The fuzzy buds and the collapsed top cut look like cold damage to me. I would rub those buds and see if they come off, and if they do prune back to a healthy bud.
@oscar ⌠I was working outside this evening and found a fig cutting⌠that evidently I dropped back in December when I cut my fig back to protect it.
It had been just laying out in the back yard since December.
Noticed the buds on it were green and I cut the top and bottom off and the wood looked great.
I have a 2 gal pot over in the edge of the woods⌠with a nice compost mix in it⌠that I put some Persimmon seeds in last fall and covered with leavesâŚ
I poked that fig cutting down in it⌠3 buds under 1 up⌠will see how it does.
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I have some fig cuttings that I put into 1 Gallon pots in potting soil, just within the last week or so. Thereâs no lids or covers, so I plan to water sparingly whenever they dry out. My goal was to avoid transplant shock by just letting them grow in the pots for a while, until theyâre ready to plant outside.
Whatâs the best place to put them in my house? By a window in the sun? Our in filtered sun by a window with a curtain drawn? In a shady spot?
Also, I live in an old house with old-school radiators. Should I put them on top of the radiator covers, to act like a heating mat? Our would that be too variable, as the heat cycles on and off? Should I just put them on top of a bookshelf, where it might not get as warm, but at least the temperature will be pretty constant?
My concern with the radiators is they may get too hot. if they get above 80, i wouldnât put the plants on them. Figs want full sun, so i would go with as sunny a location as you can.
Just what i did, but i put my cuttings into 4" pots with a potting mix that was mixed with some perilite to reduce moisture further, then i put the pots onto a tray and irrigate form the bottom. I then take a clear trach bag loosely over the whole thing. in 1 month, i have solid roots formed, so i remove the trash bag, and then continue to irrigate from the bottom when the potting mix dries out.
I havenât seen anyone mention this, but i took my knife and shaved/scraped the bottom two inches of the root cuttings to expose the cambium layer, then into the rooting hormone and the pot. I had never tried this before, but it seems to be working well for me this year.
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Thanks! I have a nice sunny window they can go in, and can add the trays and bags per your recommendation. When you water from the bottom, how much water do you add at a time? Like a centimeter in the bottom of the tray?
it depends on how many pots are in the tray, if it is full of pots, i probably go a good quarter of an inch to make sure there is enough for all the pots to soak it up. ideally, when you water from the bottom, the next day there shouldnât be any water left, and the pot should be moist. You can use Ziplock bags as well like 757Will did above, but for Figs, the humidity may not be required. I have just done it this way and found success, your milage may vary, be prepared to lose plenty while you figure out what works best for your particular setup.
@dpps ⌠best to keep them out of sunlight initially⌠so roots develop first⌠3-5 weeks⌠then once roots develop allow sun to the buds⌠which is what makes them develop shoots, leavesâŚ
You need roots before shoots.
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if often rooted more hardy figs, by just poking pruning leftovers in the soil. Next to the fig, and know plenty others here who do the same (dormant season)
A shady spot that is not covered from rain. (donât put them under a conifer) should suffice.
I agree with RedSun. In the past rooted almost all my fig trees inside in cups, but due to time constraints the last few times were outside in the earth. I will never do cups again. I start the same by putting the cuttings in bags in coco coir until they start to root. Then I wrap the top 1/4 in parafilm and plant them in a raised bed in my garden leaving one bud exposed or just slightly completely buried. The parafilm is just to deter any garden pest from chewing on precious swelling buds at ground level. I then take 3 pieces of 2 x 4 or similar and make a simple little bridge type structure that will sit about 6" over the cutting to shade it during itâs early life. Right before killing frost comes in the fall I dig it and pot it up. Next spring it wakes up happy as a clam. So easy just water carefree when you water your garden any way. 100% success so far.
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I would avoid full sun. That tends to dry out the cuttings before they have sufficient roots.
shady/semi shade is fine. But i often ârootâ them in the dark. And once i know they have roots move them in the light. I think (but am not sure) that the dark also delays buds from growing leaves. And thus gives the cutting more time to root.
The advantage of natural light (uv) though is that it tends to kill/slow down fungus/rot on the aboveground part of the cutting.
I would not place them directly on radiators.
Also keep in mind radiators tend to lower relative humidity. (radiators warm air, and warmer air can âholdâ more water. So the actual amount of water in the air vs the amount it can âholdâ = relative humidity goes down.
In short near a radiator your cuttings can dry out faster. So either wrap in parafilm. Or have some cover (with air holes) to keep the relative humity higher.
It differs from method and place to place. But if using a barrier to get higher humidity. I always aim for some condensation. But not a lot. (if 10% of the barrier has condensation drops, Iâm happy. If it is covered i usually have fungus/rot problems)
one of the things i think is most underestimated when rooting cuttings, is that the cutting needs air (oxygen), almost as much as it needs moisture. Even below the âgroundâ for roots to form.
Fluffy airy âsoilâ usually roots cuttings much easier than dense or waterlogged âsoilâ
Donât over water!
They are from a semi desert climate.
How much do you water? I imagine most of it runs out the bottom.
With the DE or Calcined Clay methods mentioned above, it is impossible to overwater. Use 2 clear plastic cups, same size, preferably at least 24oz. Put 5 small holes in the bottom of the inner cup then place it in one without holes. Fill with DE/CC, fill with water and let it soak in a bit, might have to top it off again. The rocks will go from dry pale gray to dark wet gray. Stick the cutting in the center, but donât push down all the way. Leave ~1-2â above the bottom of the cup. Itâs easy if the water is still in the cupsâŚmuch harder if just DE/CC. Now, lift the inner cup and drain the water into a bucket or something. Tip it sideways and make sure it all runs out, then place it back in the other cup without holes. The DE/CC will have absorbed some water and the cutting can get what it needs. Repeat the watering process as needed when DE/CC dries out an inch or so from the top. Early on, you wonât need to water again for a week or more. Once the cup is full of roots and has leaves, it might be daily.
Look at my pic above. Line up your doubled up cups, water them all, top off as needed, then start at the beginning and drain off the excess into a bucket. Pour it on something else for the benefits mentioned above.
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The more poorly draining the soil the more up a cutting should be if in a container/grow bag, and the cutting should not touch the bottom of the container/grow bag. Make sure to not use a short container/grow bag. Make sure that wherever you place the container/grow bag does not block drainage, some surfaces totally block drainage.
The thing about rooting cuttings is that no matter how well a rooting method works, it could be a total failure even if only one little thing changes, and a change could go unnoticed. I used to have a nearly 100% success rate at rooting cuttings outdoors in pots, then the climate changed, and the porch was painted with a paint that gets hot like cement. Then my rooting success rate started to range from total failure to 50% success rate rooting outdoors.
Then I manged to get a nearly 100% success rate again, after that I forgot to put in my written rooting notes a trick that helped me to get that nearly 100% success rate, my success rate dropped again, relying strictly on the notes I forgot about that one trick, and that is why my success rate dropped again.
Itâs hard to have a high success rate rooting without a controlled or predicable climate. That is one reason why I am trying to come up with a method that works in many different climates. Even the climate outdoors can effect an indoor climate!
PS
You should scratch the bottom, cutting all the way through the bark could cause the cutting to rot.
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Mine have been in my 4x9 tree pots and in a container on a heat mat 77 deg⌠for 12 days now. The medium was moist when I started them⌠and I have watered once so far⌠and they are still moistâŚ
I added 3 gerardi mulberry cuttings to the container yesterday⌠hoping to root those too.
I have lifted my tree pots up once checking for roots out the bottom⌠but none yet.
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I did a little video on how I root figs. Nothing fancy, but works great for me. Since they are relatively easy to root, I think many different techniques work, but Iâve made it simpler over time and have been just as happy with the results. Sorry it is a bit long.
I save up my oatmeal containers during the year to use for rooting. They are nice and deep and are large enough I can leave the figs in them to grow on for a nice long time. Also, you can just basically plant the whole thing like a big jiffy pot so donât have to worry about any transplant shock.
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What kind of container did you use?