizar estacas de figueira - YouTube

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Really enjoyed that.

Dax

Very nicely done and shot. I’ll say if you want to remove all the coir from the roots, just dip them in water. They come out easily.

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Great video Jaime. Thanks for taking the time to shoot it.
I’ve never thought of scraping the bark at the ends, and I will
definitely try it, when I root my cuttings in another month or so.

Thanks, Dax and bleedingdirt.

bleedingdirt,
I used to remove the coir with water (i have a few photos in the following album)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/149505793@N06/albums/72157665948784257

but when the coir is stuck between a dense mass of roots they become even more difficult to remove when wet.

Hi Ray,
Over here i tend to avoid rooting cuttings after April as the rising temperatures can create some problems (i have to leave them unattended during the week), but that just shows that we have to adapt to the conditions we have were we are.

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I finally had time to do a follow up video on the plants i rooted. Here’s the potting up stage.



Rooting fig cuttings - Potting Up - A few Tips - YouTube

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Also a video on the layered mix i’m using in pots as they are mostly unattended and, this way, i don’t have to water them so frequently.


Soil Mix for containers - Water plants in pots less frequently - YouTube

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Exemplary videos, Jaime.

Thank you!

Dax

Jaime’s Less Watering Organic Potting Media Mix: How to Layer
A) Expanded Clay Pellets
B) Heavier Soil(s) Media
C) Lime (watch video)
D) Aged Compost (Horse or similar. Here I can get Cow Manure) (watch video)
E) Aged Compost (Chicken. Stronger type such as Chicken) (watch video)
F) Lightweight Potting Soil (peat based)

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Great videos Jaime,
Now I see how you get all of those great root systems.
I still think you should eventually write a book, " Jaime Sacadura’s
Encyclopedia of Fig Growing, Rooting, Grafting, and Budding."
I want the first autographed copy.

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Dax,
I’m flattered that you are following my instructions to the letter :smile:
Beware that because the procedure is working for me in my zone doesn’t guarantee it will work everywhere the same way.
I have to leave my plants unattended during the week and the small pots don’t have a watering system, so this way i found a compromise that the plants seem to like and the roots systems develop quite well.

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Hi Ray,
Maybe when i retire i will have the time to do that. :wink: No such luck, just yet.

The root systems develop quite well for me with this system. I have tested several different combinations (clay pellets-heavy mix; clay pellets-light mix and several others in between) and this is the one that produces the best root development, while maintaining a good level of humidity that allows for longer periods without watering (being near the ocean clearly helps, too).

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An updated version (more compact and to the point) of my rooting video method.

https://youtu.be/cwPvmG9sK_Y

Also a small video remembering that watering too much is the rooted plants killer.

https://youtu.be/umA6DpY2vMI

Hope you guys like them.

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Regarding the moisture meter. Do you find that you need to clean off the tarnish / oxide layer that builds up on the copper over time? I clean the copper area and the tip with steel wool before taking measurements.

What is the name/type of that pen? It looks a lot longer lasting than a sharpie.

Nice videos! I just setup my own box of figs the other day and am looking forward to opening it on Christmas to find all the nice roots!

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Jamie,

Very nice video on figs rooting. I am doing more cleft grafting of new varieties to my existing not so tasty potted figs. Too many pots. Multi varieties figs tree is a way to go for me now.

Tony

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Not that much. I own 2 meters and i try to avoid storing them with moisture but not that much visible oxide layer on the copper until now and for the cheap price of these things that is quite remarkable. But, sincerely, i find myself using them less and less, as the weight method is much more convenient and quick.
When looking at a plant in a pot and feeling the pot, you instinctively know if you have to add more water or not.
I am especially careful with cuttings that have no leaves or very small ones as its too easy to overwater these, and i might use the meter to be sure in those cases.

Thanks, and good luck for those cuttings, Bob.
Some of those seem a bit long, but it can be the picture. I try to keep mine more compact, so they don’t stick too much out of the pot, when leaving the coco coir, or i have to place them too low on the pot and the young roots stay too close to the wet zone until they have time to adapt.

The cuttings on my video were started 8 of November and i removed them 1 of December (and place a new batch inside the same box as i show in the video), but they were, most of the time, over a glass lid of a heated aquarium, so the ‘hot feet’ accelerated the root development (usually is, at least, 1-2 more weeks, minimum)

Regarding the pen. I used Sharpies and they are not has detailed and don’t last as long as the ones i use now. These are from Edding (a German company) - edding 8055 outdoor marker - Product - edding
I usually use the 8055, but sometimes i can only find the 751 (the one i used in the video) or the 750 and these also do the job. Don’t know if they are available on your side of the pond, though.

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I also use do lots of grafts when i receive new varieties to be on the safe side. If i receive only one cutting i usually prefer to use it for 2-3 grafts instead of rooting it. In one year i will have more material to root new cuttings or to do airlayers. And i have several multi varieties fig trees.
Here one of my grafted trees (now with 12 varieties grafted). The video is one of my first ones and it shows (have to do an updated version next year with the other varieties that started producing figs)

https://youtu.be/h4KLedsCSK4

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Just started rooting my figs using this method. Seems easier than the fig-pop method I used last year. Going to be transplanting direct to 1 gal nursery pot because I had good success with that last year. I made my soil mix to be 15% perlite, 15% vermiculite and 70% peat moss.

Looks like a permanent paint marker. I use the white Milwaukee INKZALL Paint Marker and it dries to be waterproof and UV resistant. Sharpie “Mean Streak” is a similar product but a bit harder to find in a local store.

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Just make sure you wrap most of the cuttings with parafilm to prevent drying out.