Rooting Tips: Acclimating & Up-Potting
Your cuttings have rooted, winter is over, now what?
▪️I take my rooted cuttings outside once low temps are consistently over 40-45° and any danger of frost has passed. I use my outside trees as a marker as well, if they are waking up and leafing out, it’s usually a good sign weather has become conducive to growing.
Usually, spring sunlight is not as intense, and I place them in filtered light or part shade without much need for acclimation when done early. The hotter and more intense the sunlight, the better to place them in shade first and gradually increase sunlight exposure. Watch your weather, the time of day, & watch how they do in the first hour. If they show signs of wilting, keep them in the shade or bring them back indoors.
(I generally do not give full sunlight exposure until I have them in 5 gallons, as sunlight here can be too intense for the smaller rooting systems. Frequent watering can help to compensate for that, but I just find it easier to wait for the larger pot so that I’m not constantly watering or having to move them back & forth.)
▪️I wait until the cutting is nearly rootbound before the first up-pot. You do not want to up-pot before then for the first time and it is not something I rush. Check to see if roots are poking out the bottom of the pot, or very gently, slightly push the plant from the bottom up to elevate it out of the pot a bit and check root growth.
»» Do not completely remove it from the pot before checking for sufficient root growth to ensure the root mass & rooting mix will hold together and not fall apart if removed.
A rooted cutting can actually be kept in a tree pot for years if needed. This is not recommended though if you do want to try the figs at some point. The tree will stay small and may produce a few figs, but they will not be the best quality.
I up-pot from 4x9 treepots directly into 5-7 gallons using my regular potting mix. If I have extras or backups of a variety, I generally keep them indefinitely in treepots, or I up-pot to 3 gallons.
These are my favorite pots to up-pot to: RootMaker 7-gallon tall. (Not an affiliate link.)
