Propagate Fig Trees

Today I went with Byron to get some wood. A friend of his had cut down some trees to make room for experimental blue berry bushes and peaches. Neither one do very well in Louisiana, and he is trying some new varieties for study.

He has an organic citrus orchard as well as figs and persimmons. After all the hard work of cutting trees was done he walked Byron and I to some fig trees in his orchard and proceeded to prune them to about six feet in height. It was a variety that in his opinion is one of the best fig varieties, Alma. I already have Brown Turkey and Celeste figs, so I was excited to try and grow this type of fig.

He explained to me how simple it is to propagate figs. This is how he propagates them all the time. He cut the branches into 8 inch pieces and gave them to me.

First you take the barely budding pruned fig branches in spring, cut them into 8 inch pieces, wet them, shake the excess water off and put them in a zip lock bag, then put that bag into another zip lock bag, and then store the bag of cuttings in the refrigerator for 30 days. After 30 days remove them and put them into pots of soil about 3/4 of the way down. Just leave a couple of buds sticking out. It's important also to keep the buds pointing upright in the natural orientation in which they grow. You can kinda look at the branch and see the bud pointing upward. It's also important to not let them dry out once planted.

Then wait for the cutting to root and sprout. He said it is so simple. So above is my stash of Alma fig cuttings! He said I should have more than I want with the cuttings he gave me. Hmmmm....there are never to many fig trees! You can always share.