Tuesday, January 16, 2018

How to Root Fig Cuttings

I root several thousand fig cuttings a year.  There are many ways to root cuttings, and I've tried a lot of them, but here's what works best for me:

1) Dip the bottom 25% of the cutting into purple Clonex rooting gel (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Clonex-Rooting-Compound-Gel-15mL-100mL-250mL-1-Pint-cloning-clone-rooting/261221097209)

2) Place the cutting into a clear 16oz Rooting Cup that is filled with slightly damp HP Pro-Mix potting mix.  If you can squeeze any water out of a fistful of the potting mix, then it is too wet. You can add perlite or vermiculite to the potting mix in advance to help make it more fluffy/airy, but do not use any fertilizer at all.

3) Put the cups of cuttings into large clear totes like these from Wal-Mart (it's important to drill a couple of 1/4 inch holes into each end of the totes to increase airflow and minimize mold): https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-105-Quart-Latch-Box-Stadium-Blue-Available-in-Case-of-4-or-Single-Unit/44785814

4) Put the totes near some well-lit windows (but not in direct sunlight) or in a room with some nice bright lights above it, and keep them warm.  If I can't find a warm enough spot, I close them in a room and use a space heater to make sure the temp is in the low/mid 70's.

There may be better methods out there, but I settled on this one because it's easy, low maintenance, and gives me really good results.