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Taking Fig Cuttings
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Posted by dinor (My Page) on Thu, Oct 26, 06 at 0:34
| I live in Eastern Andalucia and want to take some Fig cuttings. There are several unnamed but wonderful tasting varieties available to me and I would like to know what is the best time of year to take them and what is the best method. Also any post planting procedure to follow. If anyone can help me with this I would be grateful. Please be specific, I am not the worlds most knowledgeable gardener ;^)
dinor |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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- Posted by amato 8a-northern Greece (My Page) on
Sun, Oct 29, 06 at 14:47
well dear Dinor,
most fig varieties are well reproduced by cuttings. The best period is at the end of the winter.Cuttings should have a length of 12-15cm.Generally not root hormone is needed. Cuttings must be of the previous year's growth( no more 1 yrs old). Take them from the lower branches of the fig trees. They contain a more optimal cytocynin/giberrilin ratio for rooting.
Take care so the buds are not wounded or absent on the stems.If so, don't use them.
cuttings should also be insect/disease free
good luck |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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| Amato, Thank you for your excellent advice. Should they be planted to a depth of about 1/3 above ground? Regards
Dinor |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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Dinor
you can plant them 1/2 their length in the ground.Generally fig trees like growing in alkaline soils. So make sure your rooting media or ground has adequate active Calcium.Also the soil should be free of organic material that is undecomposed(as it will promote root wilt).just add to the soil some sand. |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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Amato,
Thank you again. My soil is quite alkaline so I dont think there should be any problem there. I thought about trying them in large pots using soiless potting compost in order that the eventual planting in their growing positions would be eased.
Dinor |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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Dinor,
if I were you, I wouldn't put the cuttings in soilless media. I think they are gonna decay in there. Fig trees, as well as other fruit trees(mostly hard-wood) dislike being grown in soilless media.If the pots are too big you can add to the soil some vermiculite(inorganic material) to make it lighter.
Good luck P.S. if they succeed, I'd be eager to try a couple of dried figs of your own fig trees!!lol |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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Amato,
I have tried drying figs 3 times. My Spanish neighbors say you need to leave them in the sun for 10 days, then they are ready to store. Every time I tried, we had a shower and they were ruined! I suppose I need to make a solar dryer.
Dinor |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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- Posted by amato 8a-northern Greece (My Page) on
Fri, Nov 17, 06 at 14:06
| yes they are right, 10-15 days are enough. I onced dried a lot of figs but unfortunately a while before gathering them inside I sprayed with pesticides in the area and forgot to take the dried figs. For fear of having sprayed the figs also, I ddidn't consumed them. The idea of a solar dryer is excellent.I don't think there are difficulties in creating one on your own.Although I haven't still tried it myself. A general good idea considering the sulfurisation of commercial dried figs.Oh God.. how unhealthy a fruit. |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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| I think they also dust them with ordinary flour before storage. I am not sure what the purpose of the flour is but I assume it protects the dried fig somehow whilst stored. |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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- Posted by amato 8a-northern Greece (My Page) on
Sat, Nov 18, 06 at 14:22
| It is probably flour. Neither do I know the purpose of it, but I don't care about it anymore. Since it's unhealthy I avoid eating that.(although used to eat it like crazy in the past) |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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| Dinor,would like to get some of your fig cuttings,but i live in USA,figs are my favorite fruit,good luck with your cuttings,they are usually very easy to root,they don `t like direct sun .Ciao .Giuseppe |
Figs immature, soft and dropping off
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| I am having a problem with my fig tree planted last year. Its about 5 feet high and the figs started to grow but have become soft and are falling off. The leaves don't look wonderful. Starting to flop a bit and some are yellow. It gets plenty of water and is in hot sun all day. What am I doing wrong? |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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- Posted by amato 8a-northern Greece (My Page) on
Fri, Jul 20, 07 at 8:20
| STOP watering the tree Fig trees thrive in the most arid Mediterranean regions.
In fact watering can be fatal for fig production. As far as the yellowing of the leaves it may be due to overwatering.
Another factor may be some kind of infection(insects).Watering makes the tree have more juices and a better place for parasitic insects to have a picnic. Observe the down surface of the leaves for any possible insects.Also see the branches or near the buds.There are some insects which rarely attack fig trees and can destroy them. But before all these stop the water.It won't wilt.Don't worry. Spray it twice with some seaweed extract(in the afternoon).It's gonna revitilise it. Good luck |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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| Just wanna tell about the portuguese way of taking fig cuttings. They cut very long ones at the end of winter or in spring - more than half a meter! I got 2 cuttings almost one meter long! My neighbours told me to dig them down as deep as possible or even horizontally. I chose the last option - easiest! Only the top bud should be visible (mark the site). Water well until growth gets going - usually through the first summer. When in full growth, stop watering! Now, about 4 months later they are about 40 cm and doing great!! When autumn rains bless us, I will remove irrigation and leave them to their own devices. |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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| Hello orchis, although nobody would believe it, but even in Germany we are growing figs in milder climate zones. I'm living in Southwest-Germany and we have to cope with other problems like freezing and snow during the winter. Nevertheless our figs can stand the cold and survive the winter in really good shape. It is interesting to know the Portuguese method of taking fig cuttings. Many greetings,
Norbert |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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--norbert
I would be interested in exactly how you over-winter your figs so they can stand the cold. What are your winter temperatures like there? And how long is this cold season? Thank you for the help.
~Allen |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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| amato, This is the 1st time I have tried to talk with someone not in USA, I live in FLORIDA the most southern area. I had a friend back in late 1940s from Greece who went to Greece to visit family that he had'nt seen since before the war. When he returned he brought 2 figs to show his friends.They were really large like maybe 8in across. I could hardly believe they were figs. Have you ever seen or heard of figs that large, if you have could you let me know more about them than my memory back so many years.I thank you so much for your answer soon. DAN |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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| Dear Fig Lovers, I have grown figs in the UK and northern France for a number of years. Once established, they have no problem with frosts but they need sheltering from cold East winds during the first couple of years after planting out. My method for taking cuttings is as follows: Early spring take a 30 cm length of last year's growth (from near the base of the parent) and put into a large pot with one 15 cm exposed including the "growth tip". I use potting compost with 50% sharp sand. Then I leave them in a semi shaded part of the garden until late autumn and over-winter them in a shed. In the following spring I put them in a fairly sunny position for another year still in their pots. I finally plant them up the following spring in a south facing sunny location. I plant them in pits which are about a cubic metre in volume and lined with old rubble or masonry which I hold together with a weak mortar. It's a long job as it takes about five years from cutting to significant crop....but well worth it. Kind regards, Charles (Sheffield UK) |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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Hello, everyone
I am a relatively new gardener. After much begging on my part, my husband gave me a fig tree five years ago. We planted it in full sun and from the first, it thrived BUT...every autumn we wrap it in dry leaves, tar paper and burlap against the cold. Every spring when I unwrap it the wood is dead. We were advised to cut it back to the ground, which we did and it sent up new shoots - four times. That's right: for four Springs we've unwrapped the tree to find dead wood, so we cut it back, and then it sends out healthy new growth. Unfortunately, since the plant spends so much time sending out new shoots, the growing season is barely enough time for us to get 3-4 ripe fruits, even when I pinch the end of the new growth so that it will set fruit (rather than continue to send out new leaves). I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong in the wrapping. I thought I would take a cutting and try to grow it indoors, but if I'm supposed to take the cutting in Spring, I'm back to the same problem - dead wood above ground after Winter. Can anybody help me learn what to do? Thank you! |
RE: Taking Fig Cuttings
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| poetryqn: US Zone 6B is certainly the northernmost limit for figs (and hardly a "Mediterranean climate"). I am sure that dry leaves, tar paper and burlap are not enough to protect a fig tree from the kind of cold you get. May I suggest that you plant your fig tree in a large container (preferably on a wheeled cart), using a heavy potting soil and get your plant indoors in the winter time (when the tree is dormant). Some good fig cultivars that do well in containers: Negronne, Black Jack (Petite Negri), Blanche, Verte. Joe |
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