Soil temp should be between 70-80°F for root development. Below 55°F root growth ceases.

~james

Hi, James & Denn

I regularly root post dormant cuttings of temperate deciduous trees in my raised beds during winter. Figs come easy from cuttings, so I imagine they would be no different. If the plant is hardy to my zone, I simply make cuttings after leaves fall & stick in my raised beds with about 2 nodes above the soil line and 3 or 4 below. These plants usually have roots by the time most trees are leafing out in spring, and if they don't, they usually root as soon as soil warms a little. Root growth takes place at soil temperatures down to about 30* F (Dr. Alex Shigo - Modern Arboriculture, A New Tree Biology, et al).

In the case of the less hardy F. carica, there are a few things you can do to achieve no fuss rooting. You can take cuttings of equal length (8" is good) and bundle them so they are all oriented with the same polarization (so you can't confuse up and down) and well-marked so you don't forget. After they are bundled, you can treat them 3 different ways to root.

1) Bury the whole bundle horizontally under a couple of inches of soil where they won't dry out and cover with an overturned, light colored pot or cone (leave the drain hole uncovered, if there is one). After frost leaves the ground, but before trees in the landscape are leafing out, 'lift and separate' the cuttings (hmmm - anyone remember that old commercial?) and plant in pots, beds, or garden to grow on.

2) Do exactly as above, but leave 2 nodes sticking out of soil.

3) Dig a hole & bury the bundle vertically, but upside down (with the root end up) and cover with a pot. Remove pot or cone as soon as frost is out of ground. This method takes advantage of the sun-warmed soil at the surface (root end up, remember?) in early spring to get a little jump on rooting. The rest is the same. Lift/separate and pot up/plant just before or just as landscape trees (especially other figs or mulberry) show bud movement.

Al

tapla, Do you think there is any other reason besides taking advantage of "sun-warmed soil at the surface" to turn the cuttings upside down?
Years ago when I first tried rooting fig cuttings in late winter inside, I put them in pots of peat potting mix - with terrible results. A long time fig grower in Georgia, Mr. Paul Starnes, told me to wrap the disinfected cuttings in damp newspaper, put them in a plastic bag and hang the bag upside down in a warm spot.
I didn't question the instructions - just followed them (with very good results). But I've been asked about the upside down part, and I don't know if there is any real reason for it (though I have speculated, LOL).

I can think of no physiological reason for it other than added warmth stimulating earlier root primordia initiation.

What have you speculated?

Al

Al, From experience with other fruit trees, energy for vegetative growth seems to be channeled to the highest, most vertical branches. I thought that perhaps inverting the cuttings might somehow stimulate root initiation, and slow down leaf growth.
A lot of techniques that are handed down are based on long experience, and are very valuable. But the original knowledge is often garbled or lost. Folks who inherit the directions sometimes speculate on the reasons behind doing something, or why it works, and they can end up with some pretty strange ideas, LOL.

I suspect that the method prolly draws on the idea that if you keep the upper parts of the tree cooler (buried deeper), it will help suppress dormant bud movement, while the warmer temperatures near the soil surface that see benifit from solar heat gain will help to stimulate root initiation. Because of the way water moves through tissues by diffusion, I kind of doubt there would be anything gravitational at work, but who knows? ;o)

Al

Perhaps the upside down in a bag method just evolved from the upside down in the ground method. But as you say - who knows.
Thanks