Today I’m proudly announcing a brand-new addition to the English dictionary: “Lotsaroots” (lots-a-roots). A highly technical, horticultural term meaning a cutting that has produced an impressive, borderline show-off amount of roots.
Zone 6b, Mid-Hudson Valley, NY.
Attached you will find the link to a YouTube video. In this video, I’m showing four fig cuttings that all came from the same tree, taken at the same time, given the exact same treatment… and yet they’ve decided to pursue four completely different life strategies.
One cutting has achieved full “lotsaroots” status, proudly flexing its underground spaghetti factory, while the other three appear to be attending a motivational seminar titled “Rooting: We’ll Get There Eventually.”
Same tree. Same timing. Same care.
And yet, one of the cuttings has already emerged as a superstar while the others are still tying their shoelaces. The four cuttings are almost identical in every respect. Their thickness is the same, they have the same number of nodes, and even the position of the nodes along each cutting is nearly identical. By all appearances, they began the race under equal conditions.
And still, one cutting has surged ahead, already pushing out four-inch roots, while the other three are taking their time, showing little more than the first hints of life. It’s one of the quiet mysteries of propagation: even when everything looks the same on the surface, each cutting seems to follow its own timetable. Some leap forward eagerly, while others prefer a slower, more contemplative start.
Such is the mysterious and occasionally humbling world of fig propagation.
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Stay tuned, keep on rootin’ and happy growing!
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