Fig cuttings

I would like to propagate a 40yr old fig tree that I have. Would this be the correct time of the year to take the cuttings? I also read to let the cut ends callus over for a week to prevent rotting, does this mean to leave them out in the air or to put them in barely damp soil?

Does your tree have any small limbs near the ground? An easy way to start new offspring is simply to bury a portion of a small stem and weight it down with a brick or rock. Leave the bud end out of the ground. Roots usually form quickly and a young tree will be on its way.

It doesn't have any long enough to reach the ground. It does have lots of foot long suckers around the edges, those are what I was going to try to root. The whole thing died back a few years ago, I don't know if it was cold damage, drought, or disease. It basically had to start all over.

It would seem the tree is trying to reproduce itself. Experiment with one or two of the shoots by carefully digging the soil away from the base of the shoot and you may find that roots have already formed. Cut the shoot away from the main tree's root from which it started up. Allow the cut section to dry in air a couple of days (any longer and the young roots may dry too much). You might dust some rooting hormone on the cut surface before potting up, but I think think chances are the shoot will start growing without it.

I took cuttings from favorite fig trees in CA before moving to TX. They calloused on the way. Upon arrival, I planted the cuttings in whatever small pot I had — some went into plastic while others went into clay pots. All the cuttings in clay pots rooted. I lost about 50% of the cuttings that were in plastic. I think the plastic pot are too efficient at retaining moisture.

I took three cuttings. They ended up being around 18 inches long, longer than I thought. They are in the garage now so I think I will leave them to callus until the weekend. How much of them should be put in the soil? One website showed about 75% of the cutting under the soil line. I don't have any clay pots but I do have some fast draining potting soil.

If there are any roots already developed I would put them at the same level as they were growing outside (you might need to stake them to keep them upright.) If you cut them with no roots they can be placed deeper.

Chad,
The following is from the NAFEX Fig Interest Group page( http://www.nafex.org/figs.htm ), penned by Ray Givan:

"Figs are easy to propagate as they root very easily. There are several ways to propagate them. The most common method is to root leafless cuttings taken in late winter or early spring. Here's how to do it:
Take cuttings which are 3 to 6 inches long and pencil to finger thick. The best cuttings will have some of last year's wood on them.
If the weather is still unsettled and likely to frost, store the cuttings in a sealed ziplock in the produce bin in your refrigerator. If the weather is warm and likely to stay warm, pot your cuttings in sand or a good-quality potting mix.
Using 4" deep plastic pots, pack a half sheet of newspaper tightly into the bottom of the pot. Put a little mix in the bottom, stand 1 to 4 cuttings upright in each pot and fill the pot with the mix.
Water the pots thoroughly and stand them in a very bright, BUT NOT SUNNY place. It should be warm--70+° F. If you can't keep air temperature above 70°, provide bottom heat to bring the soil up to 70° F. Cover the pot with an empty 2 or 3 liter softdrink bottle with the bottom cut out. [Leave the lid on.]
Don't water the cuttings again until they are very dry. Test for dryness occasionally by lifting the pot. If the pot is very light, water it by setting it in a pan of water and letting it soak. When you see vigorous growth, it is time to harden off the new plants. Remove the bottle cap and see how they do. If okay, remove the bottle after a few days. Keep an eye on them and reinstall the bottle if the plants wilt.
After a few days, it will be time to pot up the new plants. Don't do this just because you see leaves growing. Sometimes there will be 4 or 5 leaves and few if any roots. Wait until you see vigorous growth. Apply fertilizer. "

They're easy. If I were doing 'em up here, I'd have collected my cuttings back in December - before we got cold enough to potentially damage the wood(it's 9F here this morning), then I'd have held the cuttings in the fridge until April, and stuck 'em in pots outside.

Looks like I need to put them in the fridge for another month then.

I would.
I'd cut 'em into 8" lengths, wrap in some damp(not sopping wet) newspaper, stick 'em in a ziploc bag, and put 'em in the fridge 'til spring - which probably will arrive for you in another month.