Hi Folks,

I've been off the HOS Forum site for a few months (--though I've occasionally popped in to check topics-- ) and now have a reasonable enquiry (at least I think so).  When my wife and I were at the HOS Propagation Fair, I had planned on  focusing exclusively on apples and Japanese plum scions.  However, I also ended up grabbing a big ol' honkin' cutting from the bin with 'Desert King' figs when I saw them.  Every recent fig article that I've read in the past seems to indicate that this is the best and most adaptable fig for my area.  I also sampled the fruits for the first time at Raintree Nursery last year and loved it!

Now I've pulled it out of the fridge and I want to do what's necessary to root it healthfully.  A few years ago I collected fig cuttings at the house of a dear friend of ours in east Olympia who loved to grow plants and had just passed away.  I was able to root one and we had it for several years but it was just so reluctant to grow.  My propagation question is this:  

Should the fig cutting (in this case with a callused base) simply be planted, or should the base of the fig cutting be re-cut to expose uncalloused stem tissue to the rooting medium?  Sadly, I can't remember how I handled the fig cutting that I rooted earlier (although if it had been from seed I would have checked my records which go back to 1987 and would have known what treatment had been followed).  In the meantime, I notched the base of the callused cutting in two places and have it sitting in water.  

I look forward to the responses.  I know we have some incredibly knowledgeable HOS members on the Forum.

Tim.