Rootings by US Postal Service

18 years ago

On January 8, 2008,I mailed a couple of Quarter Pounder cuttings to somebody in Canada and the address label must have gotten detached. Anyhow, the package was returned today, February 11th -- more than month later. When I opened it up, I found one of the cuttings had sprouted roots at every joint. Some of the roots on the lower joints were over four inches long! This was a middle-of-the-branch cutting. The terminal branch cutting did not have any roots. The cuttings were small and had been rinsed in a weak Clorox solution, so there was no mold whatsoever. They had been wrapped in a very soft, moist Kleenex brand of paper towels and placed in a quart-sized zippered bag. They then were placed inside a cushioned envelope.

I've often wondered how cuttings would do if simply wrapped this way and placed in a warm environment. Now I know. If you'd like to see a photo of this interestingly rooted scion, just email me. My attempt to post a link was rejected. The paper was stuck to the roots, so I planted paper, roots and all. We'll see how it does.

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Comments (5)

hlyell
18 years ago
LOL Jack...you should patent this method of rooting and add it to the never-ending list. My greatest success ratio (9 out of 10) came from the most crude method I've ever used (before I got smart and learned about vermiculite, bags, cups, etc.). Also, some of these were very large branches with multiple limbs on them. I put some topsoil in pots, poked a hole where the cutting would go, sprinkled some powdered rooting hormone in the hole, dipped the cutting in water & sprinkled some hormone on the cutting, stuck it in the hole and watered. I just put them in the shade. That was last March. Several of these now look like two year old trees. Here in the land of humidity I don't think it needs to be any more scientific than that. This year I'm going to use that as my main method. I just hope cuttings that have been in the refrigerator will do as well as the ones I potted up immediately after pruning them.

Henry
ottawan_z5a
18 years ago
Jack
I did get my envelope in Canada with terminal cutting of the QP. I put it right away in a bggie and within a week it showed initials. It was my first ever cutting so I was impatient and put it in a clear plastic glass with 50/50 Perlite/Vermiculite right after visible initials. It is doing OK with roots and leaves. Thanks again.
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wild_forager
18 years ago
Mine came with a tad bit of mold, but seems to be holding up. The middle joint of one had inch long roots just a day or so ago so I planted it up. The other showed initials forming but I potted it up too. I hope they turn out well! So far I've had many mold issues with my cuttings, but I'm hoping they will pull through.
georgia_jack
Original Author
18 years ago
I've had some luck using the rose spray that I think has copper in it that is used for black spot fungus or some such. It cleared up the mold on my rootings and it didn't come back. Mold is nearly always produced when you have too much warm moisture and no circulation of air.
peg919
18 years ago
I think there is some, "magic", in Jack's cuttings. All the cuttings he sent me in Dec. of 2006 rooted and all but one bore fruit in the Summer,2007. And this was my first try at rooting cuttings.

Many thanks Jack for getting me started with growing figs.

Peg