Favorite rooting method this year?

[don_sanders]

What was your favorite rooting method this year?

For me, it was peat moss in bins. It seemed to be the fastest and most reliable. Cheap moistened Moiser Lee moss wrung out as much as I could and just layered the cuttings in it every inch or two. One $5 small bag filled 4 shoe boxes with room for a ton of cuttings. With or without rooting hormone, roots generally started forming in two to four weeks. Most with pretty strong roots and a few with wimpy ones. Then I up potted to 16 oz cups with 35 ml water or 2 liters with 125ml water and a humidity dome. Acclimating them to ambient humidity slowly over a week or two.

I think I tried just about everything except for Coir. The 3 cup method wasn't two bad but I had some mold issues and it took longer. 50% rooted. Direct potting had some success but most didn't do much and I think I had issues figuring out the ideal moisture. Seemed to work best for me with larger containers giving just a little bit of water every couple days. I didn't sick with Mai's dry bag method long enough but it didn't seem to be going in a good direction. Rooting in water is a pita and takes forever but seems ok if you have the patience. Perlite wasn't so great and neither was the paper towel in a plastic bag for me.

Of course some vigorous cuttings like Daisy's "Cornilio" BT seemed to root with any method. I think I could have just let those cuttings root on the counter.

[greenfig]

Mai's for me. Works very well and doesn't require much attention. Just keep the soul on a dryer side and leave the cuttings alone for weeks.

[mfehmi]

Mai's method for me. Better succes and results so far.

[Taverna78]

Garbage can for me..... My cutting seem to love the surroundings in there because that's where most of them were ha! I do better second batch with smag moss. I am slowly realizing grafting may be better the route for me. Not that I am pro at grafting but I think it has almost the same concept as bag method. Bag method you stick in a bag and leave alone. Graft you cut and stick "sticks" together and you leave alone. Is almost like both are preventive methods for people who can no resist keep checkin for roots and disturbing cuttings.
I also think weather played big part of tis years rootings regardless of GH or indoor temps at least by me. I wonder if different bar pressures have anything to do with rooting. I know I barometric pressure effects fishing (I know is different things but i.e. )
Who knows I ganna do couple Grafts and see how it goes.

[F. Bennett]

Slightly damp coco coir in a plastic to-go container that sits on top of the fridge.

[DBJohnson]

I'm the most pleased with direct potting, but have had some success with 3-cup. Bag method with perlite had a 89% mortality rate, so that one won't be attempted again in the near future. Coco coir...will get another chance later, but it's not a priority.

[Thepodpiper]

I am new to rooting figs but am having great success with damp moss and using cloners.

I don't understand all the hoopla about humidity domes and the like though? As soon as I saw a tiny root I put in cups and stuck in the giant Tupperware tub with lid, did that for 5 days and roots were all over the place but leaves didn't look so good so I started putting directly under lights and have same root growth but leaves look much better. So now I am skipping the humidity box thing and as soon as I see roots they go in clear cups and directly under lights. All are thriving. Could someone please explain the must be in humidity portion of the rooting process for me. I just don't see the need for it.

[don_sanders]

Generally, I think the humidity domes are to prevent cuttings that haven't rooted yet as in the 3-cup method from drying out or cuttings that have started to root in a high humidity environment like peat moss from losing any buds / leaves that formed. If a cutting has rooted and leafed out in peat moss, you would most likely lose the leaves that grew in the peat moss if you don't have a high humidity environment or cover it for a little while. I like to get to ambient humidity as fast as I can after roots develop without pushing the cutting to far.

I believe about 80-90% humidity would be ideal for the leaves. You don't want 100%.

[eboone]

This year I used a 3 cup method for all of my cuttings. I was disappointed that some cuttings seemed just slowly rot rather than root, while other cuttings in the same mix, same moisture rooted like gangbusters. It was clearly a difference in cuttings. For me the thinner cuttings have not done well in this 3 cup method. Some varieties both cuttings rotted while other varieties all rooted. In the future I think I will go back to moist perlite or moss in a box for those thinner cuttings.

I like this method in that I can pot them in the cups and not disturb the roots for a long time, and I liked using larger 32 oz cups more so than 18 oz cups, as they hold the moisture longer without needing re-watering as much, and I think that I can go a little longer before needing to up-pot once I can graduate them to the outdoors (likely in late April or early May).

EDIT: so far about a 75% success rate with the 3 cup method overall. A number of additional cuttings were just put in cups for a third wave.

[fitzski]

Tim Clymer's direct pot method has been working best for me.

Also, I having success rooting in coco coir.

I've lost a few potting them up from 18oz cups. I think next year, i'm going to be starting with 1 qt containers instead of 18oz cups.

That will allow for more root growth before up-potting.

[jmaler]

Using the 3 cup method produced 1 plant from 18 cuttings, a dismal failure. I missed something big time in the directions for the 3 cup method.

The 1st batch in the T24 cloner looked promising. Many cuttings formed roots and top growth. At about 4 weeks I moved all cuttings to the bag method. The jury is still out for the second batch in the cloner.

The jury is still out for the bag method. Several cuttings (rooted in the cloner) are actively growing, many are still green without visable roots or top growth and some are dried up little sticks.

I intend to practice several types of grafts on my 18 foot in ground tree using cuttings I took from it a couple weeks ago. If I can achieve any success then in the future I will buy cuttings and use grafts to get the variety going. Once a graft takes I am thinking I can air layer it. It's an idea.

If anybody wants practice cuttings I have quite a few White Texas Everbearing cuttings in the fridge.

[The Figster]

I made 10 plus mixed variety cuttings using Mai method in mid January and not one did anything, no roots no swollen buds and they did not even die!.

Best method by far is coco coir with 25% perlite and allowed to air a little before direct potting. The images shows the 5 cuttings I bought from from HarveyC in early february, they were soaked, the lower 1 inch only was lightly dusted in powdered rooting hormone. These cuttings were direct potted into 9 inch tall tree pots. I think the 4 inch width and relatively tall column of growing media helps manage moisture content. I found excess water on a test sample would move to the bottom of the pot and away from the stem. This will be my go to method in future.

I even made a stand from the tree pots as they are a little unstable!

happy spring everyone
Ian

[cdeguida4]

I have 3 JT's rooiting like this with the cup on the top. the growth is pushing against the side of the top cup now. how soon do you take that cup off on the top?

[The Figster]

cdeguida4
If the cuttings has roots and the shoots are viable remove the cup. But be sure to maintain similar humidity and temp. I keep the cup lids on for less than a week

[cdeguida4]

thank you!

[Rafaelissimmo]

I am having great success with the 2 main methods I use so I will stick with them for a third season in a row: cloner rooting and dirty perlite cups in a humidity chamber w regulated heat mat, both preceeded by pre-rooting in water.

[don_sanders]

If I counted correctly, it looks like Cloners have the most posts with best results spread across all of the different methods.

Cloner	3
Coir (+- perlite)	2
Direct Pot	2
Mai's	2
Moss	2
3 cup	1
Garbage can	1
Perlite (dirty)	1
Grafting	1 evaluating

[Levar]

Hmm I haven't been too adventurous with some of these methods but what's worked for me is straight perlite in punctured solo cups encased in a giant tupperware storage container in my shed.

Temps of 65 - 80F, light but consistent moisture, lots of indirect natural light, and good but not overly generous ventilation have been great for me in early spring. SoFla's naturally high humidity and moderate heat has probably been a huge factor in the rate of success. I've also used rooting hormone powder with no adverse effects.

A mixture of compost with perlite has killed a few of my cuttings due to overly high moisture retention.

[figgary]

I prefer the 'directly in 1 gallon pot of ProMix' method, especially for larger cuttings. In my climate, I can just set them out on my porch, which is covered, and forget about them until I see leaves. Then I move them to a sunny spot and start feeding. No transplanting necessary. For smaller cuttings, or to save space, I use coir in plastic containers. I keep these in my dresser, and once they root, they get planted in ProMix.

[The Figster]

I am doing some experimenting with cuttings methods. He are my thoughts.

Quality, robust, sturdy, vigorous cuttings are half the problem or half the solution depending on which way you look at it. And the method represents the other 50% of the conundrum.
I now realize that many of my early cuttings were too small and narrow and no matter which method they would fail. So I have that part fixed. As for the method I am a fan if bottom heat. 75 degrees at the roots and a cooler air temp puts you in a great spot for success.

But when we use plastic pots there is a barrier to the heat from the mat moving into the soil. So I have drilled holes into two glass jars!. The benefit is significant. Glass has the ability to conduct heat from the mat 4 x more efficiently that plastic. This does not mean the medium gets 4x warmer it means that more of that heat can travel more evenly into the rooting zone. The glass jars also store more heat and retain a given temperature. They are not so difficult for us heavy of hand to handle and when a bag is placed over them a rubber band makes a great seal on the edge of the glass jar. And of course, if you put your cuttings on the edge of the glass you can see roots very easily. I have just stuck 4 new Maltese Falcon and will advise on progress. In practicing with coir I have also discovered that if you submerge it in water it all rises to the surface very quickly, rooted cuttings and all.

And finally the glass cutting drill bit was $5 from truevalue and it took about a minute to put one hole in the base.

more soon

Ian