Fig Root Sensitivity to Transplant Shock?

ktrain said:
I find them more fragile when the rooting medium is quite different to what they are used to.
Say going from water rooting to soil.
Or even one type of soil to another.
Temps, or how wet or dry it is.
Or a young tender age.

Once they have that many roots, I say they should be tough enough to handle a little rough housing. lol
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I agree - when up potting the new medium will have about 1/3 of the same mix of its original rooting medium (which is perlite and coco coir) to help it adjust and I'll try and match the moisture level (ofvthe new.medium) to the attached rootball soil.
 
SpiritFarmVa said:
Do you wrap your summer air layers in aluminum foil? Ours root easily and fast in the summer here, but the soil mix can dry out on you if you do not time removal right.
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I've always wrapped them in foil for no other reason that I've always just wrapped them in foil... just seems to be the way everyone does it. I don't know if something that reflective is specifically necessary.... I imagine a light coloured rag would work just as well... but I think they would cook without something.... I've done layers near the ground without any foil where they were totally shaded by my wife's hosta's and they were fine.... but no direct sun... for sure.

I also imagine the sun is more intense at your latitudes so... there's that to consider.

I grow many of my trees in front of the house, incorporated into the landscape in full view of the street. Come July, all the layers do start to look sort of weird :)
 
TorontoJoe said:
I've always wrapped them in foil for no other reason that I've always just wrapped them in foil... just seems to be the way everyone does it. I don't know if something that reflective is specifically necessary.... I imagine a light coloured rag would work just as well... but I think they would cook without something.... I've done layers near the ground without any foil where they were totally shaded by my wife's hosta's and they were fine.... but no direct sun... for sure.

I also imagine the sun is more intense at your latitudes so... there's that to consider.

I grow many of my trees in front of the house, incorporated into the landscape in full view of the street. Come July, all the layers do start to look sort of weird :)
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Anything that stops the direct sun would work, but I use foil not only for the reflection of the sun rays but also because it is water proof.
I use the green AL balls and the ends are open enough for water to get through.
The foil stops that from happening....and we get a lot of rain here in summer. :)
 
ktrain said:
Anything that stops the direct sun would work, but I use foil not only for the reflection of the sun rays but also because it is water proof.
I use the green AL balls and the ends are open enough for water to get through.
The foil stops that from happening....and we get a lot of rain here in summer. :)
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Good point. I didn't think of that. Gave me an idea. These might blend in better 😬

Green Foil
 
To the original question, I find that they are only most sensitive within the first 3-4 months, sometimes you could say up to 6 months if it is a slow to grow plant. It’s really a case of the roots not having a chance to harden before many want to up pot. So any change is upsetting to them and it’s easier for the roots to break off.

A big change in growing condition during that time seems to really bother them. Like water to dirt, a lot of humidity to low humidity, DE particles to soil. Plants put out root exudates to adapt the soil to the conditions they need to grow. They do it to change the biology for the nutrients they need and they do it to adjust the pH. Every time we alter that condition, they have to put energy into root exudates to change it back to how they want it. The more energy they have to expend to do that, the less energy they put into leaves or other things. For a new plant with a brand new root system, these constant changes are hard on it.

If you root them in a container they can stay in for a while right from the start, there is way less issue because they have that chance to harden before you’re ever thinking of up potting.

Definitely you want it to become root bound before the first up pot, 1. for stability so nothing is tugging on the roots, and 2. so that it’s more established.
 
Figless said:
I start with the weakest solution, and sometimes cutting that by half as well. The sodium in the fertilizer gets absorbed by The Roots. Carrying with it the nutrient solution impregnating the plant cells. We've been discussing whether the same thing could be done with organic fertilizer at my home Orchard as well. This would be a great time for @Inflorescence who has a greater understanding of organic fertilizers, and synthetic to shares her knowledge.
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For some reason, I completely missed your tag and just saw it now after reading through the thread. I was like wait, that’s me he’s talking about, haha.

Yeah so, there’s a lot of more recent research by Dr. James White and quite a few others about how plants eat, probably @SpiritFarmVa has some info on this as well being he pointed me to James White. 🙂

Synthetic fertilizers aren’t actually in a form plants can automatically use. There also is a lot wasted with them, I think the range is 30-40% of synthetics are used by the plant while the rest goes down the drain. Plants have to use energy to convert the synthetic fertilizers into a form they can use. So you actually are depleting the plant a bit everytime you use a synthetic. Not to say it won’t bounce back, but it can cause and does cause issue. Synthetic nitrogen also has been proven in multiple studies to attract pests and to weaken cell walls. So you can have more pest and disease issue with synthetics. Plus the sodium in synthetics kills off the soil microbiome and important diversity to keep everything in check, such as RKN. All of this is shown in research studies, plus more, so it’s not a subject of controversy.

What Dr. White and a handful of others have shown in research is that plants actually eat microbes, or you could say, they allow the microbes to penetrate their tissues and they eat nutrients off of the microbes and then later expel them out to collect more nutrients from the soil. These microbes have been shown to have a direct bearing on root health and root hair formation. They also have a direct bearing on the natural growth hormones within meristem tissues of plants. So your microbial health affects that growth hormone within roots and we really do not want to be killing off microbes.

With this system that matches how plants are meant to eat and collect nutrients, you have 100% efficiency. Nothing is wasted, and nothing runs off to cause harm anywhere else. This also helps the plant to focus its energy on growth, secondary metabolites, and on its defense system. So you end up with a plant that is less likely to have pest and disease issues, depending on the strength of soil microbe diversity and its genetic strength to be able to collect nutrients.

All of that to say, I recommend worm casting extract for newly rooted cuttings. Leaf mold soil can also be used for an extract and is a great way to get natural mycorrhizal fungus starting in there. Many people don’t realize that not all strains of mycorrhizal fungi benefit all types of plants. So having a diverse inoculation is more beneficial than single strains of something cultivated for a certain type of growing condition.

Also, diluted vinegar mineral extractions either for the roots or foliar spray. Lactic acid bacteria serum (LABS) can also be used from time to time, which gives an overall boost to the plant, can help with preventing fungus gnats and any other fungal issues. KNF FPJ made from figs is also recommended. Seaweed extracts are also great.

Anything that is coming from something breaking down in the open, like compost, leaf mold soil or worm castings, you want to have it strained through cloth so that it does not bring in insect eggs if rooting indoors. This is why I recommend worm casting extract and not tea. Plus the worm casting extract is made instantly and does not need to sit.

I am loathe to recommend anything fish related for indoors, but you probably could use very diluted fish amino acids if you are willingto make it, as it is lower odor and has benefit at high dilutions.
 
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BNaula1 said:
Sorry to hear about the flu! 😞 hopefully you’re all recovered now, that’s no joke to go through.

I usually really pack my figpops very compact so that when I rip the bag along the seal it stays in form. I haven’t had a single figpop come apart in pieces yet doing that method. Also let it dry out a bit before transplanting, when you do it on wet soil it’s very likely it’ll fall apart and rip at roots. A dry root ball is best on transplanting day!
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Thanks! Yup that's the mistake that I made. I was in a rush to get it done. Last year I waited until they were quite dry before transplanting and only lost two out of about 28 (I believe). This year I lost three out of 14. No bueno. Lesson learned!
 
I loved reading all the rooting posts by Inflorescence and have found them to be extremely helpful. Not making a suggestion rather an observation from this year. From what I have potted up, I have had better success when the fig pop was well compacted and the medium I was transplanting into was dryer than the medium that the fig pop contained. Not sure why the second one has held true but it has consistently helped, I am going to chalk it up to luck at this point and maybe too heavy a hand when I add water?
 
The Fig Chronicles said:
I loved reading all the rooting posts by Inflorescence and have found them to be extremely helpful. Not making a suggestion rather an observation from this year. From what I have potted up, I have had better success when the fig pop was well compacted and the medium I was transplanting into was dryer than the medium that the fig pop contained. Not sure why the second one has held true but it has consistently helped, I am going to chalk it up to luck at this point and maybe too heavy a hand when I add water?
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It's very easy to go too heavy on the water. As long as the mix is gritty enough, compacting it a bit shouldn't be an issue. I like to keep it pretty snug as well. It also keeps the cutting secure so it doesn't move in the bag and tear the roots.
 
ktrain said:
Yes Sir, I do try some in mid summer, but you definitely have to protect them from the sun, and they seem to root much slower in the mid summer heat.
So I quit doing those for the most part.
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Yes sometimes here we even have to cover them with foil in the fall
 
SpiritFarmVa said:
Do you wrap your summer air layers in aluminum foil? Ours root easily and fast in the summer here, but the soil mix can dry out on you if you do not time removal right.
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Well, it gets to hot here in the summer easily 100 degrees. It gets so hot it just cooks them even if you have it wrapped and plenty of water in there.
 
The Fig Chronicles said:
From what I have potted up, I have had better success when the fig pop was well compacted and the medium I was transplanting into was dryer than the medium that the fig pop contained. Not sure why the second one has held true but it has consistently helped, I am going to chalk it up to luck at this point and maybe too heavy a hand when I add water?
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How often do you water and how much?
 
AAAJacks said:
Well, it gets to hot here in the summer easily 100 degrees. It gets so hot it just cooks them even if you have it wrapped and plenty of water in there.
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I look for a well shaded spot in the tree to set my air layers as well to prevent cooking. But in some cases it is just too hot.
 
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