First Roots... Class of 2026

vjmax said:
@BucksCountyFigs : The FigPop queenšŸ‘ø!
do you add any mycorrhizae or fertilizer or anything else to the promix for the figpop ? And sorry if youā€™ve already mentioned it, but how many parts water?
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Pro mix HP already does contain some mycorrhizae, so I do not add anything to it, except sometimes I will throw in a handful of very chunky perlite, if I remember.

Sorry, I donā€™t measure how much water I add. I just eyeball it. The rule of thumb that I use is it should not have any water dripping out if I squeeze it really super hard. I have tried it before with some water dribbling out when squeezed, and it does work, but then sometimes I got white mold growing and then had to deal with that, so just by having it be less wet, I donā€™t have to deal with any mold.
 
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BucksCountyFigs said:
It looks really great!

Actually, Ondata is one that I cannot seem to grow!!! šŸ˜© I tried with 2 very beautiful green cuttings, and they are not dead, but they are not growing.

Did you do anything special or different for Ondata?
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Nothing special, it has been a strong rooter for me. I have a log in 4x9 tree pop with roots coming out the drainage holes, the fig pop pictured and a 1 noder in a plant cell with visible roots and good top growth. Hopefully I like it and it does well here because I may have 3 copies right off the bat.
 
I find it shocking that sometimes you can tell in the beginning if a cutting comes from a particularly strong growing tree.

This was fig popped on 1/20!!

And already it has the thickest, juiciest root!
In only 10 days. šŸ˜®

I mean, seriously, look at that thing! And itā€™s also pushing some small leaves and made a figlet. All in 10 days. Crazy.

IMG_7905.jpegIMG_7907.jpeg
 
BucksCountyFigs said:
I find it shocking that sometimes you can tell in the beginning if a cutting comes from a particularly strong growing tree.

This was fig popped on 1/20!!

And already it has the thickest, juiciest root!
In only 10 days. šŸ˜®

I mean, seriously, look at that thing! And itā€™s also pushing some small leaves and made a figlet. All in 10 days. Crazy.

View attachment 18501View attachment 18503
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You have some magic going on, congrats!
 
snarfing said:
do you scrape the bark before you apply rooting hormone?


Also do you have any that are really slow, show me those so i feel better lol.

how much water do you use at the start?/ how often do you water if at all
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@snarfing
If it makes you feel better, here are my worst ones!!

1) Ondata. it was a gorgeous, green cutting, and I canā€™t get it to grow!! šŸ˜­
I think it doesn't like a higher humidity, so Iā€™m tweaking that and we will seeā€¦ but it has developed those very deep, vertical dehydration ridges, which are usually a point of no return sign, so we will see,

1769828189975.jpeg

And

2) La Magdeleine
Was one of the first fig pops I did, and I made every mistake!

At first, the roots grew great, and I was thrilled.

Then on course I overwatered it, and the roots started to go bad. Really bad.

Then I noticed a flurry of black baby fungus gnats in the bag!! I had left the soil in a trash bag, and adult fungus gnats found their way in thereā€¦but of course I had been using that bag to make a lot of fig pops, not knowing that there were fungus gnat eggs in there, until later when I noticed some cuttings going south for no reason, and then the subsequent flurry of baby fungus gnats emerging from the soil.

So my fig pop was filled with rotting roots and a ton of fungus gnats.

I did the pop 9/28, and itā€™s shockingly still hanging in there. I havenā€™t re-bagged it since I didnā€™t want to damage any roots that survivedā€¦
And then the whole bag turned completely greenā€¦
And I canā€™t treat the fungus gnats since the soil is too wetā€¦
And today I just noticed the terminal bud is greening up, so Iā€™m less inclined to fuss with itā€¦
Any ideas are welcome!

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BucksCountyFigs said:
@snarfing
If it makes you feel better, here are my worse ones!!

1) Ondata. it was a gorgeous, green cutting, and I canā€™t get it to grow!! šŸ˜­
I think it doesn't like a higher humidity, so Iā€™m tweaking that and we will seeā€¦ but it has developed those very deep, vertical dehydration ridges, which are usually a point of no return sign, so we will see,

View attachment 18504

And

2) La Magdeleine
Was one of the first fig pops I did, and I made every mistake!

At first, the roots grew great, and I was thrilled.

Then on course I overwatered it, and the roots started to go bad. Really bad.

Then I noticed a flurry of black baby fungus gnats in the bag!! I had left the soil in a trash bag, and adult fungus gnats found their way in thereā€¦but of course I had been using that bag to make a lot of fig pops, not knowing that there were fungus gnat eggs in there, until later when I noticed some cuttings going south for no reason, and then the subsequent flurry of baby fungus gnats emerging from the soil.

So my fig pop was filled with rotting roots and a ton of fungus gnats.

I did the pop 9/28, and itā€™s shockingly still hanging in there. I havenā€™t re-bagged it since I didnā€™t want to damage any roots that survivedā€¦
And then the whole bag turned completely greenā€¦
And I canā€™t treat the fungus gnats since the soil is too wetā€¦
And today I just noticed the terminal bud is greening up, so Iā€™m less inclined to fuss with itā€¦
Any ideas are welcome!

View attachment 18506
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maybe try crumbling some mosquito bits on top.
 
vjmax said:
Interesting setup @TorontoJoe . What is the black tape that you have on it and do you use it in place of rubber bands? And also how much overlap is there with the parafilm?
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I keep the parafilm overlap as small as I can but itā€™s irregular so it slips sometimes.

Thatā€™s just regular electrical tape. I find I can stretch it really tight and it seals off very well. If you use it. Remember to leave a small tab folded over so itā€™s easier to remove later. It sticks to itself very well. I use it frequently on air layers as well. Completely air and water tight

I try not to tape over nodes
 
BucksCountyFigs said:
No holes poked in the bag. I keep the tops tied with a rubber band, unless there is a second stem growing up, in which case I keep the bag open.
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Just wait until you see it bulging against the bag and cut a little hole for it to come out. Leaving the bag open means moisture maintenance work, and fungus gnats getting in and the larvae killing your cutting.

I already know Iā€™m airlayering this one (Smith) so letting 2 grow.
IMG_2073.jpeg

This Green Michurinska has 4 nodes. The top node out of the bag did nothing, all three buds in the bag decided to grow out. Selected the best one and cut the rest.
IMG_2074.jpeg

This Figo Preto had bud swell up top, but the lower bud showed much more rapid growth and vigor.
IMG_2075.jpeg
 
IAK said:
Just wait until you see it bulging against the bag and cut a little hole for it to come out. Leaving the bag open means moisture maintenance work, and fungus gnats getting in and the larvae killing your cutting.

I already know Iā€™m airlayering this one (Smith) so letting 2 grow.
View attachment 18520

This Green Michurinska has 4 nodes. The top node out of the bag did nothing, all three buds in the bag decided to grow out. Selected the best one and cut the rest.
View attachment 18530

This Figo Preto had bud swell up top, but the lower bud showed much more rapid growth and vigor.
View attachment 18531
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Ahhā€¦good idea, thanks!
 
They are tiny, but my MJ smith has roots. Knew it would a few days ago when the bud swelled! and yes I plant stuff lopsided if anyone has noticed lol. Itā€™ll be ā€œlessā€ lopsided when I up pot. No promises it will be straight though.
 

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Jigfig said:
They are tiny, but my MJ smith has roots. Knew it would a few days ago when the bud swelled! and yes I plant stuff lopsided if anyone has noticed lol. Itā€™ll be ā€œlessā€ lopsided when I up pot. No promises it will be straight though.
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Sometimes I do lopsided on purpose if there's a node near the soil line that I want to bury.

I pot up all my bigger trees straight but I find that many, by the end of the season have leaned to the south.... Towards the sun I guess.
 
TorontoJoe said:
Sometimes I do lopsided on purpose if there's a node near the soil line that I want to bury.

I pot up all my bigger trees straight but I find that many, by the end of the season have leaned to the south.... Towards the sun I guess.
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I donā€™t mean to, it usually just happens. The ones I do plant straight end up crooked by the cat/dog and Iā€™m afraid to straighten them on the off chance they rooted so they stay that way lol. I also noticed a lean on some of my bigger trees. Iā€™m too routine to change their direction and fix it tho so they do their own thing.
 
Jigfig said:
I donā€™t mean to, it usually just happens. The ones I do plant straight end up crooked by the cat/dog and Iā€™m afraid to straighten them on the off chance they rooted so they stay that way lol.
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It certainly wont hurt them.... Unless of course the cat/dog rip the cutting away form the roots.
 
IAK said:
Just wait until you see it bulging against the bag and cut a little hole for it to come out. Leaving the bag open means moisture maintenance work, and fungus gnats getting in and the larvae killing your cutting.

I already know Iā€™m airlayering this one (Smith) so letting 2 grow.
View attachment 18520

This Green Michurinska has 4 nodes. The top node out of the bag did nothing, all three buds in the bag decided to grow out. Selected the best one and cut the rest.
View attachment 18530

This Figo Preto had bud swell up top, but the lower bud showed much more rapid growth and vigor.
View attachment 18531
Click to expand...
I would like to try air layering
How soon can you air layer after you a pot a fig pop? Does the branch have to be certain diameter? Can it be green or does it have to be lignified?
 
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