Monday, September 2, 2013

A New Twist: Fig Tree Propagation Update 7

 
 
More changes this week - some good, some ugly. But [spoiler alert] at least Cuttings #3 and #4 made it into their new homes in soil this week!
 
 
Ohhh Cutting #1, why must you toy with my emotions? I swear it looks like the root nubs have gotten bigger on this guy...
 
 
...but the fact that the leaves are completely dried up, and that the tip of the cutting is hard and dry as well speaks otherwise. Or so I think. It typically doesn't speak well for the plant when the end looks like a gnarled old dead stick. Normally I'd have pruned the tip off just below the dead looking part, as this often saves the plant (in soil at least) and causes leaves to grow lower on the cutting, but for the sake of science and this experiment I'm just going sit back and see what happens.
 
 
Don't get too sad though, as Cutting #2, in the same window and jar of water, is a total rock star. Look at those big beautiful, green leaves! They've gotten a lot bigger since last week...maybe the fact that it's jar-mate appears to be dying is helping it's growth?
 
 
And those roots! This cutting just seems to be growing so much neater and tidier than it's rooted counterparts of Cuttings #3 and #4.
 
 
I could probably pot this guy now, but I'd like to wait for the root system to develop more if possible. However, if the leaves start looking a little sad and/or yellow, I'll definitely pot this cutting sooner rather than later.
 
 
It finally happened - Cuttings #3 and #4 have found their new homes in terra cotta pots with soil. I plan on trying my hand at making these strictly indoor fig trees, as I've never tried that before. I've said I'm going to try it multiple times, but then once the weather warms up in the spring I always end up putting those designated for inside on the terrace. Fingers crossed I can stick to the plan with these fig trees.
 
 
Pardon the atrocious lighting on these, I need to remember to take these pictures earlier in the day. But I did want to showcase a point I had made way back in the beginning: if I am to do this again, I will not submerge the cuttings so much in water. This was a decently long cutting, but I had the cutting submerged in water so much (2/3 of the way up the cutting to be precise), that when I went to plant the cutting there was only a few inches of growth coming out the top. In fact the cutting is pushed all the way down to the bottom of the pot, and we were just barely able to cover the roots. That being said, I highly anticipate lots of shoots coming out of the soil in the future from various spots lower on the stem, as that often happens when a cutting is planted too far in the ground. (I have a habit of doing that, but I've never had to bury a cutting this far...)
 
 
I'm not sure if I'm going to continue to update on Cuttings #3 and #4 since they are in soil now. We'll see. Maybe more from a "how are they doing as indoor plants" standpoint.
 
 
Oh such horrendous lighting. Many apologies. But as you can see Cutting #4 also appears to doing well in it's new home...
 
 
...and is also buried all the way down in the pot to cover it's root system.
 
 
As for the sleeper cutting upstairs in our bedroom window, Cutting #5, I feel like his root nubs are a little bigger, but if they are it's only by a little bit...
 
 
...and as for the leaves, I just can't tell. I keep switching back and forth between last week's update, and I really just cannot tell. But at least it doesn't look like Cutting #1, right?
 
Check back here on Monday for my Week 8 update!
 
Confused with what's going on here? Want to review past week updates? Here's some links for you then!
 
 
A la prochaine friends...
 
Honey


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