Interesting. When I first got into rooting cuttings 3 years ago, I had a ton of success and was very heavy handed with watering and used pine bark for my rooting. Now, after years of hearing how cuttings don’t like water, I’ve switched to mostly mixes and water less and get far more failures. Maybe that’s the problem.
I think that's it exactly. As I mentioned in the video, that's exactly what my experience was with these figs. I think we're watering them too little. Somewhere along the line, we got hung up on this idea that they need to dry out in between and I now think that's just wrong. Took me a long time to come to this realization but I'll be doing more about it in the future.
@@MikeKincaid79 I think the fine fir bark you use is key. I had great success initially because I was using the fines out of mulch and watering them well (since they drained so quickly). Since then, I’ve moved to peat and coir-based mixes “because that’s what everyone uses” and I’ve been watering less. I’ve lost 50% of my cuttings doing this. Maybe more. I’m going back to buying pine bark mini-nuggets, screening them through garden fence and rooting cuttings in the well-watered fine screenings. That’s what worked before, and I don’t know why I changed. I was 80+% that way.
@@TheMillennialGardener DId it make a difference, I have a very expensive cutting right now, beautiful white roots turning inexplicably brown and clearly dying off. Still nice top growth. I am stuck now wondering more water or less water, in an airy pine bark mix.
I'm having almost 90+% success rooting figs /elderberry /grapes. Less than 50% with plum, pear & peach trees. But I just keep experimenting and the numbers thanks, in large part, to this channel, are slowly improving. Thanks Mike.
I just found this youtube channel today while searching how to propagate raspberries cuttings. You are an amazing speaker! I am so grateful I found this channel because it has inspired me to tap into the gardeners TH-cam community! I have been a silent viewer for so long but hearing that you actually read all of your comments! That let me know that youtube is more powerful that I thought! There is abundance of resources and wisdom and connections right here at my fingertips! Keep creating! Thanks mike!
Here I am worried I've killed a possible unique unknown fig because I inadvertently left it in the rain, so I placed it indoors under a grow light with a heat pad on the bottom, and you're watering yours more and taking it outside. :-) Man,I just discovered your videos. Love the energy in your delivery! Great content.
Thanks for this one. Ive got some fig cuttings that are looking good because of these updates. Living it up in pots on the northside of the house for now. Thanks again!!
Hello Mike. I’ve been watching you for sometime and I love the way you teach how to propagate all your plants. Your TH-cams what I look forward to. Keep up the good work
I'm thinking that's what has happened to my fig cuttings... they are drying out to much. I've given them a good watering and hope they bounce back. Thanks for sharing Mike.
It seemed to help mine out. They just need more water than we give them. Don't water log them though, haha. Thanks for watching, Dave, and Merry Christmas.
I did exactly what he did in this clip and some of my fig started dying. So now I'm letting them dry with less sunlight, hoping them bounce back. Those were my first fig cuttings. The later ones rooting in fig pops seemed doing better.
Hi Mike , wanted to up date you on my rose 🌹 propagation, it’s been in the sand almost three weeks and doing ok so far. The leaves are staying green and I see a tinny new growth. So exciting.
@@MikeKincaid79 by hand. Just a few drops every now and again. I also open the plastic bag each day and mist the cuttings. Love your channel. I hope to learn more!
Mike...I want to say a big thank you..👍.I have had total success in my snowball viburnum cuttings all because I copied your ways. Im over the moon🤗. I was hoping to pop a pic up but don't know how lol. I would send you one but I'm in the uk. Just repotted them ,they're about 10" tall,just from last summer.Thank you for your videos.😃I'm feeling lucky so I've just started 6 more I cut yesterday.😁 Even one hydrangea out of 3 survived.
No you're right. My Ficus microcarpa dropped all its leaves when I started watering it less. That was when I was reading about root rot and overcompensated with my fig. They seem to like more water than other plants. They hate change as well.
Saw a fig here in California long ago next to a leaky aqueduct. The size of a huge house with about 100 cattle underneath it. 2 locations near here called "Fig Spring"
@@MikeKincaid79 Give them a lot of water in this area and they go crazy. My friend, an 80 year old land surveyor and nature lover in central and northern California has a lifetime of stories about such massive figs gone wild. Likely from the 1800's and originating from the Spanish, thus the "Mission" fig and the "Camino de Real" . He's bringing me some cuttings from a old wild tree near the coast and adjacent to a historic spring. With your valuable data, growing them should be easy.
I noticed the bigger pots outside work drastically better than small pots inside. Also rain water has more oxygen than inside tap water. They seem to handle water in general better in bigger pots. I think its the drastic changes from dry to wet in smaller pots that hurts them.
I have a couple of striped tiger figs which I rooted last spring/summer here in Australia & it has been a bit of trial & error growing them. I learned to put them in the shade when I transplanted them outside during summer time & they grew like mad,I don't know how they're going to go this winter since it's mid Autumn over here now but they have put over 12 inches of growth since then !
Hey Mike, What about over watering, wet feet no/no, watering from the bottom/top/sides??? What gives here? Please do follow up on this plant. Thanks for all you do.
I'll follow up. I'm sure it'll do fine now that it's outside and in a bigger pot. I wouldn't leave the roots submerged in water but I'm leaning toward watering more often than not.
Mike, I need some help. I am a first time gardener, from southern Ontario. I live in an apartment. Currently I have a bunch of seedlings in my apartment, and I was waiting for May So that I could put them outside on my balcony in big pots. But May is still cold in southern Ontario with average highs of 13°C during the day, and lows of 7°C at night. I thought May is when people usually put their indoor started plants outdoors? But I’ve also read that you should wait until the temperature is consistently at least 15°C at nights. When am I supposed to put these plants outside? I’ve got seedlings of geranium, cherry tomatoes, marigolds. And I’ve got rooted cuttings of petunia. And I am zone 6. Any help would be so appreciated.
Figs rooted very well, up potting to a 5 gallon pail, looked great without sun scald and while I was at work squirrels ate the rare figs to the ground. I forgot to put a secret ingredient on the soil surface to keep the squirrels away. . . Milorganite. It is a weak fertilizer and smells like blood meal but a lot cheaper. Will see if they will recover and I ordered some replacement cuttings
Mike, A couple of years ago a fig zealot who has succeeded in growing lots of varieties & gotten major fruiting on his many fig trees spoke to the local garden club. He confirmed the heavy watering of figs as essential ( though they hate sitting in wet.) The surprise to me was that he insisted on alkaline soil by heavy addition of lime. I'm sure your soil is acidic, due to your rhododendron success. Check out the PH needs of figs, as you go forward to insure your future success with figs.
I really appreciate that bit of information. As I experiment with these figs, I'm finding the same thing with the water. They seem to like a constant supply of water but to not be sitting in it. I was not aware of the ph and will definitely look into that. I have a clean slate with the new cleared orchard land so I have the opportunity to adjust the soil how it needs to be for figs. I'm only 4 years into this and gladly accept any little nuggets of wisdom that other more experienced fig growers have for me. Thank you, Doug!
@@MikeKincaid79 I did a little more looking myself & found that most sources recommend neutral to slightly acid ph, but the guy I mentioned is Bill Muzychko of Bill's figs in New Jersey. He has had phenomenal success with figs by heavily liming them. There is a lot of Conversation about it on www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-home/349009-ideal-fig-soil-ph
Do you think that maybe a fig cutting is no longer is at risk for rot when end in soil callouses over? Can water all you want then, but how can you tell without really disturbing the roots? Maybe some rooting methods/media are better than others at quickly getting the end calloused over? Have you ever looked at that?
Off topic for this video.... do you have any experience with fatsia japonica? I have a huge one with seed pods on it. I tried to harvest some of the seeds but they dried up paper thin... do I plant them wet? I took cuttings that are doing great but they say the plant does better from seeds.
Hi Mike, I linked your video on WTF and it’s been interesting. If the medium is very well draining, what if the rooting cutting is watered daily? Have you tried this? I know you use a lot of white pine bark nuggets almost like orchid plant mixes…do you think that’s the secret for well draining medium? Figgers use large particle DE like Optisorb to root cuttings and soak the cup daily. Lastly, how did that particular pot of plant (Rimada) do after it recovered from the disappearing brown roots?
Thanks for the link. I use finely ground fir tree bark. It's much smaller than pine bark nuggets and does hold plenty of moisture but still drains the excess off well. I do water daily out in the hoop house once the weather starts warming or if I'm just starting fig cuttings. It's been my experience that it's better to keep them moist (as long as there's no standing water). I can't remember which one you're talking about, could you point me to the video. I do have a Martinenca Rimada growing beautifully in a large pot in the hoop house. The CDD Rimada that I planted out in the orchard didn't make it, just too small and I planted it out too soon.
Hi Mike after getting rooted cuttings, how soon do you recommend up potting ? Am I right to say I could keep them in 2 pint cups until there is a foot of growth ?
I have been watching you for a few years now. I love your videos. I do have a question for you because I see nothing under search in your videos about Bougainvillea. Why does my in ground bougainvillea not have tons of blooms like a majority of other peoples in ground plants. These 2 plants have been in the ground for at least 5 years and never have I seen more than a few scant blossoms. Other people have a ton of blooms with very little greenery. I have tried keeping them ultra dry, I have tried to water a lot, I have tried blooming fertilizers and they are in full sun all day. The leaves are great and green but what can I do to get different results?
I get a lot of requests for videos about that plant. I just don't see them in my area but I will eventually find one and get some videos up. I'd take a look at your fertilizer first. If the growth is super lush and green then maybe they're getting too much nitrogen. This can inhibit blooms. Try applying a bloom fertilizer.
I don't have clippings I am working but I do have a small fig I need to dig up and give to my mother-in-law any advice on how to keep it alive? In addition, where do you get your landscape ground cover?
I prefer to dig plants out of the ground when they're dormant but now is the second best time. Once planted, mulch well and keep watered through the summer.
I have been rooting in coco peat filled cups and a tray with about a 1/4" of water in it at all times. The coco fiber wicks the water up and I never water from the top. I've had about 75% success with figs and 100% success with citrus cuttings this way.
Geez! I sure wish, my Tea Roses would propagate like my Kadota(I think it’s Kadota?) Fig tree does. Also wish, this Fig would Stop throwing-down propagated plants on its own. I’ve given away 10 little plants to neighbors just this season. The Figs get so messy if I can’t around to picking them, practically all June & July. Then the birds chow-down & make a mess.. But they are yummy. Kinda taste like a Fig 🥝 watermelon🍉 Grape 🍇 combo. And this tree was only 2 feet high 8-10 years ago when I bought it at the Colonial Williamsburg Nursery in VA. Such nice plants from CWF nursery.,
Thanks for the video Mike! I may be wrong but don't fig roots naturally turn brown as they mature? I know when I up pot them the roots are brown or orange looking. John Andrew in Victoria
Yes, they do, but I'm talking about a different shade of brown, lol. Many people are struggling to keep their figs alive after rooting and the first thing that happens is the roots stop growing, turn from a white to a dull/dark brown, and the plant dies. I'm working on figuring this problem out for people so it's no longer an issue.
You need to get LEDs. I just purchased The Godfather on figbid. I noticed from growing my own a difference in the texture of the leaves. The Godfather had nice growth but the leaves look fragile. Light green and thin in appearance. Last year I purchased a couple of plants and noticed the same thing. All my plants are a deeper green and are thick. More like what the tree will look like when it’s older. I think it’s my LEDs. Have 3 the first I but we’re a little pricey but they have come down in price. And other manufacturers are offering the exact same Samsung diodes at a third of the price. And the technology is even better. The last one I bought was $50 with a remote and the remote also have dimming down to 50% so you don’t need to worry about raising them as the plants get taller. They are on timer also. I have heat mats under them parafilm and house humidity is around 30% I just spritz water on them once or twice a day. This my second year with and you should my citrus tree, hundreds of flowers that I have hand pollinate right now but it will going out in a a couple of days. The other thing I noticed is the lights also have UV bulbs so I was about to them out the year in full sun for hours with no damage. And that goes for my peppers and tomatoes. I brought in 2 of my pepper plants from my garden last year. I have a dozen or so fruit a couple of inches long right now. These lights can be Dailey chained also. 1000 watts of light using about 100 watts each. Once fig break dormancy they need light and I buy from big bill and his cutting take off in about a week. Yes the leaves always come first but I’m getting 100% growth. Last year I grew 25 cutting after a month after repotting two died one was The Godfather that’s why I bought another. MAXSISUN PB1000 right now it $64 on Amazon check it out.
I've got several LED lights and have done videos on them. I agree, the LED technology is the way to go for a more rounded spectrum of light and better growth.
We do have ants here but they're unpredictable. They build huge ant hills about 4 foot high in some places and they go after whatever is closest to them, apples, pears, figs, and even my maples sometimes. So it's not a fig problem but an ant problem. I usually trace the ants back to their mounds and wipe them out. Don't worry, there are hundreds more mounds of ants out further in the forest. I just don't want them up by my house.
By the way, there is a really cool TH-cam channel that is based out of Florida and is all about his fig orchard. Not many videos and he doesn't post often but it's really cool looking and might give you an idea of the varieties you can grow there: th-cam.com/video/Sk7lnSM5QvQ/w-d-xo.html
@@MikeKincaid79 thanks Mike, Tallahassee is about 4+ hours northwest of us. Interesting. Slightly cooler zone and more acidic soil with the massive Pine Forest. BTW..did you know that I have a channel? Peggy Helbling's Garden What You've Got It's very simple and basic and all done on my phone. Just trying to stay busy in this fast moving world 🌎👩🌾👍 I hope you sell all of your inventory this weekend. Happy Mother's Day to your wife🌿💚🌿
At what point or size do you put them in the ground? I have quite a few that are in pots and are doing well, but I’m wondering when to put in the ground?
You can put them in the ground in my area, almost right away. If you root them in the winter or spring, you can plant them out that summer, just make sure to mulch well to protect through the winter. I'm in zone 8b.
Thanks for sharing your story. Actually recently I have successfully rooted some fig cuttings, but something weird happened after I repotted them into containers. Kind of all the little babies were not happy and stopped growing. Later after I rechecked the roots and I found most of roots are rotted and already turned dark brown. I immediately took action, and now kind of I have saved my plants. I think my plant problem is related with overwatering or too moist in the soil. Inspired by your video later I am going to make a video to share my experience. Thanks again for your information, keep up, my bro.
I've collected them over the years from different places. Nurseries going out of business, private individuals with stockpiles behind their house, etc. Sometimes you hit a gold mine.
I have this problem a lot. I had about 75 really nice looking rooted cuttings and almost all died on me. I can make them root and have beautiful leaves in the cups but as soon as I transplant them disaster.
I hear ya. I've been having it happen more and more over the past year. I'm really starting to think that we aren't watering enough. I'll keep you updated.
@@MikeKincaid79 Can’t say for sure but you’re probably not letting them develop enough root before transplanting... remember, they’re not annuals or houseplants!
I wish. It's screwed up pretty bad but I'm trying to toughen it up, lol. I have a lot more info about it if you want to see an update. Just let me know. I just keep wondering why I'm breaking things that can't be fixed, LOL.
Hi Mike, check out my "Propagating Fig Trees: Four Experimental Approaches" video, here: th-cam.com/video/SsJEVc06BMs/w-d-xo.html. I put this up just over a month ago, and they're doing really well and I'll be doing an update video on these soon.
A new theory ? Like the vertical slit airlayer surgery Water .my opinion is you way over water your rootless cuttings yet you have success & i dont..all water rooting works but potting soil and water doesn't or for us brown thumb types like me
I wonder if you arent just on the money. I have a cutting that had beautiful white roots, fading to brown right before my eyes. I even moved it to a warmer heat mat to help dry it out some more thinking overwatering. I think instead lots and lots of water. I mean some people out there are rooting their figs in glasses of water and nothing else!
The more I play around with these figs, the more I realize that they love water. Yet we are told the complete opposite. I think they'll survive in drought and rough soils but I think they thrive on lots of water and rich soil.
@@MikeKincaid79 Thanks, I totally agree, I have put my own video up and referenced yours on one of my own failing cuttings with same symptoms, will keep an eye on things!
@mike Kincaid I have the same problems with brown fig roots and then cutting dies. Now I’m thinking it’s dehydration especially on top of a heating mat. What’s your most updated method of rooting and maintenance after all your experiments?
I sure hope this one makes it. Planted it out in the orchard last summer. It grew well but when the freezing weather came it died to the ground. I still have the mom in the hoophouse but I’m hoping to see growth from ground level on this one as it warms up.
So sorry to hear it. I'm playing around with all kinds of things to solve this and I'm thinking more and more that we're letting them dry out too much. I think they need very good drainage when young and constant water. That's my latest theory anyway.
@@MikeKincaid79 it is very easy to drown your cutting, I personally lost many cuttings to over watering. And you only did this with one cutting, if you test this with many cuttings and different varieties with high success rate than yea. Like you said needs more experimenting with. but people will watch this video and see your excitement and try this on their expensive cutting they just got to root.
Hey Mike! Check out #GoldShawFarms? This city-slicker turned farmer 👩🌾 needs advice building his #HoopHouse. I thought you could advise him how not to spend his entire savings, either buying or building it himself. I can’t believe the kind of money 💰 he got as estimates! Wow 🤩... really expensive?
Mike, I swear that where I live you cannot kill these weed-figs. I guess we can say it's a matter of location, location, location. Hope you're enjoying spring.
@@MikeKincaid79 Sacramento - not from here but have grown to love the 5-month-long spring, huge trees & every kind of flora & fauna due to being in the north. Only bad thing about it is that it's chock full O' libtards.
I want to see updates on that fig. And anything else you want to show us, I believe in you, you are my hero. 😊😊🤗🤗
Hope I don't let you down
Interesting. When I first got into rooting cuttings 3 years ago, I had a ton of success and was very heavy handed with watering and used pine bark for my rooting. Now, after years of hearing how cuttings don’t like water, I’ve switched to mostly mixes and water less and get far more failures. Maybe that’s the problem.
I think that's it exactly. As I mentioned in the video, that's exactly what my experience was with these figs. I think we're watering them too little. Somewhere along the line, we got hung up on this idea that they need to dry out in between and I now think that's just wrong. Took me a long time to come to this realization but I'll be doing more about it in the future.
@@MikeKincaid79 I think the fine fir bark you use is key. I had great success initially because I was using the fines out of mulch and watering them well (since they drained so quickly). Since then, I’ve moved to peat and coir-based mixes “because that’s what everyone uses” and I’ve been watering less. I’ve lost 50% of my cuttings doing this. Maybe more. I’m going back to buying pine bark mini-nuggets, screening them through garden fence and rooting cuttings in the well-watered fine screenings. That’s what worked before, and I don’t know why I changed. I was 80+% that way.
@@TheMillennialGardener DId it make a difference, I have a very expensive cutting right now, beautiful white roots turning inexplicably brown and clearly dying off. Still nice top growth. I am stuck now wondering more water or less water, in an airy pine bark mix.
I'm having almost 90+% success rooting figs /elderberry /grapes. Less than 50% with plum, pear & peach trees. But I just keep experimenting and the numbers thanks, in large part, to this channel, are slowly improving. Thanks Mike.
I'm so glad to hear that. It's great when you can have so much success with your cuttings.
I just found this youtube channel today while searching how to propagate raspberries cuttings. You are an amazing speaker! I am so grateful I found this channel because it has inspired me to tap into the gardeners TH-cam community! I have been a silent viewer for so long but hearing that you actually read all of your comments! That let me know that youtube is more powerful that I thought! There is abundance of resources and wisdom and connections right here at my fingertips! Keep creating! Thanks mike!
You’re so welcome, Dani! Happy to hear that you’re enjoying the videos and feeling inspired. That’s what it’s all about. Have fun in the garden!
Orchard tour? oh heck yeah!
I can't wait to get started planting all these figs out in the new orchard area!
Really enjoy your videos! I’m ready for those gardening (flowers or vegetables) tips and updates. Thanks for all you do to help we other gardeners! 😃
I love making these video for you, Michelle! Plenty of updates to come this summer. I'm slackin a little on the garden due to many other projects.
I bought a couple Chicago figs just because you always sound so excited about figs. Can't wait for mine to grow out.
I just love how fast they grow and how fun they are to root. Now I'm addicted though and can't help collecting all these varieties.
@@MikeKincaid79 Hahaha well, at least you can get fruit off from them and enjoy that too.
THANKS FOR TELLING US THAT YOU ARE REALLY GOOD WITH PLANTS
I love how reading this statement different ways makes it sound different lol . 💜 I mean if you punctuated it differently lol.
@@karenlatham4053 commas make all the difference!
@@bradguest exactly!
Here I am worried I've killed a possible unique unknown fig because I inadvertently left it in the rain, so I placed it indoors under a grow light with a heat pad on the bottom, and you're watering yours more and taking it outside. :-) Man,I just discovered your videos. Love the energy in your delivery! Great content.
Thanks man, lots of fig videos on the channel. Have fun and enjoy your summer. Good luck to your little fig.
Yaaaas! I’ve been watering mine daily, these cuttings of mine are very happy!
They just need lots of water, don't they!
Thanks for this one. Ive got some fig cuttings that are looking good because of these updates. Living it up in pots on the northside of the house for now. Thanks again!!
Glad to hear it, Justin!
Hey, good to see you Mike! Long story short😂😂😂you are funny!
The fig is doing great! Awesome! In the landscape will grow faster! Hugs!🤗💜🤗
Always good to see you, Camelia! I've been doing a lot of planning lately and will be planting them out in the new orchard soon.
Thanks Mike! That will be a great orchard! Can't wait to see it. Hugs to you and the girls!🤗🤗❤
Hello Mike. I’ve been watching you for sometime and I love the way you teach how to propagate all your plants. Your TH-cams what I look forward to. Keep up the good work
Thanks so much Betty Lee! More to come.
Of course we want to see updates! 😊
You got it!
I'm thinking that's what has happened to my fig cuttings... they are drying out to much. I've given them a good watering and hope they bounce back. Thanks for sharing Mike.
It seemed to help mine out. They just need more water than we give them. Don't water log them though, haha. Thanks for watching, Dave, and Merry Christmas.
I did exactly what he did in this clip and some of my fig started dying. So now I'm letting them dry with less sunlight, hoping them bounce back. Those were my first fig cuttings. The later ones rooting in fig pops seemed doing better.
Mike can you make some more videos on flowering plants like geranium, impatiens, and fuchsias? Thanks
Yeah, I'll have to head to the nursery. I've got another petunia video coming soon.
Mike that looks beautiful! So awesome I’m ready for summer!!!! But let’s start with some spring gardening flowers 🌸
Working on a rhody video!
@@MikeKincaid79 yay and that’s why your my favorite!!
Hi Mike. Nice information, greetings from Serbia !
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Mike , wanted to up date you on my rose 🌹 propagation, it’s been in the sand almost three weeks and doing ok so far. The leaves are staying green and I see a tinny new growth. So exciting.
Isn't it so exciting when you see those first signs of life emerging!
I always water...a few drips every 3 days or so. Also ive never placed any indoors and they've done great.
Do you have drip irrigation set up or water by hand?
@@MikeKincaid79 by hand. Just a few drops every now and again. I also open the plastic bag each day and mist the cuttings. Love your channel. I hope to learn more!
You make it look so
Simple. I rooted figs cutting In sand and when I pot in soil the roots die off. Not sure if I’m up potting to early or what.
Thanks for the update and valuable advice on figs
No problem, much more to come. Still working on this one cause I know it's a problem.
Happened to some I started also
Good thing mother tree put out lots to share
I don't know what it is about this fig variety but Ben's video is what sold me. She must be a good mother tree.
Nice man well hopefully it will bounce back and thrive for you, it's already doing better.
Yeah, I sure hope so. I'll keep you updated.
Looking forward to it.
Mike...I want to say a big thank you..👍.I have had total success in my snowball viburnum cuttings all because I copied your ways. Im over the moon🤗. I was hoping to pop a pic up but don't know how lol. I would send you one but I'm in the uk. Just repotted them ,they're about 10" tall,just from last summer.Thank you for your videos.😃I'm feeling lucky so I've just started 6 more I cut yesterday.😁 Even one hydrangea out of 3 survived.
That's awesome! Glad to hear you've been successful and that's enough for me. Keep up the good work.
No you're right. My Ficus microcarpa dropped all its leaves when I started watering it less. That was when I was reading about root rot and overcompensated with my fig. They seem to like more water than other plants. They hate change as well.
Yep, I agree
Saw a fig here in California long ago next to a leaky aqueduct. The size of a huge house with about 100 cattle underneath it. 2 locations near here called "Fig Spring"
Now that's a big fig, LOL
@@MikeKincaid79 Give them a lot of water in this area and they go crazy. My friend, an 80 year old land surveyor and nature lover in central and northern California has a lifetime of stories about such massive figs gone wild. Likely from the 1800's and originating from the Spanish, thus the "Mission" fig and the "Camino de Real" . He's bringing me some cuttings from a old wild tree near the coast and adjacent to a historic spring. With your valuable data, growing them should be easy.
I noticed the bigger pots outside work drastically better than small pots inside. Also rain water has more oxygen than inside tap water.
They seem to handle water in general better in bigger pots. I think its the drastic changes from dry to wet in smaller pots that hurts them.
I agree 100%. And that's why I've been creating my orchard and planting them out in the ground.
I have a couple of striped tiger figs which I rooted last spring/summer here in Australia & it has been a bit of trial & error growing them.
I learned to put them in the shade when I transplanted them outside during summer time & they grew like mad,I don't know how they're going to go this winter since it's mid Autumn over here now but they have put over 12 inches of growth since then !
It's crazy how fast these things grow in the right environment. Enjoy all your fall harvests!
In north Florida, my best luck is from putting foot long dormant cuttings in the ground next to my dip line.
Thanks! I love it when people give feedback on what they're doing.
Hey Mike, What about over watering, wet feet no/no, watering from the bottom/top/sides??? What gives here? Please do follow up on this plant. Thanks for all you do.
I'll follow up. I'm sure it'll do fine now that it's outside and in a bigger pot. I wouldn't leave the roots submerged in water but I'm leaning toward watering more often than not.
Mike, I need some help. I am a first time gardener, from southern Ontario. I live in an apartment. Currently I have a bunch of seedlings in my apartment, and I was waiting for May So that I could put them outside on my balcony in big pots. But May is still cold in southern Ontario with average highs of 13°C during the day, and lows of 7°C at night. I thought May is when people usually put their indoor started plants outdoors? But I’ve also read that you should wait until the temperature is consistently at least 15°C at nights. When am I supposed to put these plants outside? I’ve got seedlings of geranium, cherry tomatoes, marigolds. And I’ve got rooted cuttings of petunia. And I am zone 6. Any help would be so appreciated.
Wait until the weather is consistently over 55 degrees or not much will happen below that.
Figs rooted very well, up potting to a 5 gallon pail, looked great without sun scald and while I was at work squirrels ate the rare figs to the ground. I forgot to put a secret ingredient on the soil surface to keep the squirrels away. . . Milorganite. It is a weak fertilizer and smells like blood meal but a lot cheaper. Will see if they will recover and I ordered some replacement cuttings
Bummer man. Drives me nuts when the wildlife make a buffet out of our beautiful plants.
Thanks for your quick response and support
Mike, A couple of years ago a fig zealot who has succeeded in growing lots of varieties & gotten major fruiting on his many fig trees spoke to the local garden club. He confirmed the heavy watering of figs as essential ( though they hate sitting in wet.) The surprise to me was that he insisted on alkaline soil by heavy addition of lime. I'm sure your soil is acidic, due to your rhododendron success. Check out the PH needs of figs, as you go forward to insure your future success with figs.
I really appreciate that bit of information. As I experiment with these figs, I'm finding the same thing with the water. They seem to like a constant supply of water but to not be sitting in it. I was not aware of the ph and will definitely look into that. I have a clean slate with the new cleared orchard land so I have the opportunity to adjust the soil how it needs to be for figs. I'm only 4 years into this and gladly accept any little nuggets of wisdom that other more experienced fig growers have for me. Thank you, Doug!
@@MikeKincaid79 I did a little more looking myself & found that most sources recommend neutral to slightly acid ph, but the guy I mentioned is Bill Muzychko of Bill's figs in New Jersey. He has had phenomenal success with figs by heavily liming them. There is a lot of Conversation about it on www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-home/349009-ideal-fig-soil-ph
Do you think that maybe a fig cutting is no longer is at risk for rot when end in soil callouses over? Can water all you want then, but how can you tell without really disturbing the roots? Maybe some rooting methods/media are better than others at quickly getting the end calloused over? Have you ever looked at that?
I've looked at all kinds of possibilities and when I narrow it down 100%, I'll preach it.
Thanks for the tips Mike.
You bet!
Off topic for this video.... do you have any experience with fatsia japonica? I have a huge one with seed pods on it. I tried to harvest some of the seeds but they dried up paper thin... do I plant them wet? I took cuttings that are doing great but they say the plant does better from seeds.
No experience with that plant but I can look into it.
Did you buy Ben Bs figs. He's opening a bonsai nursery by me. Saw he was selling his figs. Wondered if they will be part of the orchard.
Yeah, we did a trade a couple years ago. He's a really cool guy and I'm sure he'll do great with the bonsai nursery.
Learning so much from your videos thanks 🙏
My pleasure!
very interesting information and learning. Indonesia coming for you mr
Thanks!
Hi Mike, I linked your video on WTF and it’s been interesting. If the medium is very well draining, what if the rooting cutting is watered daily? Have you tried this? I know you use a lot of white pine bark nuggets almost like orchid plant mixes…do you think that’s the secret for well draining medium? Figgers use large particle DE like Optisorb to root cuttings and soak the cup daily. Lastly, how did that particular pot of plant (Rimada) do after it recovered from the disappearing brown roots?
Thanks for the link. I use finely ground fir tree bark. It's much smaller than pine bark nuggets and does hold plenty of moisture but still drains the excess off well. I do water daily out in the hoop house once the weather starts warming or if I'm just starting fig cuttings. It's been my experience that it's better to keep them moist (as long as there's no standing water). I can't remember which one you're talking about, could you point me to the video. I do have a Martinenca Rimada growing beautifully in a large pot in the hoop house. The CDD Rimada that I planted out in the orchard didn't make it, just too small and I planted it out too soon.
Hi Mike after getting rooted cuttings, how soon do you recommend up potting ? Am I right to say I could keep them in 2 pint cups until there is a foot of growth ?
Yeah, they will still grow in a smaller pot as long as the soil stays moist and it's warm enough.
mike, roots are usually in the dark underground; does it matter much for clear cups to a darker opaque cup is used? cp.
I think that plays a role here as well. In the future, I'm going to switch to colored cups, I just like to use the clear cups for video purposes.
I have been watching you for a few years now. I love your videos. I do have a question for you because I see nothing under search in your videos about Bougainvillea. Why does my in ground bougainvillea not have tons of blooms like a majority of other peoples in ground plants. These 2 plants have been in the ground for at least 5 years and never have I seen more than a few scant blossoms. Other people have a ton of blooms with very little greenery. I have tried keeping them ultra dry, I have tried to water a lot, I have tried blooming fertilizers and they are in full sun all day. The leaves are great and green but what can I do to get different results?
I get a lot of requests for videos about that plant. I just don't see them in my area but I will eventually find one and get some videos up. I'd take a look at your fertilizer first. If the growth is super lush and green then maybe they're getting too much nitrogen. This can inhibit blooms. Try applying a bloom fertilizer.
I don't have clippings I am working but I do have a small fig I need to dig up and give to my mother-in-law any advice on how to keep it alive? In addition, where do you get your landscape ground cover?
I prefer to dig plants out of the ground when they're dormant but now is the second best time. Once planted, mulch well and keep watered through the summer.
I have been rooting in coco peat filled cups and a tray with about a 1/4" of water in it at all times. The coco fiber wicks the water up and I never water from the top. I've had about 75% success with figs and 100% success with citrus cuttings this way.
Thanks for the info. I definitely like the bottom watering method for figs.
Mike, do you sell rooted or unrooted cutting's? If so, I am interested in purchasing some from you.
I don't have anything official setup but when I have cuttings or plants for sale I'll list them on Ebay or FigBid
Geez! I sure wish, my Tea Roses would propagate like my Kadota(I think it’s Kadota?) Fig tree does. Also wish, this Fig would Stop throwing-down propagated plants on its own. I’ve given away 10 little plants to neighbors just this season.
The Figs get so messy if I can’t around to picking them, practically all June & July. Then the birds chow-down & make a mess..
But they are yummy. Kinda taste like a Fig 🥝 watermelon🍉 Grape 🍇 combo. And this tree was only 2 feet high 8-10 years ago when I bought it at the Colonial Williamsburg Nursery in VA. Such nice plants from CWF nursery.,
Figs are so much fun. Easy to grow, fast to root, good tasting fruit......what's not to love!
@@MikeKincaid79-So easy to grow & such ancient “Roots”. 😉
Thanks for the video Mike! I may be wrong but don't fig roots naturally turn brown as they mature? I know when I up pot them the roots are brown or orange looking. John Andrew in Victoria
Yes, they do, but I'm talking about a different shade of brown, lol. Many people are struggling to keep their figs alive after rooting and the first thing that happens is the roots stop growing, turn from a white to a dull/dark brown, and the plant dies. I'm working on figuring this problem out for people so it's no longer an issue.
could you go straight to a 7 to 15 gal pot from that first size or would you recommend that 2 GAL?
You can jump to whatever size you want. You may not gain much though. No matter the pot size, the roots shoot to the edge and start circling.
Imi place ce faceți! Bravo👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
You need to get LEDs. I just purchased The Godfather on figbid. I noticed from growing my own a difference in the texture of the leaves. The Godfather had nice growth but the leaves look fragile. Light green and thin in appearance. Last year I purchased a couple of plants and noticed the same thing. All my plants are a deeper green and are thick. More like what the tree will look like when it’s older. I think it’s my LEDs. Have 3 the first I but we’re a little pricey but they have come down in price. And other manufacturers are offering the exact same Samsung diodes at a third of the price. And the technology is even better. The last one I bought was $50 with a remote and the remote also have dimming down to 50% so you don’t need to worry about raising them as the plants get taller. They are on timer also. I have heat mats under them parafilm and house humidity is around 30% I just spritz water on them once or twice a day. This my second year with and you should my citrus tree, hundreds of flowers that I have hand pollinate right now but it will going out in a a couple of days. The other thing I noticed is the lights also have UV bulbs so I was about to them out the year in full sun for hours with no damage. And that goes for my peppers and tomatoes. I brought in 2 of my pepper plants from my garden last year. I have a dozen or so fruit a couple of inches long right now. These lights can be Dailey chained also. 1000 watts of light using about 100 watts each. Once fig break dormancy they need light and I buy from big bill and his cutting take off in about a week. Yes the leaves always come first but I’m getting 100% growth. Last year I grew 25 cutting after a month after repotting two died one was The Godfather that’s why I bought another. MAXSISUN PB1000 right now it $64 on Amazon check it out.
I've got several LED lights and have done videos on them. I agree, the LED technology is the way to go for a more rounded spectrum of light and better growth.
Thanks Mike for the suggestion. I'd love to try planting here in Windermere, Florida zone 9b 🌞
Do you have any problems with ants?
We do have ants here but they're unpredictable. They build huge ant hills about 4 foot high in some places and they go after whatever is closest to them, apples, pears, figs, and even my maples sometimes. So it's not a fig problem but an ant problem. I usually trace the ants back to their mounds and wipe them out. Don't worry, there are hundreds more mounds of ants out further in the forest. I just don't want them up by my house.
By the way, there is a really cool TH-cam channel that is based out of Florida and is all about his fig orchard. Not many videos and he doesn't post often but it's really cool looking and might give you an idea of the varieties you can grow there: th-cam.com/video/Sk7lnSM5QvQ/w-d-xo.html
@@MikeKincaid79 thanks Mike,
Tallahassee is about 4+ hours northwest of us. Interesting.
Slightly cooler zone and more acidic soil with the massive Pine Forest.
BTW..did you know that I have a channel? Peggy Helbling's Garden What You've Got It's very simple and basic and all done on my phone. Just trying to stay busy in this fast moving world 🌎👩🌾👍
I hope you sell all of your inventory this weekend. Happy Mother's Day to your wife🌿💚🌿
At what point or size do you put them in the ground? I have quite a few that are in pots and are doing well, but I’m wondering when to put in the ground?
You can put them in the ground in my area, almost right away. If you root them in the winter or spring, you can plant them out that summer, just make sure to mulch well to protect through the winter. I'm in zone 8b.
Thanks for sharing your story. Actually recently I have successfully rooted some fig cuttings, but something weird happened after I repotted them into containers. Kind of all the little babies were not happy and stopped growing. Later after I rechecked the roots and I found most of roots are rotted and already turned dark brown. I immediately took action, and now kind of I have saved my plants. I think my plant problem is related with overwatering or too moist in the soil. Inspired by your video later I am going to make a video to share my experience. Thanks again for your information, keep up, my bro.
Well I hope they make it for you and grow into nice trees.
@@MikeKincaid79 Thanks, Mike. Nice work!
DO WANT TO SEE UPDATES ON THE FIG TREE
I'll update as we go, thanks
Do you still believe that they don't need to dry out a little bit still?
I'm not sure what I believe anymore, when it comes to figs, lol.
where do you purchase those plastic containers?
I've collected them over the years from different places. Nurseries going out of business, private individuals with stockpiles behind their house, etc. Sometimes you hit a gold mine.
Hmmm. I still water the crap out of them. But i sure appreciate you keeping it real!
Always
Nice sharing 👍🌿 🌰❤️
Hello bro thanks to share with us this information.
It's my pleasure
I have this problem a lot. I had about 75 really nice looking rooted cuttings and almost all died on me. I can make them root and have beautiful leaves in the cups but as soon as I transplant them disaster.
I hear ya. I've been having it happen more and more over the past year. I'm really starting to think that we aren't watering enough. I'll keep you updated.
@@MikeKincaid79 Can’t say for sure but you’re probably not letting them develop enough root before transplanting... remember, they’re not annuals or houseplants!
I notice your finger brace is gone... all good?
I wish. It's screwed up pretty bad but I'm trying to toughen it up, lol. I have a lot more info about it if you want to see an update. Just let me know. I just keep wondering why I'm breaking things that can't be fixed, LOL.
Potting up never hurts.
They always seem to like it.
Hi Mike, check out my "Propagating Fig Trees: Four Experimental Approaches" video, here: th-cam.com/video/SsJEVc06BMs/w-d-xo.html. I put this up just over a month ago, and they're doing really well and I'll be doing an update video on these soon.
Am I one of the people that are attacking you lol 🤣 very cool video
I wouldn't expect anything less and sometimes I need it 😆
@@MikeKincaid79 lol 🤣 don't give me the okay
Mike, you should have whizzed on it!! 🤷♂️ Lightly water first and then whiz 🤔
A new theory ? Like the vertical slit airlayer surgery
Water .my opinion is you way over water your rootless cuttings yet you have success & i dont..all water rooting works but potting soil and water doesn't or for us brown thumb types like me
LOL, you gotta be doing something right by now, haha.
I wonder if you arent just on the money. I have a cutting that had beautiful white roots, fading to brown right before my eyes. I even moved it to a warmer heat mat to help dry it out some more thinking overwatering. I think instead lots and lots of water. I mean some people out there are rooting their figs in glasses of water and nothing else!
The more I play around with these figs, the more I realize that they love water. Yet we are told the complete opposite. I think they'll survive in drought and rough soils but I think they thrive on lots of water and rich soil.
@@MikeKincaid79 Thanks, I totally agree, I have put my own video up and referenced yours on one of my own failing cuttings with same symptoms, will keep an eye on things!
@mike Kincaid I have the same problems with brown fig roots and then cutting dies. Now I’m thinking it’s dehydration especially on top of a heating mat. What’s your most updated method of rooting and maintenance after all your experiments?
I do not want to grow figs indoors anymore either... Too many losses.
Yes, 100% agree. I'll probably keep making videos about them indoors and out but for production, it's outdoors for me.
It seem like it’s the flushing of fresh “Oxygenated” water. So it many still be a a need for Oxygen.
I sure hope this one makes it. Planted it out in the orchard last summer. It grew well but when the freezing weather came it died to the ground. I still have the mom in the hoophouse but I’m hoping to see growth from ground level on this one as it warms up.
It just happened to mine😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔
So sorry to hear it. I'm playing around with all kinds of things to solve this and I'm thinking more and more that we're letting them dry out too much. I think they need very good drainage when young and constant water. That's my latest theory anyway.
Guess you should have gone with the adage… “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”
I think you're right
Where is the origin of figs? I'll have to go look. Um. They seem to be very arid countries. Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Iran.
Yep, right in that area.
Many pple will kill their cuttings after watching this video
Why is that?
@@MikeKincaid79 it is very easy to drown your cutting, I personally lost many cuttings to over watering. And you only did this with one cutting, if you test this with many cuttings and different varieties with high success rate than yea. Like you said needs more experimenting with. but people will watch this video and see your excitement and try this on their expensive cutting they just got to root.
Hey Mike! Check out #GoldShawFarms? This city-slicker turned farmer 👩🌾 needs advice building his #HoopHouse. I thought you could advise him how not to spend his entire savings, either buying or building it himself. I can’t believe the kind of money 💰 he got as estimates! Wow 🤩... really expensive?
I'll check it out. Maybe I can help him. Thanks Deni!
Mike, I swear that where I live you cannot kill these weed-figs. I guess we can say it's a matter of location, location, location. Hope you're enjoying spring.
Definitely loving the warmer weather. I'm curious, where about do you live?
@@MikeKincaid79 Sacramento - not from here but have grown to love the 5-month-long spring, huge trees & every kind of flora & fauna due to being in the north. Only bad thing about it is that it's chock full O' libtards.