ROOTING FIG TREE

Does anyone know how to root a fig tree from a cutting? If so, how big of a cutting do I take and where is the best place on the plant to take the cutting?
LULU

I want to know also. Have two cuttings in wet potting soil now.

Lulu:
I purchased a couple of fig trees this Spring. The trees have grown to be about 6 ft. and I already got some figs out of them, with 10 more getting ripe as I type.

I have taken cuttings from these two trees during the year, from side branches that I figured the tree did not need, and I have about 40 little trees now. You need to have a node, which is where a leaf is formed, and about a couple of inches of stem below it. Remove it from the tree, and cut the leaf associated with that node so that you have a very small portion of the leaf left. Be sure to keep that part of the leaf, the tree needs it for root formation. The part you keep can be as small as 2 square inches of leaf. The rest of the leaf must be discarded. If you leave too much, then the tree will dehydrate too fast and die. If not enough, it will not be able to make roots.

I always dip the bottom of any cuttings in a rooting compound, and shake it, before planting. Lately I have been using Rootone because it is the one that is most handy in my greenhouse, but I think any one of them will do just as well.

New growth will form between the leaf and the stem. Watch for it.

I put my cuttings in small bags filled with good potting soil and leave them in the greenhouse until well rooted, then I plant outside. You can put them in a sunny window sill if a greenhouse is not available.

Just now I took a cutting, and a picture of it for your benefit.

Frank

Sorry, the picture did not take!

Thanks will cut some and this time leave some leaves on it. Good lesson FG. Ted

I remember my grandmother's method of rooting new fig trees. She'd step on a lower branch and put a brick on top of it. Before long, roots formed, she'd cut off the branch and, presto!, a new fig tree. These days we call it air-layering or ground-layering.

I take cuttings about 8 inches long and from pencil diameter up to 3/4 of an inch.Strip away all leaves and put in the shade for about three days to allow a callus to form.
Stick each cutting about half its length in sand and water well.Place in a shaded spot and do not water again until the sand is completely dry.
Most of these will form roots and be actively growing in about a month.
Now that said,does anyone have "Mission Black" cuttings to share or trade?