When is the right time to take cuttings from a fig tree?
Presentation of the fig tree
With no less than 800 varieties, 5 of which stand out from the others for the taste qualities of their fruits, the fig tree (Ficus Carica) is a fruit tree that can reach, at maturity, between 5 and 10 meters. This small deciduous tree, from the family of Moraceaelikes sunny areas and resists well in Mediterranean climates.
It has been known in France for millennia and we particularly like its fruit which can be eaten raw, alone or in a salad, cooked or even in jam. The fig is also very good dried. It is excellent for its vitamin intake, particularly B9 and K1. It is also interesting, among other things, for its contributions in magnesium (30 mg/100 g), potassium (232 mg/100 g) and calcium (167 mg/100 g).
His period of fruiting is between May and September and its fruits are harvested more in summer.
The fig tree Ficus Carica stands out from its cousins the prickly pear (recognizable by its thorns) and the Lyre fig.
When can the fig tree be taken from cuttings?
Everything will depend on the cutting technique used.
- For a stewed techniquewe recommend doing it in February or March.
- If you want to take a crossette cutting, you can do it in November. Cutting with the glass of water technique is usually done in the winter season.
Some recommend waiting until spring and taking cuttings between April and June to make it easier to take the cutting, since the wood of the mother tree is growing.
How to make a fig tree cutting?
There are several techniques for cutting a fig tree. First, remember to gather the necessary materials to make your cutting, namely:
- gardening gloves;
- a pot ;
- a plastic bottle;
- potting soil;
- pruning shears (to be disinfected with 90° alcohol before cutting);
- some water ;
- sand;
- a sprayer;
- a glass for the glass of water technique.
The crossette cutting
This type of cutting is made just after the leaves of the fig tree have fallen. Find a branch that is around 2 years old. It is then sufficient to collect lateral branches over a length of 20-30 cm, while leaving part of the branch intact at its base. You have made your crossette cutting!
- Then prepare one or more pots that you will fill with sand.
- Take your previously disinfected pruning shears and make a bevel cut on the end of the branch for a few centimeters. It’s about making this cut above the bud.
- Place the cuttings in the pots of sand. Make sure that 1 or 2 buds stick out.
- Thus prepared, the pots containing the cuttings in the sand will be watered then placed in the Northalong a wall to benefit from the cold which will help the wood to soften and help the roots to emerge more easily.
You have nothing more to do until spring.
Then place your cuttings in the ground or in a pot as appropriate. You will only have to let a single bud protrude.
When you see new leaves emerging, it is a signal indicating the taking the cutting.
When the cutting has taken root, you can eliminate the shoots of the buried buds to keep the shoot at the end which will thus be stronger and will offer, after nine months, a new shrub. The crossette cutting technique works quite well if you take care to avoid late frosts and if you then take care of your young fig tree by protecting it well during the winter, especially during its first four years of growth. growth.
The fig tree cutting
Stemmed cutting is another cutting technique that requires using a bottle or plastic bag. We will start by cutting the bottle in half and piercing the bottom. Then we put the suitable soil for cutting operations. We also pierce the upper part of the bottle to provide ventilation when the cuttings are planted.
Once the potting soil has been placed on the lower part of your bottle, you will need to make sure to water it and pack it down before putting the cutting in.
You have to wait until the end of February to recover the branches of the fig tree, making sure to choose one year old branches on which we can observe 3-4 eyes.
Then simply place the cuttings in the potting soil prepared in your plastic bottle. It is important to bury these cuttings so that no more than 2 eyes are visible.
We close the bottle with tape. Thanks to the holes that we made, the fig tree cutting has air but it is in a confined atmosphere, like a greenhouse, which will help it to develop.
You must then place this bottle in a bright, but cool corner (maximum 16° C if possible). When you see the first shoots and roots appear in the lower part, you can remove the top of the bottle, taking care to leave the substrate slightly damp.
Be sure to cover the bottom of the bottle with newspaper to protect the roots from light.
Cutting the fig tree with a glass of water
This technique is a little more delicate because the roots tend to be brittle, which can make repotting more complicated. For this reason, it is better to favor other cutting techniques.
To implement this technique, you must start at the end of winter.
Collect the branches about ten centimeters from your fig tree. Then place these cuttings in a glass of water. Change the water whenever it becomes cloudy or slightly yellow.
It takes around 5 weeks to see the first roots appear. When they are approximately 5 cm long, you can replant your cutting in a pot containing a light substrate, taking certain precautions to avoid damaging the roots.
Protect your pot from possible late frosts by placing your cuttings under cover.
The long cutting
The branch taken from the mother fig tree is in this cutting technique with a length of 1 meter. The end should be green. We leave the leaves at the end, while removing all the others before placing it at a height of 50 cm in a container filled with rainwater.
We then wait until spring to definitively plant this cutting.
How to care for a fig tree cutting?
To successfully take a fig tree cutting and have every chance of seeing a beautiful fig tree grow, you must respect certain principles:
- Remember to change the water regularly as soon as you notice that it is no longer very clear or becomes yellow (case of the long cutting and the cutting with a glass of water). Please note, the crossette cutting does not require repeated watering, but just enough at the start to then wait until spring.
- Monitor cuttings and roots when possible. When the cutting has reached around 5 cm, it is the right time to put it in the pot with its substrate.
- Planting in the groundin the garden will be done at the beginning of the following autumn.
- Follow the instructions for each type of cutting carefully. (exposure, required temperature, etc.).
Regardless of the cutting technique used to grow one or more other fig trees, by following the instructions carefully, the operation should work and allow you to have a new small fruit tree in your garden.