Love your experimenting, no better way to learn and am anxious to hear your conclusions!
As a neophyte (no, it's not a dirty word) I have some questions - you refer to the amorphous, white bumps as (root) initials; I have lots of these on my cuttings, but they are NOT the points at which I observe roots starting. Do you have pix of rootlets actually beginning at these cell masses?
Re photo 5: I see roots at the base end of the cutting, and also white growths at several other points along the length. Are the growths not at the base also roots, or are they vegetative growth which are white because they have been growing without light?.....Elder

I so appreciate these sets of pix.
I thought I would stick mine on top of the fridge as it tends to "stay" warmer up there. We only heat with a woodstove and anyone who heats this way knows how tough it is to "regulate" the entire space and we don't have an upstairs.
How often do you check 'em and introduce "new" air into the bag?
Thanks for the bazzillionth time....
Christy

Elder, as one neopbhyte to another, I have a limited amount of experience, and not a lot scienrtific study on this.

What I have observed it this:

1) Ficus carica will grow roots most anywhere if the conditions are right, and you will even, ocassionally see air roots, like many other Ficus have. If I mound up some compost around a shoot near the base of a tree, and keep it moist, new roots will appear there, and I can cut it off and plant it. You can air layer figs, so they seemingly will grow roots most anywhere. So, why aren't these bumps root initials?

2) Most cuttings seem to root at the bottom end, but I have seen some that tend to root along the sides, rather than at the end, or on both the end and sides. I even had a couple that rooted at the top and bottom ends. Had to look twice to make sure I planted it right side up.

3) Are the white bumps root initials? Don't know, but that is what more experienced people tell me, and I know that roots can grow from all parts of the cutting. I suppose I could try some cuttings an take pictures each day and see what happens. In contrast, I have never seen a vegetative shoot come from the places where the "white bumps" are.

That's my take on it.

Christy,

I have some friends who mare doing just that. They use mostly their fireplace for heat, so we put her cuttings on top of the fridge (they do kick out some heat as part of the trade for the inside of the frig being cold), and in two weeks they have roots starting. In another week, when I see her again, we are going to pot them up. You just have to find a place the remains warm or that generates consistent heat. Who knows, maybe a plastic storage box with a heat mat in it (not touching the cuttings) would provide enough heat, or maybe a crockpot on very low might be OK (I tend to think it would too warm, even on low), or maybe next to the fan on your computer that exhausts all the heat from your computer.

I open them for a few hours at least once a week. I depends on how they look and smell. If they seem to too damp and musty, I'll air them out more often. I have one group that was aired out every night for 3-4 hours, after the first week. They just seemed to need it more.

Pitangadiego:
I'd like to ask a few questions about your technique, please. Do you use any rooting compound on your cuttings before putting them in the bag? It appears you have the cuttings wrapped with paper towels, exactly how do you prepared the cuttings, the bags, etc. I use a plastic bag technique on rose cuttings but I put the base of the cuttings in a sterile rooting mix. I guess I'm wondering if this techique will work on other types of plants as well as figs. Thanks

I switched from paper towels to newspaper. Rootlets would adhere to and penetrate the paper towel whereas with newspaper, if you wet it real well, the roots tend to separate from the paper easier at potting time. Also, you can tear the newspaper much easier when wet from around the root initials.

Leon,

Have done some that way (with newspaper) and it works fine. Since most roots form at the end of the cuttings, if you leave a 1/2" sticking out, fetting stuck to the paper towel is not much of an issue for me.

Joeray

No rooting hormone. USDA/UC Davis does not recommend, and much experience from a lot of people seems to confirm that it tends to cause rotting of the twig.

I open the bag and put the wrapped cutting inside and close the bag. Did I miss something here?

Do you mist or dampen the cuttings or bag inside before you place the cuttings in it. Also, ever tried any other plants using this technique (other than figs).

see http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/fig/msg0122533122733.html?22

Results on 3/09/2007