Trying Out The Fig Pop Rooting Method

I’m not sure why I was so resistant to trying it out. Maybe it just seemed unnatural, but this year I decided to give it a shot.

Who originally came up with such a novel approach to rooting cuttings? Maybe it was Ben B. who has a detailed post on the topic: How to root Fig cuttings using the “Fig Pop” Method.

True to my nature, I didn’t just perform a little experiment. I went whole hog, including the postage. This year I’ve spent more on fig cuttings than all previous years COMBINED. And I’m in the process of rooting ALL of them in fig pops. As the saying goes, “Don’t try this at home.”

You’ve been warned. I’m not recommending the fig pop method. My efforts may end in total disaster. That being said, many in the fig community swear by the fig pop approach. But maybe you could be a little wiser in your experimentation and just try a few cheap cuttings to see how it works out.

So what prompted me to make such a huge commitment to such a, personally, untried way of rooting cuttings?

Space

Mostly, it was a matter of space. The 4x4x9″ tree pots I normally use take a bit more real estate. With so many cuttings to start this year, I needed a way to reduce the footprint.

Then I got to thinking of other advantages.

Watering

Watering and determining which cuttings need to be watered can be a very time-consuming process, especially with hundreds of cuttings. Over-watering is often death to cuttings and more often than not the primary reason for cutting failure. In the tree pots, it was often difficult to determine if they needed water without lifting each one to feel the weight or using a probe. Very time consuming. Pots in different locations would dry out at different rates. It was very inconsistent. And I had come to the point where I didn’t even think in terms of moisture, but humidity.

With the fig pop method, I just add 1-3 ounces (depending on bag size) of water to the bag after the cutting and soil are added. No mixing. Quick and easy. Soon, droplets of water will form on the inside of the bag, indicating sufficient humidity. The clear bags make it easy to see that they have sufficient humidity due to the droplets.

Fungus Gnats

Fungus gnats, at the very least, can be a nuisance. They can also be deadly to fig cuttings. The fig pop method makes it difficult or even impossible for gnats to enter or exit the bags. A big plus.

Root Visibility

The clear bags make it easy to see root development. No more premature removal of a cutting from a tree pot. Identifying when the cutting is ready to up-pot is a breeze.

Humidity Dome

This wasn’t really a consideration for me, but many make a humidity dome out of the bag above the soil line. I gave up being concerned about the cutting above ground. Wrapping the cuttings with parafilm was just too time-consuming. I took to burying the entire cutting and letting new growth come up from below the soil. Now, my new fig pops have bare sticks coming out of the top. Though, now that I’m writing this, it may be worth the time to try the humidity domes.

Clean

The fig pops are cleaner than tree pots. I can be clumsy. Tipping over tree pots can make a mess. The bags are cheap enough to be disposable, not needing to be cleaned and sanitized for the next season.

That about does it. Wish me luck! And if you decide to join me in this new endeavor, I wish you luck, as well.