Is an air tight covering necessary for newly planted, well rooted cuttings?

[chauqg]

I've just planted my first four rooted cuttings into holed containers with 3-4" of large, wet, organic vermiculite.

*Do planted containers need to be completely contained in an air tight environment?

*How high should the wet vermiculite be in the individual containers? Plants are 7-8" covered 3-4 inches in 8" containers.

*How to know when to add water? They are suspended above any water in the holding container.

*What is the guideline for moving these rooted cuttings to larger containers?

Sorry for all these questions, Thank You in advance!

Cheerz

[Yeehova]

I would not have an airtight covering over vermiculite. I think vermiculite will trap too much water next to the roots and possibly drown your plants if it is not mixed with something, but I guess that depends on how good your drainage is. I prefer clear containers for smaller cuttings since you can see the root development clearly and be able to accurately judge when they are ready to move. Will your plants be inside our outside during this phase of development? I tried some vermiculite last year, but I thin coco coir is a better medium for figs. Can you post pics?

[chauqg]

Brian, photo below are two of the cuttings removed from the non airtight holding container. TY 4 ur input. These cuttings have 4 1/4" drain holes and are not resting on/in water they are 1" above any excess water gathered in the bottom of the holding container which will be kept indoors. Root development on the bottom and beginning growth happened while wrapped in paper stored in a plastic bag for 30 os so days. Next group I'll be better prepared thanks to the members of this forum. ThankYou!

[jmaler]

I have heavy watering hand so straight vermiculite would not be ideal for me as it would hold too much water and most likely rot the roots. This is just me. You may well develope a system where vermiculite works great for you. It'll take some practice.

As far as humidity think about having vegetables in an air tight plastic bag left too long in the refridgerator. The cells of the veggies soon break down to a slimy gooey mess.

The new plants need high humidity but not 100% humidity. My rule of thumb is if water droplets are hanging from the lid of my container it needs air.

[chauqg]

Jerry, I have allowed air into the containers, but I am keeping the containers covered with an open air hole at one side. I'll be redoing this container shortly based on the inputs I have received. TY

[AscPete]

*Well rooted cuttings do not need to be in an air tight humid environment. They may need to be in a high humidity environment for a few days to a few week before exposure to ambient humidity, if the ambient humidity is low. This topic has a good rooting procedure that employs a simple Humidity weaning process, http://www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-ho...rooting-method .

*The growing media should be to the top of the container or covering as much of the cutting as possible, to keep it moist, but I don't use vermiculite because it holds too much moisture for fig cuttings.

*The cuttings should be watered when the container feels light, it can be weighed to get the wet and the dry weights. The cuttings also need dilute fertilization once rooted. Perlite, Coir and Vermiculite are inert media and contain no available nutrients for plant growth. A Dilute Miracle Grow Water soluble fertilizer (1/2 teaspoon / Gallon) or a Dilute Hydroponic fertilizer (seedling dilution) can be used to initially "wet" the medium and when watering.

*Rooted cuttings can be placed in larger containers as soon as they are rooted if good growing conditions can be maintained. But usually 16 oz - 32 oz cups are up potted to 1 gallon and larger containers when the cups are full of roots and almost root bound.

Good Luck.

[chauqg]

Pete, your post has clearly helped and will further the success of my propagation attempts. I'll be adding fertilizer and medium to the rooting container recipe tomorrow. TY

[AscPete]

You're welcome.
Here's a simple procedure that can also help with watering rooted cuttings, http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6719728 . Its easy to get the "fill amount" and never over water in any container.

[jmaler]

Here is a system that works for another figger.

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox....method-6838912

[chauqg]

Here are sample photos of my containers. This process will be changed tomorrow to more follow Pete's suggestions.