Ciao Gman,

You can root them in a ziploc bag. Put them in with a damp paper towel wrapped along the length of the middle. I like to leave a little of the ends sticking from the towel at both ends. After you wrap them with a damp paper towel,put them in a ziploc bag and place in a very warm 75+degrees. I usually put cuttings near a space heater where it gets very warm usually above 80 degrees. The warmer they are the quicker and better they root. Keep in a bright location. Put them in the bag horizonatally. Don't put in a fully sunny location. In a couple of weeks you should see the roots developing. wait till they are well rooted before planting them in a larger pot, maybe say one gallon. Cover the newly rooted fig tree with a clear plastic container to let it hold in humidity. Still keep very warm and bright. Water, but let the soil dry out completely before watering again. It is so easy and very successful. I had great results with my first try at rooting it this way. Jon at Encanto farms nursery has other great techniques and any information you may deem necessary. By the way, Fig growing is addictive!

P.S. When you pot up your rooted trees, plant it vertically, but cover about 75% of the branch and leave the tip out. Just make sure you know which way is up on the cuttings. The tip of the branch should be the top of your new tree.
Ciao Ciao, Maggie

hi Maggie,,
how many cuttings per bag?.. Do I keep these cuttings in the bag till I see roots (a few weeks) then pot them? hope I can tell which end is up.. and store all these cuttings in a warm place in the house through out the winter? Then set out in spring? When planting in the 1 gallon pot ,,should I use soiless mix? I have them wrapped in newspapper and plastic in a cool spot in the basement right now.
thank you

the gman

Hi gman

I usually just put one cutting in each bag, I don't like congestion, but others put many at once in a bag. Yes, keep them in the bag until you see good root formation on the cuttings. Usually the right end up is the tip of last years growth. sometimes you see a large bud at the end, also the bottom will have the straight cut that you cut it off the Mamma tree. The tree will be a clone of your mothers when it matures, an exact replica. I use regular GOOD potting mix, it worked well for my cuttings. Other people use other stuff I just never wanted to spend the money on the other stuff, like I said, GOOD potting mix worked wonderful for me. I have heard some people keep their cuttings in ziploc bags until spring in the frigerator until they are ready to root them in the heat. Why not do them now, then in spring you should have little fig trees to put outside. Mind you, they don't root them in the fridge, just keep them, similar to what you are doing with your now. When rooting do like I explained earlier.

Gman61,
As Maggie said for further explaination on rooting, log on to www.figs4fun. It is really a fun thing to do during the cold winter months and by spring you'll have small trees to put out side. I do mine in plastic bags also and put them on top of my fridge to keep warm. If you search this site you will find many different methods.

Good luck,

Peg

gman, When you start them depends largely on your preference (and conditions).
I find that my conditions for growing indoors aren't good, and I'm fighting to make it succeed. There are humidity problems, light problems, mold problems, gnat problems - you get the picture.
So I prefer to keep the growing time inside to a minimum. I wait until spring is almost upon us, and start my cuttings then. They seem more inclined to cooperate around that time. Pitangadiego's rooting in a bag has been the best method that I've tried. The link is below, and the directions are at the bottom of the page. You can also search the Fig Forum for bag rooting and this will bring up pictures and a lot of discussion on the subject.
It's a good idea to disinfect your cuttings with a 10% solution of chlorine bleach in water before starting. And using soiless mix is also a good idea - you have fewer problems with fungus.
Pitangadiego stresses using media that hold a large amount of air - listen. It will stay moist, but not soggy. When figs are young they are very susceptible to excess moisture. Even when wrapping the cuttings in paper towels for the bag rooting process, make sure the paper is just damp. Don't over-pot - use a small pot to start off with - plastic tumblers are great.
The humidity should be high after rooting and covering the pot with a tent or cup works. I adopted a method described last year using a deep plastic box. I put a rack in the lid of a deep box, put the rooted, potted figs on the rack and then covered with the inverted box. It formed a dome that could be gradually propped open as the cuttings needed more and more air circulation. And by getting a very deep box you could accomodate large cuttings and quite a bit of growth.
If you decide to wait, disinfect the cuttings and store them in a refrigerator crisper drawer. I usually put the dried disinfected cuttings in a ziplock bag, and then put that bag into a larger ziplock bag with a piece of moist paper towel. Others just wrap the cuttings in a damp piece of paper towel and place that in a plastic ziplock.
Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Figs4Fun Bag Rooting Instructions

HI fignut I just read your instructions on rooting figs, and I have 5 different kinds of figs and will try your way.

Thanks for the good instructions. I'll use them.

DAN.

Gman61 -- Welcome to this addictive forum.

thanks guys,,I'm a fig and fruit fanatic,, I remember driving through parts of california where they grow almonds, citrus, and all other wonderfull fruit woow! I've seen a fig tree once that was 30' tall and at least 30' wide I asked the lady of the house what was the tree in the back yard,, when she said fig,, I was in shock! that was gledale ca. Figs grow huge there,, but my granpa's tree in the bronx was not too shabby,, I'm looking to make a come back,,Me and my five daughters all little ones,, call our place the dolphin ranch,,located in the figerlakes NY,, looking to grow some persimmons also...

take care

gman

Many people who use the bag method of rooting cuttings talk about placing the bags somewhere warm, like on top of a refrigerator. If the temperature is higher on top of a fridge it is because it is in the higher reaches of the room, and NOT because of any heat produced by the fridge. All heat-producing parts of a refrigerator are located near the bottom of the appliance (electrical engineers take note - heat rises). In fact the top of my fridge is quite cold to the touch, probably because it is barely an inch away from the freezer compartment. My favorite place to put the plastic bags with cuttings is in the little room where my hot water heater is located. The air temp there is much higher than anywhere else in the house.

Hi Elder,

In your hot water tank room how much light do U have? My hot water tank & furnace is in the basement and has no lights unless turned on. I kept my cuttings in clear plastic cups, perlite mix, holes punched in the cups & kept on top of the fridge. Sad to say all the cuttings turned moldy. Funny thing is that I didn't notice too much condensation on the cups, a telltale sign of humidity. Would try again after the new year. Right now,I have 3 cuttings in soil mixture & 2 are showing little green buds.

Paul

Paul, no lights in the water heater room, but I only keep the bagged cuttings there. As soon as I get good root growth I put the cuttings in cups as you mentioned, and get them into a well lighted place.

I sometimes wonder about the ways some people write into this forum. Elder, you had to take apart what peg had stated about the frigerator top being warm. Yours is cold to the touch, well My fridge actually warm up top and would store cuttings to root there. I doubt she was trying to argue the laws of physics, but since a refrigerator is higher, It is warmer!!!. I don't think you need to correct people on such little things like that. there are many different ways to grow figs and root them. Some work better than others. I think that we sometimes run out of things to say and just butcher up what somebody has said just to have someone to correct. If we were talking about relevant information on the figs, I could understand, but to point out a fridge is cold to the touch,and a physics lesson which most of us already know about, I get irritated. Ciao

Ha!

I agree italiangirl. While I respect my elders (!), a better post would have been to mention that all fridges are not created equal, and that each fig grower needs to check his/her fridge top for warmness. I my case, the fridge has its' coils on the back, so because it is pushed back against the wall, the heat rises to the top.
In any event, thanks all for the timely info.

I have had very little success using this method. I don't know why, but I always end up with fungal growth. It may be too humid or too warm in Houston. The only (albeit slight) success I have had was when the cuttings are IN the fridge. I still ended up with some fungal growth, but the cuttings rooted as well.

~james

Castlemaster writes:
"I my case, the fridge has its' coils on the back, so because it is pushed back against the wall, the heat rises to the top."

This is the way my fridge is, plus there is a cabinet above with just a 2 inch air space between the top of the fridge and the cabinet. When the fridge goes on the warm air
pushes right out into that space. Admitedly it is uneven heat. The bags are very warm to the touch when the fridge cycles on and then cool down until the next time. However, it works for me. I often dry damp dish towels there before putting in the hamper.

The last 6 cuttings I started there on 11/24 are now planted in vermiculite cups. All have very good roots and have sprouted, some with leaves. In all, I have 21 cuttings that were started on top of the fridge now in plastic cups. All rooted and 16 of them sprouting.

I prefer starting my cuttings this time of year when it is coldest because I have more heat on. Have to keep the pipes from freezing in that northwest wind! If I wait until spring I'm not pushing up that much heat and the whole process is slowed down. This way, by spring I have small potted trees to put outside.

With careful observation we all can find the best way for each. There are no rights or wrongs as long as there are good results. A little common sense goes a long way.

Peg

The point of all this is that the cuttings need warmth. If the layout of your frig and cabinets funnels the heat generated by the frig in such a way as to create a warm place, then use the heat for free. If, that doesn't produce the necessary heat, buy a plastic storage box and put a 25 watt bulb in it and close the lid. There is nothing magical about the frig - it is just a heat source. With a little imagination you can probably find other sources of free heat. If your house is 68 degrees or a little warmer, just put the cuttings on your desk, and they will be fine. They don't need to be cooked, just warm. Think about the principle (warm and moist), not the "recipe" of "on the frig". See http://figs4fun.com/home.html and click "CRFG Fruit Garderner article with pictures".

gman (and others):

So you don't confuse the top with the bottom (of the cutting), always cut the bottom straight across, and the top at an angle (about 45 degrees). I'm sure most are aware of this--just didn't see it said.

Same with all scions saved in late Fall/early Winter, to be grafted to rootstocks in early Spring--straight across the bottom, 45 degrees at top, and there'll never be confusion.

All cuttings (and scions) are not taken from the very tip of the branch; it's possible to make a number of cuttings from a 3-foot branch that one may have pruned away, and it's easy enough to become confused without special cuts that differentiate top from bottom.

mojo,

Good tip to follow, thanks.

Peg

great stuff,,Thank you all for this help.,, even the frig debate was very important! as all frigerators are different,, So it said warmth a key factor,,when in the baggie in a warm place how much light is needed? second phase,, rooted cuttings, what is the proper lighting and temp?,,and is soiless or potting soil or vemiclite preferred..I do have a boiler room which is warm but little light. I'm ready to buy some type of planting medium and get those cuttings cliped and baged..I may have to creat a mini green house within the house to get me through spring.

thank you all
happy rooting

gman

Check "Growing Tips" at Figs 4 Fun for a complete overview of rooting, growing, pruning, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: Figs 4 Fun