First Roots... Class of 2026

TorontoJoe said:
I've had fuzzy mold problems using plastic warp. Just my own experience. I Imagine the wrap is fairly tight to keep air and large humidity pockets out...

By default I stick to an old water to mix ratio I learned years ago from someone who I consider a master.... That's @ascpete. He promoted the 5:1 mix to water ratio by volume. I've moved on a bit from there including nutrients and paying attention to mass rather than volume... but this method has served me well

To be clear... my own method and opinion... If doing indoors... I don't wrap... I do pops. Parafilm around any exposed wood and a tightly sealed bag. The idea for me is "set it and forget it". For the most part, no adding water until first pot up...

I need to find some old pics of my fig pops
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I’m curious as to the parafilming. Parafilm works amazingly well for me, so I will stick to that, but I’m wondering how much you wrap/cover of the cutting, regardless of what you use?

I have been wrapping the parafilm from tip to about a cm above the soil level, but as I try to learn from other people and other methods, I noticed that wax dippers and some people only cover the very tip of the cutting (unless it’s an apical cutting).

What are everyone’s thoughts on this?

What do you use?
How much do you cover?
Do you cover the apical tip?
Thoughts?
 
BucksCountyFigs said:
Oh my, oops! I guess I have not been doing the water ratio in the right way. I just spray my hose into a big bin of pro mix, and mix it around with my hand until it feels right. I wasn’t measuring at all! 😮

I’m confused about the Saran Wrap - so you wrap the entire pot, including the bottom?

In the pic, the wrap is loose and you can see the soil, but on the other pots, the wrap looks pretty secure, showing no access to the soil (keeping bugs out and moisture in). Could you please clarify how you wrap it again?
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I think it's helpful to measure at least a few times initially, until you get the feel, then you can go by the feel. Otherwise, there is a high risk that you will either under or over-water, both of which are not good.

Yes, I wrap the entire pot. So, I take a piece that is long enough to cover the top, then wrap around the entire pot, covering the bottom, and finishing covering the top again. Then, I cut a small hole in the center with a knife and insert the cutting. If I forget and put the cutting in first and don't want to take it out, I just cover around it.

In the pic where you can see the soil, I pulled the plastic away so you can see how easy it is to open the pot to add water. The plastic is fairly loose too, which means I get air exchange and evaporation going on, the soil is breathing, which prevents the formation of condensate and molds from growing. The plastic may seem like it's tightly wrapped on some pots in the pic, but once I open it after a couple of days to check on the soil, I will loosen it quite a bit. The idea is to let the soil breathe.

Once I turn on the lights, I sometimes get green algae growing on the top of the soil. To prevent that, I sprinkle some vermiculite.

This is just one of many ways to do it, though. I think the best rooting process is the one that makes sense to you, that you understand, that you can easily follow, that's fun, and that gives you the results you want. If you don't understand it, try to force it, seems too difficult or boring to you, it will rarely work.
 
BucksCountyFigs said:
I’m curious as to the parafilming. Parafilm works amazingly well for me, so I will stick to that, but I’m wondering how much you wrap/cover of the cutting, regardless of what you use?

I have been wrapping the parafilm from tip to about a cm above the soil level, but as I try to learn from other people and other methods, I noticed that wax dippers and some people only cover the very tip of the cutting (unless it’s an apical cutting).

What are everyone’s thoughts on this?

What do you use?
How much do you cover?
Do you cover the apical tip?
Thoughts?
Click to expand...

When I root indoors I only do pops now. Mostly because I'm lazy and I can pretty much ignore them until it's time to pot up.. I apply parafilm to the top of the cutting down only as far down that it will cover any wood not in the bag. Then bury the the exposed wood and cinch tightly. Elastic bands work well. Tight electrical tape is my favourite.

I almost always remove apical buds on indoor rooted cuttings. It seems to be the primary source of rot for me. I have a much lower success rate when I leave them on.
 
TorontoJoe said:
When I root indoors I only do pops now. Mostly because I'm lazy and I can pretty much ignore them until it's time to pot up.. I apply parafilm to the top of the cutting down only as far down that it will cover any wood not in the bag. Then bury the the exposed wood and cinch tightly. Elastic bands work well. Tight electrical tape is my favourite.

I almost always remove apical buds on indoor rooted cuttings. It seems to be the primary source of rot for me. I have a much lower success rate when I leave them on.
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How does the apical buds contribute to rot? I thought people leave them on because of stored energy or something. Now I don't know if I should cut mine off.
 
ETXfigs said:
How does the apical buds contribute to rot? I thought people leave them on because of stored energy or something. Now I don't know if I should cut mine off.
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Some people leave them on to keep their tree more straight and you don’t have to wait for another bud to swell. Can’t speak on them rotting.
 
ETXfigs said:
How does the apical buds contribute to rot? I thought people leave them on because of stored energy or something. Now I don't know if I should cut mine off.
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I was surprised when I heard this, too, since I actually prefer the apical buds, lol. So satisfying to see them grow, and I don’t notice a difference in rooting success, but many people do.

It does make sense though.
1) There is a lot more deep surface area there that is crevice and folds, so moisture and/or fungus has a more of a chance to cause trouble at the apical tip, than anywhere else; and

2) I read that the hormones at the tip are balanced more towards green growth and the lower cuttings closer to the main trunk are balanced more towards rooting.

3) But luckily for us, figs are like tomatoes in that they can develop roots anywhere along a branch, so we get many more shots on goal to be able to develop more roots!
 
im thinking i didnt scratch the bark enough. i also am concerned mine is too wet since i followed another guide which said water till the water runs out the bottom then dcont water for 4-6 weeks. we're now 3 weeks in, i pulled em out and i didnt see any full roots, but did see some bumps that i bleieve are callus and the start of roots on most if not all
 
ETXfigs said:
How does the apical buds contribute to rot? I thought people leave them on because of stored energy or something. Now I don't know if I should cut mine off.
Click to expand...

It's not scientific by any means. It's just something I noticed years ago. I assume it's a result of it being a place to trap moisture, pests, fungus, bacteria etc, etc.... add to that a layer of film so it doesn't breathe... I often find the top bud gets discoloured, then soft and mushy.... then that works its way down.

I'm not advising anyone to do this. I'm just telling you what I do, and why. The only reason I'll leave one on now is if I don't feel there is enough cutting to work with and making it any smaller would be more detrimental.

As for keeping it straight.... I usually bury it below the original cutting anyways so that's not an issue for me.
 
Personally I think it has more to do with the quality and freshness of the apical bud cutting. I’ve had some good ones, no issues do extremely well and then others struggle and rot away.
 
I have been afraid to do fig pops because I am afraid of killing them in up potting and until recently had only rooted no dormant cuttings. I'm waiting for my alma bush to go dormant and I will try fig pops in the winter. I have all the bags and stuff but then I saw a video about kill them when up potting and because I only had a few that I really wanted to not kill. This year I'm going to be brave...

Lol not really... I'm going to spend a lot of time experimenting with lots of cuttings I don't mind losing but I'm going to keep records and try different things.
 
betdempster said:
I have been afraid to do fig pops because I am afraid of killing them in up potting and until recently had only rooted no dormant cuttings. I'm waiting for my alma bush to go dormant and I will try fig pops in the winter. I have all the bags and stuff but then I saw a video about kill them when up potting and because I only had a few that I really wanted to not kill. This year I'm going to be brave...

Lol not really... I'm going to spend a lot of time experimenting with lots of cuttings I don't mind losing but I'm going to keep records and try different things.
Click to expand...

If you're concerned... put the cutting in a cup... then in the bag. You can leave it in there for long after you take the bag off. I do recommend a clear cup so you can micromanage those roots :)
 
TorontoJoe said:
If you're concerned... put the cutting in a cup... then in the bag. You can leave it in there for long after you take the bag off. I do recommend a clear cup so you can micromanage those roots :)
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I had been putting them in tree pots then in bags but I really would like to see those roots. I think I would give my information I don't have . I have cuttings with leaves but don't know if I have roots to support them. Or if there are just first roots or if there are little roots coming off those. I seriously gave up on some and set them outside because I saw no roots. After a week on the porch with no water I went out to empty one and pulled on it and it was solid in there. Then I looked down at the bottom and saw a tiny bud. Not it's back in the fold hoping that I didn't ruin it when I tugged on it. I've got some clear solo cups to go in my bags like a fig pop for my next round 😁
 
There is a natural (and totally understandable) tendency to want to give a cutting "more". especially when things aren't looking good. We double down to try and give it what it needs, but all it really needed was less..... More than likely it was never able to grow into a tree... but increasing food and water does more harm than good during early cutting stage
 
Kompakfigs said:
I'm switching it up this year by strictly using 4x9 pots. Maybe I will propagate some test varieties so that I can check on their progress.
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With the 4x9 pots, do you plan to bag them as well? if so, how would you secure the bag around the cutting with out moving the firmly placed cutting. A twist and tie. Honest question since am looking to change from Fig pop to the 4x9 tree pots. thanks
 
Willow at the Creek Figs said:
With the 4x9 pots, do you plan to bag them as well? if so, how would you secure the bag around the cutting with out moving the firmly placed cutting. A twist and tie. Honest question since am looking to change from Fig pop to the 4x9 tree pots. thanks
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Yep with stolen clear meat and produce bags from the grocery store😄. I’ve secured the bags with rubber bands just enough that I can open the bags to add water and fertilizer.
I’d re-watched the Notorious Fig’s comprehensive propagation video and thoroughly read @Inflorescence article(s) about fig propagation. I did a trial run in October on a VDB cutting that I had gotten this past spring. No clonex cuz I ran out. At first I had a heat mat but quit it using because my grow room’s ambient temp was in the mid 70s. I didn’t use a bin because from trial and error the heat can get 80° even if it’s set at 78°. I fertilized every other week (I’m always concerned about rot) with a very diluted kelp and seaweed and water mix.
2 days ago I was curious if there was anything happening and carefully removed the soil from the pot. To my surprise the bud bread happened slightly below the soil line and there was a single root growing. Hopefully, I didn’t kill the cutting’s progress and I’ll see in a couple of weeks if the bud becomes a leaf.
With the 4x9 tree pot method, I just have to be more patient and if I’m lucky, I wont have to worry about the up potting.
 
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