Propagation Journal Update

[Ben]

This is an update to my thread from the end of April: https://figfanatic.com/threads/propagation-journal.1644/ These were cuttings that I received as part of the new forum member giveaway.

May was pretty cool and rainy here. Five of my figs have significant root growth and varying amounts of green growth (Olympia, Fico de Familia, Raspberry Latte, Blackjack, and LSU Gold). Two additional cuttings have root growth, but nothing green showing yet (Calvert & Atreano). Five aren't showing any signs yet, but hopefully will now that the warm weather seems to be back (Gxy Capri, Celeste, I258, Strawberry, and Batroun Red).

Thank you again to everyone involved in and everyone that donates to this awesome program!

 

[JC Figgy]

Great job. Hot weather coming soon!

 

[Figless]

@Ben great variety choices. Those cuttings look fantastic to me. Thank you so much for sharing your propagation journal with us. You can't take enough pictures as far as I'm concerned. We love looking at them. You're clearly doing everything right, but
(please remember do not over water) Sometimes just weighing your cups, adds some safety to this process. When you do water it's okay to add a little fertilizer now. My rule of thumb is using the weakest strength of your chosen fertilizer, and then cut that in half. Sometimes synthetic fertilizer works well at the very start of propagation. This is due to the very nature of how synthetic fertilizers work. Please don't overwater to apply them.

 

[ktrain]

Looking good Ben, nice work.

 

[Ben]

Here's a July update on my new forum member cuttings.

I went ahead and pulled the trigger and put a new row in my little orchard and put almost everything that had sprouted in the ground. I planted the Strawberry, Calvert, Raspberry Latte, Batroun Red, LSU Gold, Blackjack, and Fico de Familia in the ground. The Calvert had pretty substantial roots in the pot, but just the tiniest bit of a leaf that was starting to emerge. I gave them all chicken wire enclosures after I took the pics to protect them from wildlife.
I already had an Olympia in the ground from an earlier batch of cuttings that I got off of figbid this winter, so I up potted my new Olympia to a much bigger pot. The angle is weird on the photo and makes the pot look small, but it's comparable to a 5-gallon bucket.
I still don't have any signs of life out of the Celeste, GxY, VdB, I258, Atreano. I haven't given up on them, but I don't have high hopes at this point. They're all still hanging out in 1 gallon nursery pots on my screened porch.

Two years ago I got my 1st fig tree, a rooted cutting that my mom started from her own tree. I planted it in the ground in 2023. By last fall I was up to 3 in the ground. This winter I discovered figbid and Fig Fanatic. I now have 27 in ground and a small collection in pots on my patio. I think I belong here.

 

[bushdoctor82]

Here's a July update on my new forum member cuttings.

I went ahead and pulled the trigger and put a new row in my little orchard and put almost everything that had sprouted in the ground. I planted the Strawberry, Calvert, Raspberry Latte, Batroun Red, LSU Gold, Blackjack, and Fico de Familia in the ground. The Calvert had pretty substantial roots in the pot, but just the tiniest bit of a leaf that was starting to emerge. I gave them all chicken wire enclosures after I took the pics to protect them from wildlife.
I already had an Olympia in the ground from an earlier batch of cuttings that I got off of figbid this winter, so I up potted my new Olympia to a much bigger pot. The angle is weird on the photo and makes the pot look small, but it's comparable to a 5-gallon bucket.
I still don't have any signs of life out of the Celeste, GxY, VdB, I258, Atreano. I haven't given up on them, but I don't have high hopes at this point. They're all still hanging out in 1 gallon nursery pots on my screened porch.

Two years ago I got my 1st fig tree, a rooted cutting that my mom started from her own tree. I planted it in the ground in 2023. By last fall I was up to 3 in the ground. This winter I discovered figbid and Fig Fanatic. I now have 27 in ground and a small collection in pots on my patio. I think I belong here.

Very nice layout. What spacing did you use?

 

[superdave336]

Yes that looks good. I'd love to one day be able to plant them like that.

 

[Ben]

Very nice layout. What spacing did you use?

They're all 10ft apart in the row. I was spacing my rows 20ft apart, but with this row I had to move it in closer because I'm running out of space, so this row is about 10ft away from the next row.

 

[Ben]

Yes that looks good. I'd love to one day be able to plant them like that.

I really like having them in the ground. I think I over-care for them in pots and I think I killed a couple rooted cuttings this winter trying to 'fix' them instead of just leaving them alone. So far, they seem to be taking care of themselves in the ground. I've fertilized and watered, but none of the worrying about "too wet, too dry, too many fungus gnats" anymore.

 

[Ben]

Here's an August update on the new member cuttings:

All of the ones that I put in the ground survived and most are taking off. LSU Gold is the biggest overall out of that batch, with Fico de Familia just slightly smaller. Calvert, which only had a tiny leaf bud when I put it in the ground in early July has had the biggest growth percentage out of anyone. The Olympia is still living the patio life and is doing well. I did a scratch test on the ones that hadn't sprouted yet, and the I-258 and VdB both still show green, but they're still not doing anything. The Celeste, Gxy Capri, and Atreano were all brown.

 

[superdave336]

The mulched rows look so neat and clean. Very nice.

 

[Ben]

The mulched rows look so neat and clean. Very nice.

Thanks! I originally didn't want to do fully mulched rows and thought I wouldn't like the looks of it as much as individually mulched trees. After doing that 1st row with the new cuttings, I saw how much cleaner the fully mulched row looks, plus it's A LOT less work for maintenance. I was dizzy by the time I was done mowing my orchard. I now have 5.5 out of 7 rows fully mulched, and I'll get the last 1.5 done some time this month.