Got a brand new cutting you want to succeed? Why did past cuttings seem to root but then failed? What do the fig researchers recommend? This is the post on potential reasons for rot while rooting…
Thank you! I’ve used Neptune’s Harvest or Maxicrop in the past. Now I use the powdered kind as you seem to get more for your money. But to be honest, most of the brands out there will work and are good. So I would just get whatever is easiest to find and most cost effective in your area. Ascophyllum nodosum is the type of seaweed most talked about for root growth, so you may want to make sure whatever product you get has that in it, most seem to. Make sure not to get one with fish for this application! Dilution is higher for this than when fertilizing plants. Recommended dosages seem to vary by brand, I would at least cut it in half and make sure not a lot of seaweed residue is remaining on the cutting before planting. You’ll want it watery and let it soak longer than you would for rooting hormone, a few hours or overnight is okay. You can also use it to moisten your rooting mix if desired.
Thanks for this article!! What do you think about orchid pots for rooting in perlite/peat mix? They have lots of holes for airflow and drainage, but that makes me wonder about how to maintain a beneficial humidity level. I'll be rooting cuttings inside and not with a heating mat.
I have tried those, but didn’t have the best of success with them. I think it’s because they allow the rooting mix to dry out too much before the cutting has rooted. You could try bagging the pot initially to see if that holds in enough humidity to get them going, but ultimately, they are a mixed bag for results. I am in a very dry area though which does affect that.
After trying a lot of pots, my best results always come in treepots. Another option I’ve had good results with are clear 32 oz deli containers. You have to put in your own holes, but that gives you some control for how many you have on the sides. You do want plenty on the bottom.
Whatever you choose, just make sure it is deep enough to bury a few nodes on the cutting while keeping the cutting about 2” from the bottom.
I’m excited for you, I hope you have great results!
Thank you so much! This is the first time I have seen someone writing about the microbiome on fig cuttings and James White's research. In my last round of fig cuttings, I rolled the cuttings in my finished compost mixed with some soil from beneath an established fig tree to try and inoculate it with some good microbes. I am just a few days in, so we'll see how it goes.
I go back and read and re-read your articles, and this time, because I have cuttings going (I hope), I have *another* question. I noticed on the top cut of some (6 or 7) of my 20 or so cuttings, which are wrapped in parafilm, a dark grey spot or an orange spot, or both (ew). So I cleaned my shears and trimmed off the top half inch or so and rewrapped in parafilm. I'm trying to root a variety of cuttings in 50% perlite 50% Sunshine #4 and only dipped them in water for the second time in 10 days, and they still seem to be maintaining decent moisture and plenty of porosity. Doing this inside, dark, no heat mat, and around 38% relative humidity, max ambient temperature about 74. And, no rooting medium used.
I did wash them according to someone else's advice, scored the bottom area to reveal cambium, and stuck them in the medium (not up to the parafilm). They had been in the fridge for about two weeks as you described above.
Is this just a hazard of the process? Some of the cuttings were a gift, and some were from my own Chicago Hardy new trees when I pruned the whip prior to wrapping here in zone 6a/b.
Thanks so much for all your interesting and informative articles!
Hi Deb! What you are experiencing on the top of your cuttings with parafilm is quite common. I didn’t cover it in this article but mentioned it in one from last year. Some people do get mold or even rot under parafilm because it can trap moisture underneath it. You want to make sure that the parafilm is stretched thin and applied in a single layer to the extent possible. But even with that sometimes there can be issue. I used to use a toothpick to gently poke a small hole through it wherever I was having issue and that seemed to help. I’ve chosen to move away from parafilm myself because I was tired of dealing with it. Don’t get me wrong though, it is a very handy product and cuttings do need something to maintain moisture in them before they have roots.
As for darkness, figs don’t require that for rooting. Sometimes rooting in darkness can cause some cuttings to never put out top growth. Ambient light is okay. Scoring is hit or miss for whether it is necessary. It can help for a cutting to put out roots a few days faster, but it also causes an area of vulnerability in the cutting. The point of scoring is to remove the harder outer layer of hardwood cuttings so that roots can come out easier. Some also feel that wounding it causes a cutting to put resources to that area. But some score too deeply, so just be careful with that practice that it is a shallow cut in one spot.
The number of nodes you have under the rooting medium can also have a bearing on success. For whatever reason, sometimes the bottom node just does not want to root, but higher ones will. Also, the more nodes that are buried allow for greater root development overall. So it is better to have more buried than sticking out, if that makes sense. Of course, keeping in mind to not put the bottom of the cutting in the bottom 1-2 inches of your pot. Sometimes we just have to work with what we’ve got and it ends up being however it is.
Yeah, sometimes there is nothing that can be done as far as the need to store them in the fridge. It isn’t always convenient to root them right away, or some sellers need to prune first before listing them for sale which means they have to be stored. It just is a part of the situation. We do our best to follow good practice with it, and as long as temps in the fridge are normal, it should be fine.
I hope things go well, it sounds like you’re off to a good start!
Thank you! Your input always gives me a lot to think about and this is no exception. I think I may try a couple of other cuttings yet from potted trees that are currently in my garage, and I may change up the plan with abandon (well, modest abandon).
All of my cuttings, with the exception of one or two, are sending out leaves like mad. They are about 3 weeks into the rooting process, but I'm just not sure what to do with all the leaves, and while they are in clear containers, I'm not seeing any roots yet.
Pretty much all of the buds above the medium have sprouted and even some that are just under the medium are sending up leaves. I have read everything about clipping off all except one, to leaving all of them on. Any thoughts?
That is awesome! Definitely do not clip them. This is perfectly normal. You want the plant to do some photosynthesis with the ambient light to be able to do root growth. Let everything grow that wants to grow at this point, (an exception may be if you see fruit forming.) Growing tips stimulate root growth, just as root growth can help to stimulate tip growth. They have a mutual effect on one another that keeps the hormone system flowing.
Hi Valerie, quick question! My cuttings are leafing out nicely, and I have seen roots in some of the containers. (Yay!)
But on a couple of the cuttings, I'm seeing some leaf bracts that have turned brown and some of the leaves have dropped. They're completely green, so I'm just wondering if maybe this is an indicator that my ambient humidity is a little too low where I'm growing them? It runs anywhere between 42% and 36%. Room temp runs between 70 and 75.
I've resisted watering when I've had the urge to avoid overwatering, but could this also be a sign of underwatering? I water from the bottom by dunking them in a container of bottled water actually and just recently have started adding a very very very very dilute maxi grow to their water.
My cuttings are in a 50% perlite/50% sunshine mix number 4. I've had no issues with gnats.
Any thoughts? I've only had this issue with about three out of the 22 plants so far, but I sure would like to halt the progress of it if there's something I need to tweak.
Out of the 23 cuttings I've started, 9 so far are showing roots. I think that also includes the one that dropped leaves but I have to admit I should have marked that one in some way to confirm. Four of my cuttings are in 4x9 black pots, so I can't tell whether they have roots yet or not. The rest are in clear water bottles and roots are beginning to show nicely. Wondering if it's time to start Maxi Grow in earnest or increase the humidity or both. I don't see any signs of mushy roots on the ones where I do see roots and there's plenty of air around them. I have two cuttings in a 50% peat 50% perlite. One of them is showing a route but seems to be having some difficulty actually getting leaves out, and the other one is quite leafy, but I'm not seeing a root yet. Those two are in quart size plastic translucent containers. I've been treating those two with gnatrol in their water because of the peat. Sorry, long answer!
Well, the humidity only really matters if they don’t have roots yet, OR if they were in a humid environment and abruptly changed to a non-humid environment. The humidity change can definitely affect the leaves and it’s easy to do, especially if they were in anything like a tote or plastic bag. If they have roots, and the substrate is drying out, then yes, for sure they need water and that could contribute to leaf loss.
Sometimes though, they lose leaves because the cutting base has rotted or the roots have died. I usually give them some time to make sure because they can bounce back if that is not the cause.
Be careful of using grow lights if they don’t have roots, because the lights will cause them to lose moisture through the leaves, but they have no way of getting it back through the roots.
If you want to send pictures or anything of the problematic ones, feel free to send a DM using the conversation bubble icon at the top next to the search button. (At least that is where it shows for me.)
Yes, you can give very diluted fertilizer as soon as they have roots. Give half of the houseplant dose if that is on the bottle.
Great article! Which brand of seaweed extract would you recommend and a dilution rate as I’d like to give that a try this year.
Thank you! I’ve used Neptune’s Harvest or Maxicrop in the past. Now I use the powdered kind as you seem to get more for your money. But to be honest, most of the brands out there will work and are good. So I would just get whatever is easiest to find and most cost effective in your area. Ascophyllum nodosum is the type of seaweed most talked about for root growth, so you may want to make sure whatever product you get has that in it, most seem to. Make sure not to get one with fish for this application! Dilution is higher for this than when fertilizing plants. Recommended dosages seem to vary by brand, I would at least cut it in half and make sure not a lot of seaweed residue is remaining on the cutting before planting. You’ll want it watery and let it soak longer than you would for rooting hormone, a few hours or overnight is okay. You can also use it to moisten your rooting mix if desired.
Appreciate the insights Valerie! I will be using it to moisten the soil mix and soak the cuttings most definitely.
Awesome! I hope it works well for you 👍👍
Thanks for this article!! What do you think about orchid pots for rooting in perlite/peat mix? They have lots of holes for airflow and drainage, but that makes me wonder about how to maintain a beneficial humidity level. I'll be rooting cuttings inside and not with a heating mat.
I have tried those, but didn’t have the best of success with them. I think it’s because they allow the rooting mix to dry out too much before the cutting has rooted. You could try bagging the pot initially to see if that holds in enough humidity to get them going, but ultimately, they are a mixed bag for results. I am in a very dry area though which does affect that.
After trying a lot of pots, my best results always come in treepots. Another option I’ve had good results with are clear 32 oz deli containers. You have to put in your own holes, but that gives you some control for how many you have on the sides. You do want plenty on the bottom.
Whatever you choose, just make sure it is deep enough to bury a few nodes on the cutting while keeping the cutting about 2” from the bottom.
I’m excited for you, I hope you have great results!
As always, I totally appreciate your recommendations and your sharing of experience!
Of course, anytime!
Thank you so much! This is the first time I have seen someone writing about the microbiome on fig cuttings and James White's research. In my last round of fig cuttings, I rolled the cuttings in my finished compost mixed with some soil from beneath an established fig tree to try and inoculate it with some good microbes. I am just a few days in, so we'll see how it goes.
You’re welcome! Yes, I’ve enjoyed James White’s information quite a lot. Sounds like an interesting experiment! Let us know how it goes. 🙂
I go back and read and re-read your articles, and this time, because I have cuttings going (I hope), I have *another* question. I noticed on the top cut of some (6 or 7) of my 20 or so cuttings, which are wrapped in parafilm, a dark grey spot or an orange spot, or both (ew). So I cleaned my shears and trimmed off the top half inch or so and rewrapped in parafilm. I'm trying to root a variety of cuttings in 50% perlite 50% Sunshine #4 and only dipped them in water for the second time in 10 days, and they still seem to be maintaining decent moisture and plenty of porosity. Doing this inside, dark, no heat mat, and around 38% relative humidity, max ambient temperature about 74. And, no rooting medium used.
I did wash them according to someone else's advice, scored the bottom area to reveal cambium, and stuck them in the medium (not up to the parafilm). They had been in the fridge for about two weeks as you described above.
Is this just a hazard of the process? Some of the cuttings were a gift, and some were from my own Chicago Hardy new trees when I pruned the whip prior to wrapping here in zone 6a/b.
Thanks so much for all your interesting and informative articles!
Deb
Hi Deb! What you are experiencing on the top of your cuttings with parafilm is quite common. I didn’t cover it in this article but mentioned it in one from last year. Some people do get mold or even rot under parafilm because it can trap moisture underneath it. You want to make sure that the parafilm is stretched thin and applied in a single layer to the extent possible. But even with that sometimes there can be issue. I used to use a toothpick to gently poke a small hole through it wherever I was having issue and that seemed to help. I’ve chosen to move away from parafilm myself because I was tired of dealing with it. Don’t get me wrong though, it is a very handy product and cuttings do need something to maintain moisture in them before they have roots.
As for darkness, figs don’t require that for rooting. Sometimes rooting in darkness can cause some cuttings to never put out top growth. Ambient light is okay. Scoring is hit or miss for whether it is necessary. It can help for a cutting to put out roots a few days faster, but it also causes an area of vulnerability in the cutting. The point of scoring is to remove the harder outer layer of hardwood cuttings so that roots can come out easier. Some also feel that wounding it causes a cutting to put resources to that area. But some score too deeply, so just be careful with that practice that it is a shallow cut in one spot.
The number of nodes you have under the rooting medium can also have a bearing on success. For whatever reason, sometimes the bottom node just does not want to root, but higher ones will. Also, the more nodes that are buried allow for greater root development overall. So it is better to have more buried than sticking out, if that makes sense. Of course, keeping in mind to not put the bottom of the cutting in the bottom 1-2 inches of your pot. Sometimes we just have to work with what we’ve got and it ends up being however it is.
Yeah, sometimes there is nothing that can be done as far as the need to store them in the fridge. It isn’t always convenient to root them right away, or some sellers need to prune first before listing them for sale which means they have to be stored. It just is a part of the situation. We do our best to follow good practice with it, and as long as temps in the fridge are normal, it should be fine.
I hope things go well, it sounds like you’re off to a good start!
Thank you! Your input always gives me a lot to think about and this is no exception. I think I may try a couple of other cuttings yet from potted trees that are currently in my garage, and I may change up the plan with abandon (well, modest abandon).
Definitely experiment around! It’s how we learn best and see what works for us personally.
Another question!
All of my cuttings, with the exception of one or two, are sending out leaves like mad. They are about 3 weeks into the rooting process, but I'm just not sure what to do with all the leaves, and while they are in clear containers, I'm not seeing any roots yet.
Pretty much all of the buds above the medium have sprouted and even some that are just under the medium are sending up leaves. I have read everything about clipping off all except one, to leaving all of them on. Any thoughts?
Thank you so much!
That is awesome! Definitely do not clip them. This is perfectly normal. You want the plant to do some photosynthesis with the ambient light to be able to do root growth. Let everything grow that wants to grow at this point, (an exception may be if you see fruit forming.) Growing tips stimulate root growth, just as root growth can help to stimulate tip growth. They have a mutual effect on one another that keeps the hormone system flowing.
Thank you so much! I knew I was wise to ask you before I started clipping anything off! I'm very excited lol 😀😀😀
Hi Valerie, quick question! My cuttings are leafing out nicely, and I have seen roots in some of the containers. (Yay!)
But on a couple of the cuttings, I'm seeing some leaf bracts that have turned brown and some of the leaves have dropped. They're completely green, so I'm just wondering if maybe this is an indicator that my ambient humidity is a little too low where I'm growing them? It runs anywhere between 42% and 36%. Room temp runs between 70 and 75.
I've resisted watering when I've had the urge to avoid overwatering, but could this also be a sign of underwatering? I water from the bottom by dunking them in a container of bottled water actually and just recently have started adding a very very very very dilute maxi grow to their water.
My cuttings are in a 50% perlite/50% sunshine mix number 4. I've had no issues with gnats.
Any thoughts? I've only had this issue with about three out of the 22 plants so far, but I sure would like to halt the progress of it if there's something I need to tweak.
Thank you!
I should add that I have them under grow lights but they are at least a couple feet away, as well as ambient light.
Do they have roots as well?
Out of the 23 cuttings I've started, 9 so far are showing roots. I think that also includes the one that dropped leaves but I have to admit I should have marked that one in some way to confirm. Four of my cuttings are in 4x9 black pots, so I can't tell whether they have roots yet or not. The rest are in clear water bottles and roots are beginning to show nicely. Wondering if it's time to start Maxi Grow in earnest or increase the humidity or both. I don't see any signs of mushy roots on the ones where I do see roots and there's plenty of air around them. I have two cuttings in a 50% peat 50% perlite. One of them is showing a route but seems to be having some difficulty actually getting leaves out, and the other one is quite leafy, but I'm not seeing a root yet. Those two are in quart size plastic translucent containers. I've been treating those two with gnatrol in their water because of the peat. Sorry, long answer!
Well, the humidity only really matters if they don’t have roots yet, OR if they were in a humid environment and abruptly changed to a non-humid environment. The humidity change can definitely affect the leaves and it’s easy to do, especially if they were in anything like a tote or plastic bag. If they have roots, and the substrate is drying out, then yes, for sure they need water and that could contribute to leaf loss.
Sometimes though, they lose leaves because the cutting base has rotted or the roots have died. I usually give them some time to make sure because they can bounce back if that is not the cause.
Be careful of using grow lights if they don’t have roots, because the lights will cause them to lose moisture through the leaves, but they have no way of getting it back through the roots.
If you want to send pictures or anything of the problematic ones, feel free to send a DM using the conversation bubble icon at the top next to the search button. (At least that is where it shows for me.)
Yes, you can give very diluted fertilizer as soon as they have roots. Give half of the houseplant dose if that is on the bottle.