GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

03-03-2003, 04:51 AM

In article ,
says...

"Tuckermor" wrote in message
...

"Propagation: Fig plants are usual propagated by cuttings. Select
foot-long
pieces of dormant wood, less than 1 inch diameter, with two-year-old wood
at
base. One-year twigs with a heel of two-year branch at the base may also
be
used. Dip the cuttings in a rooting hormone and allow them to callus one
week
in a moist place at 50-60° F.

Does this mean to not plant them immediately? If not, what is considered a
moist place? Just leave them exposed to air, but under a cover?

Thanks! This is a great excerpt!

I have rooted many figs and found them to be among the easiest of plants
to root successfully. Your best bet is to take cuttings from a dormant tree
Stock about 1 cm diameter is ideal. Cut just below the start
of the past seasons growth so that you have a foot or so of new growth (now
hardened off and defoliated) and a couple inches of the previous year's
growth, Rootone may help but is not essential. Take a pot about 8 inches
tall and put the cutting (or several not touching) in the pot all the way to
the bottom and fill with a good soil that has enough organic matter to hold
moisture well. You should end up with about 8 inches buried and 8 to 10 inches
above the rim of the pot.Put the pot where it will stay cool and get some
light. It would be best to do this in the Fall when the parent plant has just
gone dormant. In the spring the odds are 90% or so that the scion will make
a few leaves. It should stay in that pot and not dry out for a full season and
can then be transplanted when it goes dormant again. Some people bury the pot
in a cold frame. This relieves you of needing to remember not to let it dry
out.