Alisdair commented on fig cuttings rooting easily in water (this thread, 25 November 2011)
I agree.
Here's the proof.
On 11apr13, I took a 30cm cutting from a local largish tree, cultivated type unknown, but a black one, I think. I stripped most of the leaves and stood it in a plastic bottle of water outside in light shade. Over the ensuing months, I topped it up with water as needed.
By 11jun13, some root-callouses were showing.
By 20aug13, there was algal goo on the stem, but some roots were growing through that into clear water below (and there was a little new foliage at the top).
On 17nov13, I removed the cutting and its roots from the goo + water and planted it out in ordinary unimproved marly soil (cooler day with a bit of rain). The leaves had grown slowly the past three months. I would have planted it out sooner, but did not have the site ready.
My photos show:
01. cutting just before removal from bottle
02. close-up of good roots in clear water (the algal goo layer does not photograph well)
03. cutting extracted from water, showing the good clump of roots
04. cutting, with roots parted to show they all come from near waterline
05. cutting just planted
I considered trying to wash the algal goo off the roots, but I decided not to. The plant had coped well enough up till now, and washing would only disturb and damage the roots.
I also considered removing the bottom -unrooted- part of the stem, fearing that it might lead to die-back. I decided not to, since it would provide anchorage, and since figs are tough plants used to coping with adverse soil (ie. rubble).
Which is all by way of documentation of my experiment.
Thank you Alisdair for nudging me into doing it.
I aim to post an update in due course showing the fig's progress, hopefully.