Fig cuttings are all molding

T

tarakona

Member
I'm extremely new to rooting fig cuttings. I've done a lot of research but clearly I'm doing something wrong. All of my fig cuttings were soaked in hydrogen peroxide:water mixture and dried before attempting to root. All cuttings were initially started 4/19/26.

I did two fig cuttings in water which both algae'd out and molded. (Was changing water everyday) I cut them down and soaked them in hydrogen peroxide:water mixture and let them dry completely then put them on sand and mist it lightly with water, they molded in a couple days.

I did two other fig cuttings using the hybrid fig pop method, I saw it in a Ross Raddi video. The rooting mix was below field capacity, it had no dripping water, was moistened though. Enough to humidify the cups that the cuttings are in.

One cutting put out roots, a good amount but no growth up top. One of them no roots anywhere, decided to pull it out and see what went wrong. That was 05/22/26. It was fuzzy mold all up and down the cutting. I tossed it out.

I checked the rooted cutting today 05/27/26
and it has white fuzzy mold at the base of the cutting where it's coming out of the soil in the cup. I used hydrogen peroxide on it, cracked the bag around it a bit to hopefully dry the medium(50/50 peat moss/perlite) out. I understand mold is a fungus that is spread by spores. So cracking the bag open a bit might not be the best idea, however it's inside a grow tent and it's the only thing left in there.

I plan on sterilizing the entire tent before trying to root cuttings again, sterilizing all of my rooting substrate, and possibly using distilled water to hydrate the rooting mix.

I guess I'm asking for input on possible conclusions as to why everything molded. I have SEVERAL other plants that have never molded, I've grown plenty of plants inside the grow tent, never had mold. I've even water propogated plenty of other plants in the same location as the fig cuttings, with really good success.

Should I try soaking the cuttings in a bleach solution and sterilizing medium? I have pressure canners and have sterilized substrates before for mycology.

Thank you for any available input
-TK
 
Once you've done 40 cuttings you'll start to hone your methods. Unfortunately, 4 isn't really a good enough sample. Might have just been weak cuttings. One thing I've done--but can't prove that it helps--is to hydrate the substrate with boiling water. It helps wet the medium faster if it's hydrophobic and theoretically would kill [x>0] microbes that might be in there.
 
cdh said:
Once you've done 40 cuttings you'll start to hone your methods. Unfortunately, 4 isn't really a good enough sample. Might have just been weak cuttings. One thing I've done--but can't prove that it helps--is to hydrate the substrate with boiling water. It helps wet the medium faster if it's hydrophobic and theoretically would kill [x>0] microbes that might be in there.
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I plan on getting more, I have a cart at off the beaten path nursery. I just definitely wanted some input before trying it again lol
 
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Based on my limited experience of bagged pot rooting, mold is not a big issue. If I see mold, I just open the bag and spray with 1:10 diluted bleach (and bring it under the sun light if it's warm enough). The mold seems not to have really negative impact, and the cuttings were still mostly rooted. Even lots of people said the rooting hormone is not necessary, I personally feel it's life saver for rooting cuttings by making them rooted faster before they rot. I use Clonex gel. If you choose not to use rooting hormone, the perfect water level would be extremely important. When you add water to your mix, you need to squeeze it hard and make sure there's no water dripping at all.
 
mech_pa said:
Based on my limited experience of bagged pot rooting, mold is not a big issue. If I see mold, I just open the bag and spray with 1:10 diluted bleach (and bring it under the sun light if it's warm enough). The mold seems not to have really negative impact, and the cuttings were still mostly rooted. Even lots of people said the rooting hormone is not necessary, I personally feel it's life saver for rooting cuttings by making them rooted faster before they rot. I use Clonex gel. If you choose not to use rooting hormone, the perfect water level would be extremely important. When you add water to your mix, you need to squeeze it hard and make sure there's no water dripping at all.
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I'm all game for trying bleach out. These were all painted with Clonex gel and allowed to dry before rooting which I forgot to note. The mix was moistened but impossible to squeeze water out of it.
 
You can also increase the perlites to 70%. I think DE rooting is the most newbie friendly method, since there's not organic materials to cause rot and don't need to worry about water amount. But you have to water them everyday for about 3+ months until the roots are very full before you can safely up pot the cuttings.
 
I have sanitized cuttings with 9 parts water to 1 part bleach in the past. I do not sanitize any more after reading somebody's post saying that the scrubbing may damage the bark. I have not seen any difference in my rooting procedures for the past 2 years.

Since the cuttings came from the same source, try a different vendor. I got some cuttings from one source and the majority of them died. I asked somebody else about this vendor and that person could not root that vendor's cuttings either. Some sellers have better cuttings or respond differently to your rooting method. A friend of mine tries to purchase exclusively cuttings from one vendor because of the high success rate he has.
 
mech_pa said:
You can also increase the perlites to 70%. I think DE rooting is the most newbie friendly method, since there's not organic materials to cause rot and don't need to worry about water amount. But you have to water them everyday for about 3+ months until the roots are very full before you can safely up pot the cuttings.
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I'll increase perlite for my next attempt. I like the idea of the hybrid fig pop, but I'm open to trying DE, is that rooting them in diatomaceous earth? Would misting them water work or actually pour a little bit of water in it everyday?
 
LadyGT said:
I have sanitized cuttings with 9 parts water to 1 part bleach in the past. I do not sanitize any more after reading somebody's post saying that the scrubbing may damage the bark. I have not seen any difference in my rooting procedures for the past 2 years.

Since the cuttings came from the same source, try a different vendor. I got some cutting from one source and the majority of them died. I asked somebody else about this vendor and that person could not root that vendor's cuttings either.
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How do you root your cuttings? I didn't scrub any, just soaked them. With doing a limited amount of cuttings, do you think it's worth sanitizing?

I'll have to see about getting cuttings from multiple sources. I'm going to try and get some next January if Figaholics is doing another sale.
 
Your getting to a point in the seasons that cuttings are getting some age on them and won't have the same success as starting with fresher material as a beginner.
Different varieties, sources and quality/ state of the cuttings matter to have a high success rate.
It may be more efficient to buy a rooted cutting for this season and revisit or continue to experiment with rooting yourself this Spring and Summer.
 
No sanitizing. I do soak for 30 minutes in plain water to rehydrate and let dry. I wax the top and make a fresh cut at the bottom. Plop into glass jar with 2 nodes in the water. I use warm water only and change it every few hours. I am home all day, so I can do this. I try to keep the water at the same level in the jar during the whole process. They go into a warm dark room (half bath with no window). They stay in there until I see white lenticles. I then pot up into a modified mix called 5-1-1. There is great drainage, aeration and has air pockets. I use small clear cups which only have holes on the bottom. None on the sides. Too easy for gnats to have access if there are any. Then they are put in indirect light. For some reason, they like my kitchen table which is in front of a north facing window. I do not understand but it works. Next year I may try something different like misting to prevent cuttings from drying out. I noticed I have greater success with cuttings that are cut after December from up north or have been exposed to extreme cold temps before cutting. Maybe the temp in my house says it's spring? Lol
 
tarakona said:
How do you root your cuttings? I didn't scrub any, just soaked them. With doing a limited amount of cuttings, do you think it's worth sanitizing?

I'll have to see about getting cuttings from multiple sources. I'm going to try and get some next January if Figaholics is doing another sale.
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If you are looking for specific varieties, wait until this winter for giveaways and donations from forum members. I no longer sanitize my cuttings and so far so good.
 
tarakona said:
I'll increase perlite for my next attempt. I like the idea of the hybrid fig pop, but I'm open to trying DE, is that rooting them in diatomaceous earth? Would misting them water work or actually pour a little bit of water in it everyday?
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I’m not sure if I’m allowed to post a link here. But Gina has the best details about DE rooting method: https://www.theirfigs.com/forum/figs-home/685636-rooting-in-de-just-the-facts. Very easy: get the correct DE (I bought OptiSorb from Amazon) and stick your cuttings in it. Pour water to it every day. That’s it! You only start to add fertilizer to you water after seeing roots. For the clear container, you can use large drink cups from fast food places or buy some, and use solder iron to add lots of holes on the bottom.
 
It really stinks not to have any success when trying to root cuttings.

If you are getting new cuttings from OTBP and want to try the fig pop method and are willing to get some promix, I’d be happy to help you offline and get some cuttings to root for you!

Send me a dm if you want some help. I have helped a lot of people and am happy to get you going, too! 😊
 
I do give me cuttings a soak before using them...but I also use an old tooth brush to scrub them a bit just to make sure nothing is stuck on them.
Also I agree it is starting to get late in the season for cuttings to be as viable as they were when cut...but certainly still able.
It sounds like you were doing everything right.
What was the temps you had them at?
 
ktrain said:
I do give me cuttings a soak before using them...but I also use an old tooth brush to scrub them a bit just to make sure nothing is stuck on them.
Also I agree it is starting to get late in the season for cuttings to be as viable as they were when cut...but certainly still able.
It sounds like you were doing everything right.
What was the temps you had them at?
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I have them at around 75f, if I get more cuttings someone reached out and offered to help me out, I'm still considering OTBP cause they're also still in the first month of starting their cuttings sale. The cuttings I got were taken the day before I got them. That's what I was told, it would've been in April
 
mech_pa said:
I’m not sure if I’m allowed to post a link here. But Gina has the best details about DE rooting method: https://www.theirfigs.com/forum/figs-home/685636-rooting-in-de-just-the-facts. Very easy: get the correct DE (I bought OptiSorb from Amazon) and stick your cuttings in it. Pour water to it every day. That’s it! You only start to add fertilizer to you water after seeing roots. For the clear container, you can use large drink cups from fast food places or buy some, and use solder iron to add lots of holes on the bottom.
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I'll check it out! Thanks, I'm currently using 52oz? Clear cups with holes on the bottom
 
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