We just discovered that the beautiful Ficus carica 'Corky's Honey Delight' green fig tree we bought at abut 3' high several months ago has had most of its root gnawed off by a gopher. We can see the teeth marks. It had already begun to lose its leaves, and as this is the season when our big old fig always does so, for a while we thought nothing was wrong. Trying to rescue it, we took one 1' long branch that had a few roots left on it (the only branch that did), and replanted it in the garden, surrounded by gopher spurge. Another fig we bought at the same time, which has striped green figs, is nearby and may have been protected by the gopher spurge plants that had sprung up here and there from last year. (1) Did we do wrong to replant this branch outside? Our garden is in So. Cal; the night temps, when cold, at present reach the upper 50s. The garden is protected to the north and has our house and the neighbor's giving it some shelter as well. The old fig tree has been very happy there, which is why we figured it would be good to try other varieties of figs, as we have not had success with peaches and plums. (2) We took several other cuttings, some around 6~8" long branches, as well as the main stem/trunk, which had no roots left at all, so we cut it off, salvaging the 22" long main stem with a few twigs growing out of it. Are we unwise to try to salvage such a big portion of the main stem? If it is feasible, what method should we use? It is about 3/4" wide where we cut it off. (3) There is also an 8" twig we took by cutting the main stem (about 3/4" in diameter at that point) about 3/4" above and 3/4" below where the twig was growing out, thinking maybe more surface for roots to form on is better. But would this twig be better off being cut by itself, where it is only about 1/3" across? All of the cuttings we took have tiny buds at their tips. It hasn't gotten cold enough yet for the trees to go dormant, so I'm afraid this is not a good time to try to root cutting from a damaged tree, but we have no choice. As you can see, I know nothing about propagating fig trees, so any comments will be welcome. Having read some of the comments here, I know I can stick the thin cuttings into baggies, and will put them on top of the fridge until I know better what to do. Thanks.

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First, welcome to the Propagation Forum. But next, posting links to a commercial blog (which yours seems to be) is against GardenWeb's TOS. If you missed that rule when you signed up, you may want to go back and review those documents. I have no personal experience with propagating the tree in question and I doubt many forum members do either. I would recommend a Google search using the proper scientific name. Assuming you have Ficus benghalensis, which is the species most commonly referred to as banyan fig, I'd review the search results at the link below. You could also try variations, but I think you'll find lots of info that way. Here is a link that might be useful: Google search for Ficus benghalensis propagate aerial root cutting

Vermiculite is winning, but it is still early. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow-Up Postings: RE: Fig propagation Posted by: girlfromtheGarden z5 Indy metro (My Page) on Sun, Mar 20, 05 at 0:13 Jon - great pics! how long (on average) were the cuttings' length inserted down into the vermiculite or perlite mix? I tried using longer cuttings this go-round for mine, probably anywhere from 3 1/2 to 5 inches. Wondered what you find roots best size-wise in your trials, or if other factors (like the mix used, or moisture level, or type of cutting) was more significant. (Don't you love the helpfulness of see-through rooting containers? I've recycled pop bottles, fast-food soft drink cups, anything that gives me a "window" to the root zone to double-check progress.) Sherry -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RE: Fig propagation Posted by: pitangadiego San Diego, CA (My Page) on Sun, Mar 20, 05 at 1:42 You can see how long the cuttings are above the rooting medium - many of the Davis cuttings this year were quite generous. I try to "bury" them almost to the bottom of the cup - so about 4ish inches. Interestingly, the vermiculite doesn't clump, so when I remove the rooted cutting from the rooting cup, most of the vermiculite falls away, revealing the roots. Some cuttings root only at the very bottom, some at a node further up, and some all over the cutting. Also, with several cuttings of the same variety, some have shown roots for two weeks or more, and some of the same variety, potted at the same time, still show no roots, even though they have leaves. Go figure. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- refrigeration Posted by: Joxo1990 CA (My Page) on Fri, Mar 25, 05 at 23:05 I was wondering if the refrigeration process was nesacery? I took cutting of my figs and stuck them directly into the ground, and I was hoping they would grow. I am still waiting on that though. So far they have not changed at all. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RE: Fig propagation Posted by: pitangadiego San Diego, CA (My Page) on Sat, Mar 26, 05 at 0:34 Joxo, I do not know, but a fellow that has been doing this for 30-40 years said this was his method, and I was having less that stellar success, so I went with it this year. I have planted some directly into pots, and sometimes they do OK, and other times it has been mostly a loss. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RE: Fig propagation Posted by: Georgia_Jack z7 GA (My Page) on Sun, Jun 19, 05 at 21:02 I've never tried to root anything but dormant cuttings before. However, I had to cut a path between two of my larger fig trees about three weeks ago. They were already leafed out and even had small figs on them. Short on time, but not wanting to waste the cuttings, I cut the limbs into 12-inch lengths, crammed about 25 of them into a large planter, filled it up with dirt from the garden, and placed it in the shade beside a water faucet. I've kept it watered and new leaves are sprouting out everywhere. Even a thumb-sized fig that I left on one looks healthy. Roots? Can't tell right now, but I'm optimistic. I hope to distribute some well-rooted plants to the local garden club that indicated an interest. At my lake place where I have a huge Celeste, I covered a foot or less of some low-hanging limbs with dirt and put a rock on them several weeks ago. When I uncovered them the other day, they looked like millipedes! Thoroughly rooted. I clipped them and gave them to a neighbor. That is definitely the surest way to root a fig. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RE: Fig propagation Posted by: Chills 6b (??) Mi (My Page) on Mon, Jun 20, 05 at 16:21 Re: Davis cuttings. The White Texas Everbearing 2 of three cuttings rooted out nicely as of this morning. I used dip-n-grow on these about 3 weeks ago. I've still got three other kinds that I've had in meduim for 3weeks to 7 weeks. One, maybe two, Celestes looks promising. Maybe one Golden Celeste too. Panachee not doing anything (as far as I've noticed) All are outside at this point, I'm hoping for a little warmth to cause the cuttings to start in earnest. ~Chills