Note as of December, 2019: This is consistently one of the top blog posts on our site, so I’ve updated it to remove some fluff and added an FAQ at the end. Hope this is helpful!
Method Requirements
High success rate (80+%)
No pre-washing, mold control, shuffling, potting up, root formation monitoring, or otherwise babying the cuttings
Use of readily available inexpensive supplies (potting mix and containers, shop lights for growing)
Must work in my basement (65F, ~35% humidity in the winter)
Supplies
I use 4x4x9 Stuewe Treepots for the pots, straight Pro Mix MP for the potting mix, and the 1" parafilm available on eBay. We’ve also used Pro Mix BX and Pro Mix HP with good results, though the latter will tend to dry out pretty rapidly.
Rooting Method
1. Take cuttings in the late fall during dormancy before the low temps dip into the teens
In south-central PA, this is done in late fall (typically late November through early December)
I’m told fall is the best, as the sap flow is into the roots at this point and is preferable to taking cuttings in the Spring when sap is flowing upward.
If you wait too late and the temps dip into the teens, you risk the cuttings being damaged, especially those from wood that hasn’t fully hardened off.
Cuttings from this year’s growth seems to work well (wider than pencil width up to probably 1” in width). This year’s growth is the most susceptible to dying in the winter anyways, so I don’t feel bad cutting it off. As long as the base of the tree survives in the winter, the tree seems to bounce back the next year.
Cut a whole branch and worry about cutting it into pieces later.
2. Cut the cuttings into pieces to fit your pot
I use 4x4x9” treepots as I can fit the most under grow lights and it offers a lot of soil surface (height) for roots to shoot out.
We use cuttings around 8-9” for our 9” tall pots. We don’t want the cutting touching the bottom of the pot but we do want as much of the cutting under the soil as possible.
Cut about a quarter to a half inch above & below the top and bottom buds (respectively) to help keep the buds from drying out)
Cutting length should allow 1-2 buds above the soil surface, ideally just 1, but it’s okay if you have more (some cuttings have closely spaced buds)
3. Fill the pots with a loose potting mix that’s labeled for cuttings and thoroughly water the mix
Pro Mix MP (biofungicide + mycorrhizae) is my favorite as of 2019. It’s an OMRI mix that seems to have a decent nutrient charge to get the cuttings going and doesn’t seem to dry out too fast.
I use Pro Mix MP, Pro Mix BX, Pro Mix HP or Berger BM1 or OM1. It’s readily available here, fairly inexpensive, didn't contain fungus gnats like I've seen with other mixes, and seems to work well. You can add a little coarse perlite if you feel it’s too “heavy”.
I haven’t seen much of a difference in success rate with just straight Pro Mix but adding perlite may help with overwatering issues. The downside of extra perlite is that the mix dries out more quickly so you need to stay on top of watering once the plants begin growing.
Pro Mix MP (and other organic mixes) tend to lack good wetting agents that conventional mixes have. We’ve found it helpful to dampen them slightly before filling the pots, otherwise they tend to repel water.
Pre-wet the soil, let the water drain out thoroughly (sometimes overnight). This allows you to make sure soil is consistently and thoroughly damp.
4. Wrap what will be the exposed end of the cutting (the part sticking out of the soil) in parafilm down to ~1” below the soil level
Parafilm prevents the buds and wood from drying out prematurely. Since the parafilm breaths mold never forms. The stuck cuttings aren’t placed in any sort of humidity dome.
Parafilm stretches really well, make sure to stretch it well over the exposed buds. The pressure of the swelling and opening bud will break through the parafilm as long as it’s stretched well.
Parafilm is the only “odd” supply needed here. I use the 1” width and find cheap rolls on eBay. 1 roll should do 100+ cuttings as you’re only covering the tips.
Remove the parafilm later in the year while potting up when the new tree has outgrown its pot.
A note about tip cuttings: If your cutting contains the tip of a branch (a pointy vegetative bud) I usually remove it, as the parafilm wrapped around it will tend to constrict it (unless you wrap it a different way) and restrict it from breaking bud properly.
5. Stick the cuttings in the soil and thoroughly wet the soil until water runs out of the bottom.
Rewater when the top inch of the soil is dry (probably in a few weeks, depending on the humidity of the rooting place). Only rewater enough to dampen the soil, do not drench the soil again.
Cuttings can be stored in the dark until the buds start to swell and open. At that point I introduce them to the grow lights. There shouldn’t be any drawback to placing them immediately under lights (other than the cost of running the lights)
We’ve used both cheap fluorescent shop lights placed directly above the plants and now LED grow lights. The benefit of LED lights and some other types is that they can tend to sit significantly above the canopy so watering and rewetting the soil isn’t as much of an issue. The T12 fixtures we’ve used in the past need to sit almost touching the plants to provide sufficient light.
Most of the time we stick more than one cutting in each pot. That way if a particular cutting isn't healthy, we have a backup. We've done as many as three cuttings in a pot without any detrimental effects that we've seen. We view it as a bit of added insurance and a way for a tree to start out with multiple trunks.
6. Water as needed, and only as needed.
Water only when the top inch of the soil is dry. Overwatering can kill an otherwise good cutting by causing it to rot before it roots
Remember that cuttings starting out don’t need much water. You're just trying to maintain high humidity in the mix to force the cutting to push out roots.
Don’t fret if a newly pushing out cutting loses a leaf or two. I’ve seen them recover.
Once a cutting is growing vigorously (has put on and kept 4-5 leaves) it’s far less sensitive to overwatering so feel free to water it well.
That’s it! Seems like a lot, but there’s no babying, no monitoring (besides for water), no mold issues, no supplies beyond potting mix, pots, and parafilm.
FAQ
My cutting comes with parafilm on the top & bottom, does it need to be removed prior to rooting?
Parafilm should be removed from the bottom of the cutting as no roots will push through the parafilm. We place it on the cuttings we sell in order to prevent the ends from drying out. It can be left on the top of the cutting as long it follows the wrapping method described above.
Do I need to wash or sanitize my cuttings?
With this method, no. This method allows you to root in a way that discourages mold growth as there’s no elevated humidity. The only reason we’d wash or sanitize our cuttings were if they were stored for some time and were showing some mold in storage.
Do I need to score or wound my cuttings or use rooting hormone to encourage root formation?
We haven’t found that this is necessary with figs, though it may benefit other plants. We are getting good take rates without resorting to these methods, so we haven’t used them.
How do I prevent or deal with fungus gnats?
Start with a bagged, dry mix, preferably a compressed bale. I’ve found that starting with clean media is the best thing you can do. If you begin to see fungus gnats, you may be leaving the mix too soggy. For fungus gnats in the psat, we’ve watered with water that has a Mosquito Dunk (Bt) in it. This seems to take care of them. We simply leave a Mosquito Dunk in the watering can between fills. Excess fungus gnats may be a sign of overwatering as well.
What are the downsides of this method?
I’ve only found one: you can’t monitor root development. I think this is likely a really good thing, as formation of roots (or lack thereof) probably causes premature action to the detriment of the cutting.
What’s your “take” or success rate?
As of approximately 6 months into the cutting process, my success rate is 142 rooted out of 152 total cuttings, or about 93%. Check out our Store to see what's available for purchase from the rooted cuttings this year.
At least half a dozen cuttings were pegged for being dead but ended up surviving. They originally pushed out a few leaves that withered and fell off. In many cases these cuttings shot up growth from below the soil level a month or so later after I set them in the "probably dead" pile.
Pictures
Pictures are worth a thousand words, so check out some of the photos below to see growth progress and some shots of the parafilm wrapping.
