I am not kidding when I say that every single year, the moment I spot my first rooted cutting, I get a little teary-eyed. It never gets old. This year, I’ve officially kicked off the rooting process with—drum roll, please—400 cuttings. But wait… there’s more. I’ve got another 200 cuttings tucked away in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. Oy!
Why so many cuttings, you ask? Well, starting in April, I lead hands-on fig workshops at local libraries throughout the area. At the end of each workshop, every participant goes home with a rooted fig cutting. And while people expect a “cutting,” what they’re really getting is a small fig tree in the making.
Please don’t judge me, but I check for roots daily, especially this time of year because I’m experimenting with a new and improved rooting setup: a different growing medium, adjusted watering schedule, and a revised fertilizing mix. That deep dive deserves its own post, which I’ll share in a couple of weeks.
Just look at those roots, long, healthy, and beautiful, right? This is also the moment when restraint is critical. As tempting as it is, this is not the time to drown the cutting in water. Give it too much water and it’s good night Vienna.
The mother tree for this cutting originally came from Milo, who’s active in several Facebook fig groups. I can’t recommend him highly enough.
And in case you’re wondering about the blue painter’s tape and the cups, here’s my setup. I use a double-cup system for each cutting. The inner cup has 6–7 holes in the bottom for drainage and I make them with an awl. Between the inner and outer cups, I insert two thick pieces of folded paper to create a bit of airflow and separation. These pieces of paper are secured with blue tape, which I reuse season after season. The outer cup gets a 4-inch strip of blue tape labeled with the fig variety name.
Simple, effective, and reusable, just the way I like it.
TTFN
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Stay tuned, keep on rootin’ and happy growing!
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