To ensure better rootings success, I would wrap them with parafilm so the cuttings won’t dry out or go moldy.
The best method is to Cleft graft them. I did 2 top tiers fig last night. 2 CLBC on the VBD rootstock.
Black Tuscan on the tip of B. GRIS.
Tony
@Susu, is this your first time? I think that medium is soaking wet and your cuttings will likely rot.
I’ve rooted fig cuttings before but killed them about 90% of the time. I see your point about the wet soil…
The optimum moisture for root growth is much drier than most people think. A stable environment is very important for cloning as well. You want to avoid fluctuations in temperature/humidity, and keep the cutting/clone staked and immobilized at all times. You are basically incubating them until the roots form. If the rooting medium is too wet, the cutting will absorb necessary water through the callous, without growing roots. New root growth is very delicate, so immobilization is crucial for optimum growth. Rooted clones recover from transplant SO much faster when immobilized.
One of the key feature of the ‘fig-pop’ method is the medium is basically sealed against evaporation. Most people still put too much moisture in the bags. Coco-peat is a great rooting medium because when you firmly squeeze excess moisture from it, it is nearly the perfect moisture level for rooting. If the medium is not sealed off, it should at least be covered to reduce evaporation loss and promote even moisture. Weigh your containers if it helps you determine moisture content-always water with a squirt bottle if needed. The weight will absolutely not increase until the clone puts out new growth.
If you are new to cloning, I recommend Rapid Rooter sponges, or a similar brand. Tag the clones by folding masking tape over them sticky-to-sticky, and root them in a single large container. All the little cups complicate things.
By far the easiest way to maintain a perfect moisture level is with Hydroton clay pebbles and a humidity dome. Fill a container with Hydroton, and place it in a deep drip-tray full of water. Plant the twig & sponge until there is a single layer on top the sponge, and the bottom is at least 2" above the water line. This method takes advantage of the perfect wicking properties of Hydroton clay, and has worked on even the most stubborn of medicinal plants. I wash everything with 1% H2O2, even the sponges, to prevent mold. Parafilm will probably eliminate the need to humidify the dome, but the dome is still useful for preventing rapid changes in climate.
I will probably post a demonstration of this method before Winter is over, since I will be rooting some figs of my own. I am wondering if I have time to root them and get them into a dormant state before late Spring. My concern is that most of the growth/benefit gained during the Winter is cancelled out by shock when it is moved outdoors.
Figs are among the easier trees to clone, and once you have it down, you will probably do perfectly fine with just a roll of Parafilm and proper moisture level.
Jack-in-the-pulpit seeds done with initial cold stratification, and potted up for their first “summer” of the year.
@Nil, you post is the best of my findings on the subject during past two years, it explains extremely well my success and failures with mulberry cuttings! Mulberries are relatives of figs. Check this please, https://growingfruit.org/t/enormous-success-with-rooting-and-keeping-healthy-mulberry-cuttings/25223
Parafilm prevents molding? How?
What is “immobilization”? Not touching it / not trying to replant it?
Stake it down, or otherwise tie down to prevent any movement. Any time there is a shift in the clone, there is a constriction and redistribution of hormones in the tender roots.
Protecting it from oxygen i think.
I had a few cuttings in the past with water or moisture collecting on the leaf nodes and they rotted with molds. Same thing that when you store the fig cuttings in the ziploc bag in the fridge, without para film the cuttings will go moldy fast with all the moisture collected in the bag.
Rinse them in 1% H2O2, and use it to wet the paper you store with your fig cuttings. It kills mold spores, and slowly breaks down, releasing O2 that inhibits mold growth. The parafilm holds in moisture, but not air. The oxygen passing through is what inhibits the mold.
Yes I noticed that too, I received cuttings wrapped tightly in plastic and I stored it in a fridge for almost a year; but then I opened, washed in H2O2 they were all alive but a little dirty with black mold, then dried it, put in a tight ziplock and then in a fridge, and all started rapidly molding, I am not sure why… wrapped in parafilm will create the same 100% humidity as ZipLock… maybe not enough air circulation? I’ll try to experiment; I have wild mulberries around.
So, then my 24oz plastic cups helped with immobilization, I intuitively wanted something “hard”; I used “pop bugs” last year and I noticed roots are too brittle: I saw a lot of roos (Mulberry), I tried to replant in a pot, and most of roots were gone.
I have few more Mulberry cuttings, and few huge wild hybrid mulberries outside (although it is Winter). I could not root easiest to root wild hybrids in a water for example.
My plan is to try this: 24-oz hard ‘crystal clear’ pots (who knows, maybe UV inside also helps roots?); I add two inches Hydroton; then I add Rapid Rooter sponges; then wrap cutting with parafilm leaving only 1"-2" opening at bottom, insert it into Rapid Rooter, and cover till top with Hydroton again (so that I should only have 2" of cutting above cup; whole cup filled with Hydroton). Then, I add 1" water to the bottom; Rapid Rooter will be 1" above water (2" at bottom filled with Hydroton). And no humidity dome; I am afraid creating 100% humidity.
I’ll publish photo here.
Do you use rooting hormone with that? My mulberries (on photo above) are without rooting hormone. Thanks,
I use clonex or dip-n-grow. to achieve a callus, but once the callus is there, no hormone should be needed. As far as I know, all light is bad for roots, but harmful UV does not penetrate well through most plastics.
[quote=“nil, post:44, topic:24630, full:true”]
I use clonex or dip-n-grow. to achieve a callus, but once the callus is there, no hormone should be needed.[/quote]
I have old cuttings, maybe 5-6 months old, no visible callus; I trimmed bottom a little to see if they are alive… cuttings were dipped in bee wax by the vendor. No callus. So, I trimmed a little, then used clonex gel; I am not sure I did good thing by trimming it…
I think definitely no light on rooting containers. UV is bad for the gram positive good soil dwelling bacteria that would protect against rot and will discourage mycorrhizal growth as well as root growth. I would tape them up to block light or use black containers.
Jack-in-the-pulpit seeds are starting to sprout, and I have 3 out of 4 figs definitely rooted. The last one likely rooted as well, or is close to it, but I have yet to see roots at the edge of the bag. It is starting to grow up top and had a nice swollen callus when I snuck a peek last week.
