Rooting Fig Cuttings - Lessons Learned This Season & Tips For Success
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- Опубліковано 21 сер 2024
- Rooting fig cuttings can be tricky, and success rates are dependent on ambient humidity, temperature, soil moisture and other factors. These conditions can fluctuate year-to-year based on both outdoor weather and varying conditions inside your home, so methods that were successful one season may not be as successful the next season if too many ambient conditions change. This video details lessons I learned from the 2020 fig cutting rooting season, how conditions differed from the 2019 fig cutting rooting season, and how I adapted to these changes to improve my success rate.
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Ah ha! I really appreciate your follow-up! I'm on the TX Gulf Coast and even inside, it can be pretty humid, so I'm nixing the pine bark and using the stones like you did. I noticed long ago the heat mat got too hot for sprouting veggies after they break the surface, so have put cardboard atop the mat and it does much better, about 80 degrees. If I have to water the cuttings from time to time, I don't mind that; maybe a heavy spritzing? To prevent budding, I think I'll set the plastic container inside the cardboard box atop the mat with top open with lid sideways as you did; this should keep the light out well, etc. HOW LONG DO YOU ACCLIMATE YOUR CUTTINGS STARTING IN FEBRUARY? An hour at a time and move up from there, like tomatoes, or other?
It’s my first time doing fig cutting. After 2 weeks I started seeing buds and I did exactly what you said not to do. I moved them to a brighter location. A week later one is producing new leaves almost every other day. Yesterday I noticed the edges darkening on the leaves and all the buds swelling on the other cuttings. Removed the cutting with the most leaves to check for roots and there were some rooting on but not enough to sustain the cutting. Your video was by far the best, “what to do if”.... Taking them away from the light and hoping things are not too far gone.
Thanks for the tips on troubleshooting. Even if I loose them I feel more confident about what I did right and wrong thanks to your video.
Moving the cuttings to some window light is probably harmless as long as the light isn't so intense it'll dry out your soil. In fact, if your cuttings are struggling to wake up, sunlight may be exactly what's needed to jumpstart the cuttings and wake them up. There is some risk that they'll leaf out before they'll root, but if you root in darkness, there's a chance they'll never wake up, so it's a trade-off. I think mild window light is a good compromise.
The cuttings aren't going to burn out right away. There is considerable stored energy in the cutting to sustain some leaves, so no need to panic. Problem is, once they leaf out, now you need to provide them solar energy or the green growth will become sickly. I would provide them some window light at this point. Not 10 hours of straight window light, but 4-6 hours to help the green growth can be helpful.
I'm a fig newbie, so still plenty to learn. I live in a tropical climate year round... temps of 32-35 C (90 - 95 F) is typical daily and humidity level is 80-90%. My first batch of cuttings, rooted in less than a week. Second batch, same method used, cuttings *all* dried out before roots formed. Driving me nuts but this is what keeps it interesting for me, I guess. lol So now, with a new batch of cuttings, I'm wrapping the top half of the cuttings with parafilm and keeping the cuttings in an enclosed box with no light, hopefully to keep the cuttings from drying out. It's only been 2 days. Wish me luck. haha Thank you for your videos... every bit of advise helps! 👍🏼
Man, fig cutting preparation is on another level. It's so mysterious. There's so many ways to root them.
I'm considering buying a tempature reader for degrees and humidity. And making sure I get the correct numbers by getting humidifier , heat, and fans. Basically creating the perfect room for it.
But the idea of just rooting figs wiith resources around us and different and techniques. That is more valuable
I started fig cuttings for the first time this year following your methods and I’m having great success! Sort of. Although I keep them in my basement on a heat mat and in mostly darkness (no direct sunlight at all), almost all of my cuttings are starting to break bud. Yet I’m not seeing roots yet. Hopefully they will develop relatively quickly.
Don't worry. Stay the course. The roots shouldn't be far behind. In fact, you may actually do better by adding light. This year, I rooted some cuttings in front of a sunny window and I'm having record rooting speed. The sunlight seems to have stimulated the cuttings and woken them up even more quickly. I am starting to change my opinion on sunlight and I'm starting to become a fan of a few hours of low intensity sunlight (like a decently sunny window).
Try fig pop it keeps the moisture locked in the bag and keep the bag tight so there won’t be any mold growing it works great
Good info on once the roots form and buds and leaves after, take it outside with the sun for the sugars. Well said bro, much love and fun this growing season
Very helpful info was wondering what to do with cuttings that developed buds without roots. Now I know what to do and what not to do.
Thank you for sharing😁👍
Debra Arizona if the buds are swelling or leafing with no roots yet, move the cuttings to a corner of the of the house with no direct light and apply bottom heat. Light stimulates the buds, so you want to restrict light. Warmth on the bottom stimulates root growth.
@@TheMillennialGardener
Thank you for responding,and will follow your directions teacher😊👍🌹
You could consider placing a thin cloth over the bins to cut down on the ambient light as well. I'm debating whether I try to pre-root (in coir) or direct root in small containers. If I can get the coir to the optimal moisture level (just barely damp, not more), I think you can have pretty good success. The biggest difficulty is survival through the first up-potting. I've also heard some rumors about getting cuttings to form callouses before you try and root them, which should help cut down on tendency for cuttings to rot.
NM Nate I feel my cuttings are in low enough light, especially with the lids cocked but on. I don’t believe pure darkness is necessary.
I have had horrid luck with coir. The more coir and potting mix I remove for mini pine bark nuggets, the better it seems to be for me. I may try 100% sifted nuggets next year.
I am done scoring or scraping cuttings. Rot is too big of an issue in my opinion. I am having good luck just sticking them in pots without injuring them.
The Millennial Gardener
I never had luck in coir either. I use a fine to medium bark mix (mostly pine) from the garden center with perlite. I used to root mine in the garage without ambient light over winter, but I’m finding for all propagating in my zone (9a/coastal MS) that very late winter -early spring (feb-March-April) is ideal timing. I just bought 2 fig varieties from a gal who’s grandmother and aunt brought them from Italy- on top of my black metal fire pit table in FULL SUN ! I have them in plastic clear cups in an wooden tomato basket so the bottoms aren’t directly on the black metal. The one rooted in 9-10 days and the second only a few days after. The cup is full of roots and I will be transplanting them soon as the leaves break. It’s so crazy lol. But I have probably 85-95% success propagating anything during this time of year.
Set a towel on the heat mat between the box to reduce the heat
8 people did not like this video please tell us so we can learn.
I love his videos very informative, so please helps us.
Thanks for watching. I appreciate it.
Thank you so mich for this video. So informative!
Very informative. Well done!
My Backyard Garden thank you!
Great video! Very informative! I can't wait to use this information sometime in the future!
Jacob Simpson thanks for watching. I’m glad you found it helpful.
I soak my cuttins in dilute vinegar solution 1tbl/ gallon of filterd water before potting themand don’t have any more fungal problems and I’m hoping it in causes a more acidic environment because I have alkaline soil
I would love to hear from others that are modifying the micro environment of the cuttings. peroxide is an effective aniti fungal solution for sure but has no residual properties
Buying Fig cuttings
Nice job! Loved the details- thank you
Thanks for watching!
Awesome, many, many thanks!
You are welcome! Thanks for watching.
This was very educational, and yet again, I now see another new way to root cuttings. It's all about experimenting, but this one looks like a keeper for you for sure. I like the idea of putting clean Quikrete stone on top and bottom of the cup.
A few questions...
1) What do you think was the cause of the cups getting too hot in the bin? Was it because the stone attracted the heat from the heating pad and stored it more than the medium did?
2) When your cuttings have leafed out nicely and you moved them outdoors, I am guessing that the heating pad is not needed anymore, right? In my area in zone 6B, I soon will move them into a sunny location too, but in another part of the room for potassium. Too cold for outside. So, No need for the heating pad anymore, right?
Joe Rappa thanks for watching. To answer your questions:
1. The instructions on the heat mat says for a cooler temp, place on a cool surface (like concrete slab, tile or hardwood floors). For warmer surface, place on an insulated surface (like carpet). It is the heating mat itself. On carpet, this brand of heating mat is just too hot. The mulch would get just as hot as the stone. You can buy a more expensive mat with temperature controls. I’m using a timer as a money saver.
2. I only use the heating mat for rooting. Once I get strong roots, I remove them from the mat and transfer them outside during the day. That Godfather I showed in the video will go outdoors next week. I love acclimating my figs in the winter sun because it is weak. We get mostly 60 degree days in February in my zone, so I have that luxury. You can move them outside as long as temps are 40 or higher with no desiccating winds. A high walled plastic tub is ideal because it blocks winds and lets in sun and maintains a little greenhouse effect by providing shelter.
@@TheMillennialGardener Got it, thanks.
Hi again, good to know info. Hope your amazing Lila is doing well. Happy Thursday.
evolving blessed the Lila is doing awesome. It is growing at an astounding rate. I don’t even recognize it from when I planted it 9 months ago. It has quadrupled in size and is loading up with blossoms. I can’t wait until they bloom! Thanks for watching.
@@TheMillennialGardenerYay!! That is Wonderful! So glad to hear that. Please do a video to show her in all her glory💕Tfs
evolving blessed when I start getting blooms I’ll make a hand pollination video.
The problem I've had with my cuttings even after they've leaved out is sometimes I either over water or underwater, and I've lost a lot of them but I just wanted to make this comment, also thanks for your many good programs
Getting the water correct is very hard for me, as well. I've lost more cuttings in my life that I care to remember. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the video it was very informative and helpful!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching.
Thanks men for video 😊
La Horteta de Bussy thank you for watching.
I am trying this method with 10 cold hardy varieties. I set it all up since 01/01/24. Was using heating mat but kinda warped the cups at the bottom so I unplugged it two weeks ago with no difference since its 70 f where they are with little light. At this time I see almost all of them rooting and putting out leaves quickly. Questions: should I use a growing light soon to help with growth, and when should I up pot them from cup to what size pot. Thanks for your help!
Hey man, thanks for the awesome videos. You've really helped me a ton this year. I have a quick question... A friend is giving me some fresh Celeste cuttings. It's mid July now and I'm in New Jersey so should I try and root them now or store them in the fridge and wait till next spring?
Sorry I'm late on this. I would have my doubts that the cuttings would keep until next spring, so I would look to start them while the cuttings are fresh. Just be aware you'll have to baby them all throughout the winter.
Thank you so much for the update!Any changes to potting soil perlite mixture?
Hi Millennnial Gardner - I followed your videos and rooted some fig cuttings, this is my first time and I was trying to learn so tried both paper towel zip lock bag method as well as rooting hormone and inserting in potting mix method . It is about 15 days now and both the baggie cuttings and the one in soil have roots and a few have new leaves. Can I transfer the one in paper towel and ziplock to soil? Also the one I tried to root in the soil have roots growing from nodes above the soil as well. Should I transfer them to bigger pot and bury them till the nodes where roots are coming out? Thanks for all the great videos. They are very helpful
For the cuttings in the baggie, you can transfer them into soil. Just be very gentle. The roots are very fragile at this stage and compacting the soil manually can break them. Be very light with your touch.
For the fig cuttings in a potting mix, if you disturb your cutting before the fig has created a secure root ball, you run a very high risk of losing the cutting. The roots are extremely fragile. If you have roots growing under the soil line, you're fine and you can ignore the roots growing above. OR, if you have room at the top lip of your cup, you can simply fill it with a loose mulch layer. That will encourage the roots to grow down into the soil but will still provide a "lip" at the top to water.
They look good. Maybe, as another factor, they like the extra Calcium from the Bluestone? Well organized videos. Thanks!
It's possible, but generally fig cuttings root with the stored internal nutrients inside the cutting. That is what initially sustains them until the roots are strong enough to find food in the soil. Thanks for watching!
@@TheMillennialGardener The Calcium would also change the pH of the surrounds and possibly make uptake easier. It is all so complex but interesting! Thanks
I did figs pops last year and they did very well. Only ones I lost if I remember right we're ones I put out too early and they froze
That's good to hear. Fig pops worry me because they're nearly impossible to water, but maybe that's the blessing.
Is it as simple as moving cuttings to darkn if you notice that buds/leaves are getting ahead of the roots?
Nice video, Try a heating mat thermostat. It keeps the temperature steady at whatever you set it at.
That sounds like a good investment. I may have to look into that next season.
Sounds like your issue to the early budding is that there is just too much sunlight in that room. Can you put them in a closet where there is no light at all?
You don't have to place them in total darkness. My office is pretty dark in the corner. Even if you grow them in total darkness, you'll still get bud growth eventually, and when that does happen, you'll get catastrophically leggy growth. Many people store their fig trees in total darkness and warm weather can trigger spindly growth in total absence of light. Sometimes, we just have to do the best we can because we're growing them outside of their native environment.
Another good video. Looks like my setup except mine are in 24oz cups of DE. I am Going to try some of the aquarium rocks. I think that consistency and size should be good. I have a cutting in hydroton that is swelling buds but no roots visible. Almost all the other cuttings started that day in DE have roots and leaves, or roots and buds. What kills white mold? THAT is my current fight.
TheNCGardener be careful using rocks and DE. The problem is up-potting. It may not hold together and you may have a lot of losses in transition. Next year, I am going to experiment with screened mini pine bark nuggets. They’ll up-pot easily and have many of the benefits of mediums like DE (rot resistance).
Where do you have mold?
I think the stones are holding too much heat at the bottoms. So far what I’ve found is if the cutting already has a little swell when it goes in the substrate it will come out first. Even if it’s in the dark. My Godfather put out a bud in 3 days in a dark closet. And rather then keeping them in constant humidity I am just misting the leaves a few times a day. Once it buds I put them under full spectrum LED lights. The Photosynthesis from light should provide it enough energy to continue with the roots. If it will grow roots at all, as you know not all do. Just my 2 cents.....
I am not sure if I have seen you talk about this. But hopefully you will see this and can clarify.
At what point do you remove the parafilm? I put some fig cuttings in the clear cups approximately 2 weeks ago. I already have small leaves on 2 of the 4 and have green buds on the other 2. (they are not in the sun and have very little light) I have visible roots through the clear solo cups on 1 of the 2 with leaves. I did wrap mine with parafilm. Just curious if I should remove it anytime soon or just wait till they get a lot more mature. (or just let it fall off eventually?)
Thanks again for the info you share. I am having 100% success so far using the method you demonstrate!!!
PS I may have made this comment on one of your other videos but thought I would share the tip here in case you can use it. Instead of drilling the holes in the solo cups, which can get messy and crack the cups sometimes, I used a really cheap soldering iron and melted 4 holes in the bottom of the cups and a couple holes in the sides near the bottom. Once the soldering iron heats up all the way, it only takes about 10 seconds to put all the holes in a cup and basically shouldnt crack. It actually thickens up the material near the hole so it should be thicker plastic and be more tough.
toddfromflorida the idea behind the parafilm is to keep the fig cuttings from drying out. Once the fig cuttings have roots, they are able to uptake water from the potting medium, so there will no longer be a problem with the cuttings drying out. Therefore, once you have decent roots, you may remove the parafilm because the cutting can sustain itself at that point. Just be very careful not to disturb the cutting by pulling the tape off. Hopefully this makes sense!
@@TheMillennialGardener
Perfect. Thank you sir. Hopefully I will not have issues because of the leaves that have already started. I have the cups inside a lowes 5 gallon bucket like you use for the small trees (since I was only potting up 4 cuttings for now) I have a couple inches of gravel in the bottom of the bucket. The bucket is on the same heating pad you recommend. And I keep the lid partly on similar to what you do with the lid of the totes. It gets very, very little light for sure. But it is still leafing out. At least it is the one I have visible roots on.
Will be watching for you on figbid to get a few more varieties.
toddfromflorida for the record, you don’t have to remove the parafilm. It is biodegradable. It’ll eventually start to fall off on its own if you don’t want to disturb your trees. You can remove it or leave it on.
Have you ever experimented with rooting cuttings in complete darkness versus a little light from windows and the overhead electrical lights??? Wonder if it would be counter productive to do so.
I have not. I don't have a completely dark room. I don't think there is any benefit to total darkness versus simply low light.
@@TheMillennialGardener I have great success with total darkness in a cold room coupled with mosquito bits to control fungus knats No budding and no energy wasted on any green growth.
How did these work out?
Could u not just put the box on a couple of sticks so it's not in direct contact with the heat mat?
Trying several different rooting mixes for this year's cuttings. I've got a perlite-coco coir-planting mix (Orchid Nerd mix), perlite-coco coir-Diamateous Earth Powder (DEP), and finally a pre-mixed Sphagnum Peat Moss, Reed Sedge Peat, Perlite, Sand, and Limestone with added DEP. Overkill but I'm experimenting since I lost so many to rot after they had good roots and 3"-4" leaves last year--- dropped all their leaves and the nice fat roots turned brown and dried up :(
My question is if you've advice to whether or not a blend with frit would be a good idea when I up-pot all these to get them off to a good start with trace elements? Tinyroots Deciduous Bonsai Soil Blend-Coco coir is "a mix of 100% organic double sifted compost mix, Akadama, Turface, coarse river sand, fine pine bark, and Frit which contains over 28 vital trace elements and minerals that are essential". They're rooting in EnPoint non-woven fabric nursery baggies this year so they can be planted directly into the pots without disturbing the roots. All the mixes were barely damp and then all the individual bagged cuttings were sealed in a large container so I wouldn't be tempted to overwater this year.
Anyone?
For fertilizing fig cuttings, I would stay far away from any kind of organic fertilizers. Organic fertilizers require a microbiome to break down the fertilizer, and symbiotic bacteria, fungi, worms and tiny critters won't be in your cups. I would strongly recommend using weakly diluted chemical fertilizers like MiracleGro for feeding cuttings. Organics aren't going to be effective until you up-pot them into their large, final containers and you establish some kind of bacterial and fungal web. I have a video on how to fertilize cuttings here: ua-cam.com/video/ghl5XkLU4d0/v-deo.html
As for your cuttings dying after rooting, I strongly suggest once your cuttings root, immediately bring them outside into real sunlight on days above freezing. Obviously, don't expose them to freezing temperatures, but real sunlight will dry out and purify your soil. Doing this, I've never lost a cutting after rooting (except one Dale ate...). Sunshine is the best purifier.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thank you so much for taking the time to share this information. I really appreciate it. I'll go watch that video. I'll be sharing your videos with people I've given cuttings to for Christmas this year too. Have a Happy New Year and thank you again.
@@kindafoggy thank you, I appreciate that. Happy New Year!
My rooted cutting has no leaves but buds started to swell. Can I use liquid fertilizer at this time or wait until it has leaves. I rooted the cutting on 11/21/19. Thanks.
If you're in an inert medium like coir, peat moss, perlite, pine bark, DE or stone, it's probably a good idea to add a little bit of diluted fertilizer. If you're using a potting mix that comes pre-fertilized, you can probably wait until some leaves emerge, and if they look yellow, give them a little bit. If it's honestly been 3 months, it won't hurt to add some either way.
Hello my name is Ron I was wondering what the earliest part of the year I could take cuttings . I live in Phoenix Arizona and the temperature in September is usually in the low hundreds
If you're in Phoenix, I would wait until January. Your trees will never go truly dormant, so do it during the coolest season possible. That for you should be sometime in January.
Они стоят на теплом полу
This is way over complicating things- 6 weeks ago I started my first fig cuttings- they all have leaves and a couple tiny figs. I got them- shaved the bottom- dipped it in honey and cinnamon and boom!
I eager to know. Its 75 degree in celcius or fahrenheit?
Fahrenheit. 75C would certainly cook anything. 75F is 24C.
Every single Black Madeira I have tried rooting, TOOK FOREVER...3 1/2 months on one 1 cutting.
That's good to know. If I have a cutting that does not root after 2 or 3 months, I should leave it as is and be patient. After your 3rd month, did you do anything to it to see if it was still alive? Like scrape the cutting to see if it was still green? What do you do to let yourself know that it is still alive after watching it do nothing for 3 months? Thanks
100+ days is a commitment. No wonder the plants sell for so much money 😂 Neither of mine have rooted yet, but oddly enough, they’re both swelling buds fairly early. Maybe I’ll get lucky. The “KK” variety is known for being a little more vigorous and less infected with FMV. It must’ve been a stronger sport off the original mother. Some branches are just superior to others, and will make better cuttings for propagation.
@@joerappa5278 IF after 6 weeks you see no growth, you may have to take a look. I had to twice! First time I saw bumps but no roots, the second time I had like 2 very small roots... I didnt look a third time as 3 months I was like... you either live or die.. this is crazy.. lol BUT it survived. hahaha Always check for root or Gnats.. those lil bastards ruin everything!!!
Super figi! Też mam zapraszam do mojego ogródka 👍🌴
Hey, a Gdzie ten Twój ogródek?
Is it to late to start cutting now?
wilhemina walker no, not at all. I just started a dozen last weekend, and I’ll be starting a few more in a week or two. You can root cuttings at any time. In fact, they root more easily as temps warm and days get longer. Some hold their cuttings til the spring and do it all outside, too.
You talk alot but show little stop talking and show how. Show us what to do , dont tell us. You can explain why later.
Is that good advice for education? Do you think it's solid advice to tell teachers not to explain to their students why they're doing something? The foundation of education is "why." If you do not know why you're doing something, you're not learning a thing.