Okay, let’s talk about this fig tree, the higuera. It wasn’t exactly planned, you know?
Getting Started
So, my neighbor pruned his big fig tree last winter. He had all these branches lying around. I just walked over and asked if I could grab a couple. He said, “Sure, take ’em!”. So I did. Picked out two decent-looking sticks, maybe pencil-thick, about a foot long each.
Got back home. First thing, I cleaned them up a bit. Pulled off most of the lower leaves, left just a couple up top. Made a fresh, slanted cut at the bottom of each stick. Someone told me that helps it suck up water, or rooting stuff, whatever.
Then I grabbed some rooting hormone powder. Just the cheap stuff from the garden store. Dipped the cut ends into the powder, tapped off the extra. Didn’t want to overdo it.
Trying to Root Them
I filled up a couple of small pots with a mix of potting soil and perlite. Made it real loose and airy. Stuck one cutting in each pot, burying maybe half the stick. Patted the soil down gently around them.
Watered them well, let the extra drain out. Then, the tricky part. I put clear plastic bags over the top of each pot, kind of like a mini-greenhouse. Used a rubber band to hold the bag around the pot rim. The idea was to keep the humidity high, stop the cuttings from drying out before they made roots.
Put the pots on a windowsill, but not in direct, blazing sun. Just bright, indirect light. And then, basically, I waited. Checked them every few days. Made sure the soil stayed damp, but not soaking wet. Lifted the bags sometimes to let some fresh air in.
Seeing Some Action
For weeks, nothing much seemed to happen. I was getting a bit doubtful, honestly. Thought maybe I got duds. But then, maybe six or seven weeks later, I gave one of the cuttings a very gentle wiggle. It felt… firm. Like it was anchored in there. That was a good sign.
A little while after that, I actually saw tiny new leaves starting to sprout from the top buds on one of them! The other one… well, it still looked like a stick. It never really took off, eventually just dried up. So, one out of two, not bad for a first try, I guess.
I kept the successful one in its little pot for a few more months, letting the roots get stronger. Kept watering it, took the bag off once the new leaves looked solid.
Planting the Higuera
Finally, this spring, when it was bigger and looked pretty robust, I decided it was time for a proper home. Found a sunny spot in the yard. Dug a decent hole, mixed in some compost with the soil I dug out. Carefully took the little fig tree out of its pot – could see nice white roots circling around. Placed it in the hole, filled the soil back in around it, and gave it a good, long drink of water.
And that’s pretty much it. Now I just water it regularly, especially when it’s hot. It’s put on quite a bit of growth already this summer. Seeing those big fig leaves unfurl is really satisfying. Still waiting for actual figs, but hey, one step at a time, right? It started as just a stick from the neighbor’s pile. Pretty cool.
