To me that root system looks very dry. I see your in zone 10 and watering once a week if plant was outdoors in warm to hot weather in the clay pot just would not work well and perhaps these are the results.
Martin

thanks martin. i've been keeping my plant on the windowsill inside. it was inside a plastic 7-up bottle.

i thought it was dry too. i've just killed a cutting by over watering it, and that's why i was underwatering. its just so hard for me to know if i'm over or underwatering.

but whats wierd to me is that ALL the roots were brown. not a single plump white root.

Way too dry and needs to be potted up in a good potting "soil". Cuttings growing in a rooting "mix" such as yours have special needs.....one of which is to protect the roots from strong sunlight. Aluminum foil can help block out the sunlight. However, it can collect and retain heat acting like an oven.

Dan

There is always a cyclic death and regeneration of roots going on with trees in nature. To illustrate: most deciduous trees will have up to 80% of their total root mass in the top 10" of soil during times of optimum moisture and air, but as summer advances and the moisture content in the top 10" of soil cannot support fine rootage, that trend reverses itself so up to 80% of the total root mass is below the 10" level.

What is occurring: Roots are opportunistic, They do not grow toward water or nutrients, they only grow where they are present, and they favor the growth areas where these cultural conditions are ideal. Roots don't all die at the same time. The heavier conductive roots (their job is to only anchor the plant and transport water and nutrients) are most tolerant of drought conditions. In F. carica, these roots, as well as secondary or tertiary roots, serve also as water storage organs that help sustain the tree during periods of drought.

What you are witnessing in your tree: The soil was drying to the point the fine (almost microscopic) roots that absorb water and nutrients were dying. Through chemical 'messengers', the plant recognizes the drought stress and growth ceases. Sort of like the plant 'thinking', "There is no sense in producing more leaves if I can't support properly the ones I have now". The plant then goes into survival mode, using the water stored in it's roots, which is why the top didn't die. The next step, which you haven't reached yet, is photosynthesis shuts down due to a lack of water necessary to make the sugar that is actual plant food. The plant senses this because the flow of auxin (a growth regulator/hormone) across the abscission zone at the base of each leaf is required to keep an abscission layer from forming. When photosynthesis and the auxin flow stops, a corky layer forms and stops all movement of water and nutrients to and from the leaf. The leaf withers and is shed (abscises), and the plant puts itself on hold (goes into a consequential/environmental dormancy).

If your tree was of a species that didn't have roots that could help sustain the tree against drought stress, it likely would not have remained viable.

If you're worried about over-watering, use drain holes @ the bottom perimeter of the container (center is ok too) and insert a wick & allow it to dangle below the container after watering. Tilting the container so the hole the wick is in is down will also make a big difference in how much water the container holds on to.

Al

What you have experienced and illustrated is ONE of the many reasons why I use a rooting mix which contains nutrients (50:50 coarse perlite/Fertilome Ultimate Potting mix).

Dan

There was no need to add yet another intentionally inflammatory remark.

If you don't water appropriately, plants will suffer, no matter what medium they are in ..... and there are MANY mediums that offer a wider margin for grower error - both from an under-watering and an over-watering perspective.

Al

thanks guys for your help. i've repotted it into 40% perlite and some potting mix. its now in a terracota container.

i hope it can survive!

Hi Dan,

I have a question about the coarse perlite. We got a large bag of coarse perlite from our feed mill/garden store and when we opened it, it didn't seem very coarse. There seems to be a lot of pulverized perlite, more than larger pieces. Is that normal? Should we try to sift out the fine stuff?

Thanks,

noss

"There was no need to add yet another intentionally inflammatory remark."
Al, will you please stop it. That post was deliberately EDUCATIONAL. If I had intended for it to be inflammatory, I would have provided a link to some pictures of Monster Roots that develop when using that superior rooting mix.

Vivian,
Perlite is rather soft and can get somewhat pulverized in transit. I do not sift my perlite before using it.

luv figs,

Best of luck to you and the survival of your young fig tree.

Dan

One of the reasons I always avoid using potting mixes like Fertilome's Ultimate Potting Mix and others is because they are not sterile. They are contaminated with various fungi that cause any one of a number of diseases, primarily the damping off diseases that cause cuttings to fail at a higher rate. It makes no sense to go to great length to 'clean' cuttings, only to stick them in a medium that is assuredly contaminated. Potting soil mixes as media for cuttings yield acceptable strike success with F carica not because they are close to ideal, but because the plant itself is often vigorous enough that it doesn't matter what the medium used is.

I also avoid any fertilizing or media with nutrients added because fertilizer and soluble salts inhibit the cutting's ability to remain hydrated. Fertilizers in the medium are counter-productive until root primordia are visible, indicating a vascular connection between roots and the top of the cutting. At this point, the plant becomes able to absorb water and nutrients via its bedding root system.

Additionally, potting soils hold perched water, even if mixed 50/50 with perlite. This is very often a problem with inexperienced growers who feel their soils need to be wet for their cuttings to 'drink'. The cutting should have very high humidity surrounding the cut end, but NO film of water. A little slip in watering can be a major consideration in the difference between success and failure. None of these issues are a consideration in rooting media that is comprised of large and sterile particles.

The idea most of us adhere to in our growing endeavors is to give our plants every advantage and opportunity to grow to it's potential, not to force them to tolerate something less than ideal, just because they can.

Please regard this information and opposing view as informational/educational, not confrontational.

Al

Please regard this information as equally educational and not confrontational......

Fertilome's Ultimate Potting mix has been specially designed for the growing of "cuttings" and seedlings. It has excellent physical and CHEMICAL properties too that set it apart from other medium. It is rather easy to get a 100% rooting success when using this mix while following the Improved Baggie Method. Anyone can verify this for themselves....

Dan

Vivian - what are you using the perlite for? If for cuttings, it is a good idea to screen the fines out to avoid excess water retention. Fine particles of anything, including potting soils, reduce aeration and add to water retention. If you don't screen it, at least take advantage of a hole at the bottom of the container at the perimeter & insert a wick through that hole. After watering or misting the surface of the perlite, tilt the container with the wick down, which will drain most excess water from the medium.

Al

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the info on perlite and your good wishes for these poor babies that have fallen into my ignorant clutches.

In looking at them this morning, they seem not to know they have been repotted three times within the two short months they have been here! Since the third repot, two of them have put out some very healthy-looking new leaves, all soft and fuzzy. The two older ones are sulking some, but don't show any regression. That's since this past Tuesday, so only time will tell.

If they survive in spite of me, :) it will be a testament to how tough figs really are.

Vivian

Hi Al,

I was adding the perlite to the MG Moisture Control Potting Mix that was trying to drown my new babies. I'm going to use it to pot the herbs and want to make it looser and I found some pine bark mulch, not fines, and will add that also. Wish I'd found that before I repotted the babies last Tuesday, but they're staying put for now.

I noticed the pulverized perlite and wondered if I should be sifting it out. I was surprised to see something that says coarse on the bag that has so much powder in it. If I were using perlite for cuttings I would sift out the very fine powder, thanks.

For now, I'm having enough trouble keeping the plants I have from drowning, never mind working with cuttings! :)

Although, I did stick the tip that was bent on the Hunt tree, in transit, into the pot with the Hunt tree and when I repotted "Mom" I put the tip into a clay pot with soil and it's growing. I have no idea if there are any roots and I'm not going to disturb it to find out. I'll leave it be for now because it's got two actual leaves that are growing and more buds coming along. So far, so good, so we'll see with that one, as well.

I've got the wicks and the lighter potting soil and this next week, they will have more sun to see how they do, but it will be only morning sun for the next week. I did give them a weak liquid fertilizer, but only a short drink of that into the damp soil and over the leaves. Should have waited for that for another week, but didn't.

I didn't ad the perlite to the Fafard Professional Potting Mix because it looks like it has plenty of that already. I wish I'd have found the pinebark mulch to ad in, but I guess they were out of it when I was at the nursery.

Some of the young trees will go into the ground when they're older, but since they are more sensitive to the cold, I'll keep them in pots for the first few years.

Thanks,

Vivian

No need to screen ..... or I should qualify that - the only time I would screen it is if I was using it on plants known to be sensitive to fluoride. The fines don't do anything for the soil, and eliminating them reduces fluoride.

I wonder why you have so many fines? I use only coarse product and most of it is anywhere from raisin size to BB size.

Al

I wonder why you have so many fines? I use only coarse product and most of it is anywhere from raisin size to BB size. Al

I've been ROBBED! This stuff isn't that big in size!!!

I'm calling Chastant Bros. on Tuesday and telling them that this "coarse" stuff is like mostly powder and see what they have to say.

Fluoride is in perlite?

Thanks,

Vivian

Some perlite has more fluoride than others. If I'm potting/repotting anything for someone that doesn't like fluoride (airplane/spider plants, peace lily), I leach it by rinsing thoroughly over insect screen, which also removes the fines.

Perlite normally isn't an issue (because of fluoride) in plants not known to be sensitive, but it CAN be if there are other fluoride contributors, like what's in tapwater combined with mixes that are high in fluoride. It's not uncommon for certain fertilizers to have levels of fluoride higher than others as well. It's very unlikely you have anything to worry about.

Al