Ficus Benjamina Cuttings

Today, some trees were pruned by gardeners of our residential complex and I collected 4 cuttings of Ficus Benjamina.

3 of them didn't survive my ignorance.

Prior to this, I have never ever grown anything from cuttings ; not even a rose ! The gardener told me confidently that these branches won't root. Since I only had theoretical knowledge, I just smiled, half doubtful myself but half hopeful too, since the branch structure looked good and I could save years, to reach this stage from a seed / sapling. 

NOTE : This is a record of my initial days and not the correct way to do anything. 

I wrapped the bottom ends in cloth and kept them wet for a week. 
Misted them frequently and kept in the bathroom for higher humidity.

The leaves were discarded, keeping only the leaf buds.

New leaves have sprouted on 3 of the 4 pieces but no sign of roots.

I mistakenly thought the roots develop from the peeled away bark.
There was no need to peel at all.

Since only the peeled away section was buried in coconut peat, roots did not form and 2 of the pieces died. Over watering was mistake no. 2. Exposing them to sunlight too soon was mistake no. 3.

Kept exposed to partial direct sunlight on balcony.

Still, one of them survived through all this.

Several new branches sprouted and died back. Finally, I have just 3 left.

This last plant died around mid-Nov. I think over-watering & over-fertilizing killed it.