Anyone struck fig tree cuttings before?

In a nutshell we are hoping to sell up and move house this year and my fig tree which my late Nan bought me when I was 16 years old for Christmas is likely going to have to stay put. I have thought about lifting the entire thing from it's slab lined hole but I think it'll be a headache.

So the next option is to take cuttings from it.

I was reading about hardwood cuttings but as I'm not sure if i'll be here in a years time to dig them out of the ground it seems not viable.

Softwood cuttings in seem quick but also a small window to make sure the cuttings have struck before we leave.

I was however reading up about striking them in watering but it's not very clear when to do this.

Any knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

 

I've not done figs before, but I believe they are quite easy. I have been successful with rose cuttings in a deep pot. If you have a deep pot like the ones they often sell potted roses in, that's ideal but any deep pot will do. Use a soil based compost, use cutting 8-10 inches long and plunge them in as deep as you can. Leave them in a sheltered spot till you see good roots at the bottom of the pot. Obviously you will be able to take the pot with you whenever you need to.

 

I've done lots of figs! Dead easy. I've taken them at all times of the year. Just cut decent pencil or thicker branches, stick lots deep into pots of gritty compost, and wait. You'll soon see if the buds expand. And a tip I got from a professional, if you put the cuttings so that they touch the pot bottom, it's s much easier to see roots emerging.
I have given them to everyone I can around here, as they are an Italian variety that fruits really well.

 

If you have enough shoots on it, you might as well try all the methods - hardwood in pots of gritty soil outside that you can take with you even if they haven't rooted by then, softwood in pots on the windowsill, maybe some in water too (if the ones in water don't root you can chuck them out, nothing to lose really).

 

You could also have a look around the base of the plant and see if there are any sucker-type shoots that could be dug up and potted (easier than digging up and moving the whole plant, as long as you can wait until the ground isn't frozen).

 

I've also done lots of fig cuttings and it's quite hard to not be successful. They are so easy that even thick chunks of branch will readily root.


I've done it in water but you want to get them into soil as soon as the roots begin to emerge. I find it easy in coco coir in a clear plastic humidity dome. I bank the soil up at a 45 degree angle and stick the cutting in horizontally. The soil is moist but if it is a little to wet, the cuttings don't get saturated as the water goes to the bottom.

I let them root and then pot them up for a year.

I don't know if it's this video but this chap is a propagation and grafting god. He does have a great one about figs somewhere in his library

 

I think you just need well ripened wood, I've rooted them just by pushing them into the ground in winter, doo a few just incase some fail.

The old fashioned spade slit and slide a few in then tread them in.

 

Thank you for that link @Thevictorian - he seems to cover everything and gives reasons why. I'll have to watch some of his other videos too!

 

Thanks everyone for their input. I've taken a few cuttings and put one pot outside and the other 2 on the kitchen window.

This is the tree I'm going to have to leave behind



Lots of pencil sized straight growth coming from parts that I pruned hard back last winter

 

If you fancy trying another method, order some propagation balls and have a go at air layering. That's quite fun.

 

Can only do air layering in the growing season.

 

Indeed. It'll likely be breaking dormancy in around a month and could be fully rooted by June. Unless this house sale goes incredibly smoothly, there should be enough time.

 

Just an update a month on.

The ones in water have started putting leaves on but no roots yet. I'm guessing somehow it is feeding itself in order to do this?



The cuttings in the pots on the windowsill have been producing fruits but no leaves yet. I'm guessing these too are somehow supporting themselves?

We've still not put the house up for sale yet so still time to try some air layering.

 

Not a great time of the year to be trying to root something, probably have better luck when the days are longer and the tree is naturally in growth.

Those still might root.