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,
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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.
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[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.
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Carefully peeled back the top layer of soil to check on my Solomon’s seal seeds. Found the plumules/first year rhizomes developing! Original seed on the left (about 1/8"), plumule/rhizome on the right. Covered it back up, and after another month or so at room temp, they’ll go back in the fridge for the second dormancy. Bring them out in June, and the shoot should start growing!
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Figs are starting to grow nicely, all four now have roots! Will be time to pot them up soon, I think. Also, Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema ) is coming in thick now, and NJ tea (Ceanothus) is germinating as well. Didn’t think I’d need the grow lights just yet, but the Arisaema seedlings seem to need more light than I would have expected from a woodland plant, and the NJ tea started germinating in stratification and was molding.
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How long did it take your graft to take and start growing? I just did a few figs to a plant that was waking up. It’s been in a 70 degree room under partial light ever since.
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It took around 6 weeks in my basement next to the window.
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A few of my Ceanothus seedlings turned up with 3 cotyledons. Now, I understand that’s not terribly uncommon, but what’s interesting to me is the dicot seedlings are coming up with pairs of true leaves, whereas the tricots have 3’s! I’ll have to see if this continues, or if they’ll revert as they get a little bigger.
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Are fig trees hardy overwinter in 6b?
There are several varieties of figs, notably Chicago Hardy, Florea, improved Celeste and others, that can survive zone 6 and produce in one season. They may die back to the ground and come up again and still produce. the roots of Chicago Hardy can survive -20 F. If you get a good trunk growing either because it was protected or you have a few mild winters, it can be a tree. You’d want to plant it on a south facing wall or other protected place if possible. I grow ChicagoHardy outside zone 6a and always get at least part of he crop to ripen In a cool year or all in a warmer summer, they ripen even in cool weather. I am trialing dozens of other varieties outside as well but they are too young as of yet to tell you how they will produce consistently.
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It depends on your 6B. I’m in a solid 6B/borderline 7A, and a Chicago Hardy I put outside and didn’t protect top died to the ground (not sure about the roots yet) by the end of October. We haven’t hit single digits one time yet, but we’ve had some big temp swings that are typical for this part of the country that figs just don’t handle well. I’ve heard of a few people having in ground success in zone 6, but I’ve heard of a lot more people giving up after a few years of not getting any crop after a fair amount of effort. This spring I’m going to try to grow some step-over style figs in my greenhouse and see how that goes.
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Pawpaw seeds are out of stratification, and after a few weeks on top of the warm computer at work, they’re starting to germinate. All potted up and ready to grow!
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All those seedlings and cuttings look great! Congratulations!
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Thanks! I need to post updated photos of the NJ tea and figs. They’ve grown a lot!