ryne, I always cut mine and pot them. Most of them grow with no problem. Another option since it is so close to the ground, is to cover it with some soil and let it root while attached to the mother tree. Check it after it goes dormant and if it has sufficient roots, pot it. Good luck.

From the bayou,
"gene"

If you're not in a hurry, try an air layer... Before the tree wakes up in spring (before the leaves break), cut a hole in the bottom of a bottle roughly the size of the branch, slide it over, fill with dirt, and keep it moist. Cover the open end with foil, if you want, to keep the whole situation at a more consistent humidity... A clear bottle works well because you can see root development, and you will see roots within a few weeks... An old timer around here does all his propogation this way, and boasts a 90+ percent success rate... Last time I was at his farm, he was just about to cut off an 1 1/2 inch diameter branch he had layered in a three gallon bucket using this method...

I would try to cut it off with some roots on the sucker with a shovel, kind of cut some off the mother plants root. but that's me :)

thanks for all the input. great forum.

Hey all, just for the heck of it, i'm trying an air layer with a cut, inverted, plastic bottle and some organic potting soil. I'll try and post some pics when i can. thanks again for the info.

I have used straightened out and then bend paper clips yup to make hook for small small suckers and have cut up a coat hanger and made hook end for larger suckers low to the soil top then i just cover with soil and keep moist. In 4 weeks time i have roots and can severe from the parent tree. One can do this in fall as well and leave it till the spring and will have plant rooted.
These fig plants for the most part are so much fun and can take a lot of abuse.

As far as air layering goes, is there a disadvantage to doing at this time of the season? Also, if I do it now on a tree that is packed with ripening fruit, I wonder if it will impact the fruiting process. The last thing I want to have is a tree full of unripe fruit going into the fall. I know the olive oil tip but the figs just dont taste the same.

I would air layer it in the spring as ejp3 suggested. What will happen if you do it now is you will get stoped growth (zone 6) and then the moist moss you have on the tree will rot or freeze and kill the branch. Doing this in spring you will have tons of growth and it will root very fast. I would use dipnGrow. I use that stuff on all my cuttings or air layers.