Propagating Ficus Auriculata

[Keys6505]

I'm a few days away from another Texas "arctic blast" so my Ficus Auriculata is about to get toasted to the ground again.  Is there any way to propagate this via cuttings before the branches all freeze?  I tried taking cuttings before Palmageddon in 2021 and dipped them in rooting hormone and straight into pots but they all rotted.  I had a few incidents where I've accidentally broke off some young growth last summer andi tried rooting in water but they never did.  I even tried air-layering this past summer.  I got 1 out of 2 to make a good set of roots but as soon as I cut it from the tree and potted her up it died right away.  Are these just tough to propagate or am I just missing the magic touch?  Any tips for what to try with cuttings would be appreciated.  I'm sure the time of year is going to lower my chances regardless.

[Marie Nock]

I've been successful propagating them under mist using a rooting hormone and then a small pot of potting soil.  Spring is the best time of year.

[mnorell]

Many years ago, I used to buy plants from an exotic specialist nursery in the Los Angeles area and they propagated banyans and several other unusual Ficus species. I remember very well them giving me a tour of their greenhouses and propagation benches...and they always had their Ficus propagating on mist-benches, in small pots of I think coarse perlite or gravel...just as Marie says.

Also, with your air-layer, you may have better luck if you trim all the lower leaves off after you sever the layer. It is possible that there wasn't enough root-mass there to support the top-growth once you severed the connection to the mother plant, and it dehydrated and collapsed. 

[hbernstein]

If possible, why don't you cut it down low and put the basal trunk and roots in a pot for the winter? Too big?

[Keys6505]

Since I didn't have the time to construct a mist bench I did what I could with what I had available.  I took a cutting of every branch tip and either trimmed off all of the mature leaves or left a mature leaf and chopped it down by about 2/3.  I dipped the ends in rooting hormone and stuck them in a community pot since I didn't have real high hopes that this was going to work  I have them tented in a clear garbage bag on a heat mat in front of a bright east facing window.  We are about 10 days in and some are still holding a leaf but it looks like the brown is creeping in.  We'll see if I get lucky on any of them.