They are both polymer based crystals - same stuff except diapers would imply a need to absorb fluid quickly and so am supposing may not last long in soil. The crystals I bought you have to soak a minimum of 4hrs, overnight for the best absorption so there must be a significant difference - I don't know what that is though. But if it's just to get the rooting going, it's sounds good enough to me. Can you see the rooting through this? I'm supposing not, due to the white stuff, so go easy taking them out when inspecting. A handy little option to know about. Thanks Karyn and Kylie. - Sandy

Wow, it looks like you have been having some good success with rooting the col de dame cuttings! I have heard that the col de dame figs are often hard to root and very slow growing varieties. Have you found this to be true? Also, I have been hoping to get my hands on sme cuttings to start, but I unfortunately missed the UCD deadline to order the figs :(. Would you be willing to share where you were able to find some cuttings? I wold love to start my own and then share them with everybody else since they are such desirable figs! Best of luck with your little guys!

The long sleeves hold up to a 14" cutting. I think it does increase chances of the cutting rooting because there are more rooting points. I also use them for a "lazy" tried and true method of rooting. Just bury the cuttings. I really dont have time anymore with soo many tree to baby and pamper each one. If I have extra cuttings, I just stick them in a dee pot (the sleeve looking pots) and fill with soil and water. I still think the secret is in the potting mix. Must be able to drain quickly and not hold perched water. As for the rosemary, i made 3" cuttings, put them in my accelerator pots, and then covered them in a large plastic bag that had one end open. Just enough air to circulate but also enough to keep the humidity up. I use this same method for my figs. As Pitandiego the figs sage told me once, "you just have to respect the basics".

Hey guys, first of all, thanks to everyone that's helping. I've learned so much in the past two days. Specially Dave and Al...thank you teachers! :) So sorry about in the instrusion, I'm another one with fiddle leaf problems. I think I was sold a sick FLF...the guys just told me that it was in direct light all day long, so I thought the brown spots were justified. Until I got home and realized the soil was really compact...really....compact and soggy...and loads of rocks on top, which probably wouldn't help. So what I've did pretty fast, I went into despair...I've tried to repot it...and..of course I the roots just broke in half, and they were almost black and quite smelly... I didn't have anything around other than regular soil with perlite, so I just moved the lyrata and the now shorter roots too a new dry vase with some brick pieces at the bottom and that soil...the soil it's very loose and didn't compressed whatsoever. Didn't watered since, two days now. So after reading all of your kind info, Tomorrow I'm going too: 1. Clean the remaining roots as well as I can without damaging it more.. 2 .Repot, with 5:1:1 mix...Pine bark, Turf (should I?), Perlite; and some brick pieces in the bottom. 3. Water the lyrata once like flushing, right? And then again.. 4. The bottom leaves are very very rigid almost like they are about to break, I've read one Al's comment about "the end of life" process of these leaves...Should I cut the last leave and put the trunk deeper so it forms new healthy roots? (if this makes any sense at all) 5. Pruning, I was thinking about cutting the top (last picture), but as the bottom leaves are so stiff, maybe they aren't able to produce that much "food" and I should keep the top one for now? (I'm I thinking stupid??) 6. The only I had to cover the pot was sawdust, with which I have been lucky in protecting my plants from pests and mould. Again...in a despair act..should I maintain this? Can you help me please?? I'm based in Sintra,Portugal; very warm and humid location, actually humidity is a problem around here. Any advice is most welcome! thanks!