What is happening???

[Crabby127]

How did you root them? Was there a transplant involved? What rooting medium did you use? What kind of light are they getting? Are you fertilizing them and if so with what at what concentration? Also where in the pot are you watering them?

My rooting medium is seed starting mix with perlite. They have grow lights and are on heating mats now. ( took them off when leaves appeared) I did feel it’s them with fish tank water and some miracle grow- diluted. I did water from tops I believe.
Last night I pulled plants out carefully and all but one had roots (albeit weak ones) but soil was too wet. I added mycorrhiza and perlite and replanted and put back on heating mats

 

[BucksCountyFigs]

When I inspect soil I will check for bugs but I have not seen any and it is only 5 plants that this happened too . Rest are going pretty good
In picture the plants on cups almost all did similar dying
Plants on right thriving …

Hard to tell from one distance pic. Need closeup of the worst leaves, but those appear to be fine, just slower growing.

 

[Crabby127]

You can use fish fertilizer inside but it might be smelly and attract unwanted insects. Is the weather warm enough in TX to get the cuttings hardened off. I usually wait until all of my trees are outside and then drown them in diluted fish emulsion.

I’m in freezing cold Long Island so all plants inside. I think o may be loving too hard on the with water. My main question is -are they savable?

 

[Crabby127]

Hard to tell from one distance pic. Need closeup of the worst leaves, but those appear to be fine, just slower growing.

The leaves died since that picture a couple of days ago . Can an overwatered cutting be saved?

 

[Italian4u]

My rooting medium is seed starting mix with perlite. They have grow lights and are on heating mats now. ( took them off when leaves appeared) I did feel it’s them with fish tank water and some miracle grow- diluted. I did water from tops I believe.
Last night I pulled plants out carefully and all but one had roots (albeit weak ones) but soil was too wet. I added mycorrhiza and perlite and replanted and put back on heating mats

Ok so a few things. I do not recommend watering them with aquarium water. That’s fine after they are established but that water carries allot of stuff in it that can cause rot on newly rooted cuttings. You have to remember a newly rooted cutting is not the same as an established tree that is actively growing. The seed starter and perlite is fine but Promix HP if you can swing that is better for rooting. One big benefit is that it is neutral and you have charge it up with their ratios of fertilizer that are more suited. Heating mats are fine but once they start to actively grow turn the heating mats off as sometimes they can cook the roots with too much heat. Really try watering with distilled water until they start to take off. Keeping things sterile and only allowing the beneficial bacteria’s and fungus to take over the rooting medium is the best way to keep the rood zone from becoming anaerobic. Did the medium have a weird smell to it at all on the ones that are showing signed of stress?

 

[Figsee]

The leaves died since that picture a couple of days ago . Can an overwatered cutting be saved?

Possibly but you’d want to have them in a grow space warmer than 72 degrees. I’m in the belief that a warmer plant is more forgiving as it’s getting established.

 

[TorontoJoe]

A change in temperatures and/or humidity can negatively impact young fig plants. If your plants were near a window when the recent arctic blast hit, that may be a cause for them dropping leaves.

I would lean in this direction… Time for some forensics. Try to determine what changed. And it may not have been something that you proactively did. Temps, humidity, water, light, location, pets, windows, nutrients … is there common with this and the others that did the same?

 

[BucksCountyFigs]

The leaves died since that picture a couple of days ago . Can an overwatered cutting be saved?

Sadly, overwatering is the most common cause of death for new cuttings.

I would recommend a post-mortem so you can figure out what went wrong.

When you do so, be very careful when you take them out of the pot - do NOT just pull them out, otherwise you will rip off any possible roots and not be able to see that very important piece of the puzzle. What do the roots look like?

Then also look at the bark - is it rotten? Peeling off when you rub with your finger?

Is there any green “cambium” when you scrape it?

If you cut off the bottom (provided there are not roots on it), do you see green? What does it look like?

Etc.

Edited to add: post-mortem means an exam after death, so don’t do this unless you believe they are dead.

 

[Schoenie]

I don't hink a "post mortem" is in place yet (they're not dead... yet...), but I do agree 100% with the consensus here that over-watering is probably causing your "sudden leaf detachment". That alone, or in combination with an osmotic shock caused by adding to much fertilizer. Your approach should be to carefully (CAUTION: wet soil is heavy and can easily rip off your remaining roots!!!) dig up the plant, remove (or rather: rinse off under lukewarm tap water) the (probably "anaerobic") soil, and re-pot with new, loose (don't compact!), MUCH dryer soil. Then leave them alone for a couple of weeks, and see if they send up a new shoot. Patience is key here! If in a couple of weeks they "feel re-rooted", you're probably going to be fine.

It would be interesting to see what the roots look like when you uproot them.

Good luck! And don't worry... we've all been there!

 

[BucksCountyFigs]

I don't hink a "post mortem" is in place yet (they're not dead... yet...), but I do agree 100% with the consensus here that over-watering is probably causing your "sudden leaf detachment". That alone, or in combination with an osmotic shock caused by adding to much fertilizer. Your approach should be to carefully (CAUTION: wet soil is heavy and can easily rip off your remaining roots!!!) dig up the plant, remove (or rather: rinse off under lukewarm tap water) the (probably "anaerobic") soil, and re-pot with new, loose (don't compact!), MUCH dryer soil. Then leave them alone for a couple of weeks, and see if they send up a new shoot. Patience is key here! If in a couple of weeks they "feel re-rooted", you're probably going to be fine.

It would be interesting to see what the roots look like when you uproot them.

Good luck! And don't worry... we've all been there!

Shoot, I didn’t think that people wouldn’t know that post-mortem meant an exam after death. Thanks, I’ll edit my post to make it clear.

 

[betdempster]

When I have over watered if I can get it outside it helps because it's warm and windy and dry here. Also when I have "popped" it with a plastic bag I have also removed the bag and put it in a warm place and also put a fan next to it to help dry it out. I also have removed it and repotted it carefully with drier soil. Some times it has worked but I have drowned a few that I haven't been able to revive. I am so glad yours is recovering. It's sad when they die

 

[BucksCountyFigs]

Ok so a few things. I do not recommend watering them with aquarium water. That’s fine after they are established but that water carries allot of stuff in it that can cause rot on newly rooted cuttings. You have to remember a newly rooted cutting is not the same as an established tree that is actively growing. The seed starter and perlite is fine but Promix HP if you can swing that is better for rooting. One big benefit is that it is neutral and you have charge it up with their ratios of fertilizer that are more suited. Heating mats are fine but once they start to actively grow turn the heating mats off as sometimes they can cook the roots with too much heat. Really try watering with distilled water until they start to take off. Keeping things sterile and only allowing the beneficial bacteria’s and fungus to take over the rooting medium is the best way to keep the rood zone from becoming anaerobic. Did the medium have a weird smell to it at all on the ones that are showing signed of stress?

I agree with Italian4u on the aquarium water. While I do like aquarium water from a healthy tank only for some things, one of the reasons that the best media for doing fig cuttings is a soil-less medium is because it is a relatively pathogen-free medium, versus aquarium water that has fish poo and all the organisms in its gut and from the gravel and from the water.

Did it kill your cuttings? I would guess not, but personally, while I am learning a new method, I try to stick as close to the methodology as possible so that I can hone my skill first. And there is definitely skill in doing a good fig pop. Mine did not look like this in the beginning, lol.

Then when I have learned that skill and am good at it, then I can start to tweak it and make adjustments. Otherwise it’s more complicated to narrow down the exact reason when something starts to go south or fails.

 

[Crabby127]

For me if a cutting wilted after up potting it was almost always watering too much after up-potting. I've gotten to the point where I up pot into moistened soil just the same amount of moisture I originally root in but I don't water at all - and even if the cutting is a little dry, it gives the roots a chance to unfurl and reach for the moisture in the soil I just put it in. I sometimes a week before I water it any at all. And when I water for the first time I really only give it just a few ounces and I put it down the sides away from the cutting and where the root ball is. I don't start watering with larger watering till it puts out a new set of leaves usually ... The more leaves it has the more water it seems to soak up and the more it can handle so I really try to wait. I have loved too many to death.

Sound advice … I will try to keep that in mind for this next attempt

 

[Crabby127]

I agree with Italian4u on the aquarium water. While I do like aquarium water from a healthy tank only for some things, one of the reasons that the best media for doing fig cuttings is a soil-less medium is because it is a relatively pathogen-free medium, versus aquarium water that has fish poo and all the organisms in its gut and from the gravel and from the water.

Did it kill your cuttings? I would guess not, but personally, while I am learning a new method, I try to stick as close to the methodology as possible so that I can hone my skill first. And there is definitely skill in doing a good fig pop. Mine did not look like this in the beginning, lol.

Then when I have learned that skill and am good at it, then I can start to tweak it and make adjustments. Otherwise it’s more complicated to narrow down the exact reason when something starts to go south or fails.

True but you see and read so many different methods online and want to try them all!

 

[Crabby127]

Ok so a few things. I do not recommend watering them with aquarium water. That’s fine after they are established but that water carries allot of stuff in it that can cause rot on newly rooted cuttings. You have to remember a newly rooted cutting is not the same as an established tree that is actively growing. The seed starter and perlite is fine but Promix HP if you can swing that is better for rooting. One big benefit is that it is neutral and you have charge it up with their ratios of fertilizer that are more suited. Heating mats are fine but once they start to actively grow turn the heating mats off as sometimes they can cook the roots with too much heat. Really try watering with distilled water until they start to take off. Keeping things sterile and only allowing the beneficial bacteria’s and fungus to take over the rooting medium is the best way to keep the rood zone from becoming anaerobic. Did the medium have a weird smell to it at all on the ones that are showing signed of stress?

Once I see roots do I need to keep the roots dark and expose leaves to light? I have put the light up on brighter setting too to try and help . But if roots are seeing light could that cause harm?

 

[Rojo]

So I run my rooted scions so dry they will sag a little in the afternoon. Even at that I had to pull a couple out today that I'm sure root rot got them. I use to water before leaves drooped and killed quite a few vibrant rooted scions with that practice.

 

[Figgerlickinggood]

Once I see roots do I need to keep the roots dark and expose leaves to light? I have put the light up on brighter setting too to try and help . But if roots are seeing light could that cause harm?

My Smith cutting is in a clear plastic cup. Now that it has roots and I put it in a south facing window for sunlight I put it in an old black sock to protect the roots from the sunlight. It probably thinks it’s inground.