Costa,
I'm sure I speak for many of us here who love seeing this type of stuff. That is the largest air layer I have ever seen. Please keep us abreast with the progress and GOOD LUCK to you and also to you Pete.
Awesome.

Hey guys, hold your horses there. I'm not quite done yet. I had to take a short break, if you know what I mean.

And finally (for now anyway), the completed layer in context, and this time I think I managed to get nearly all the tree inside the frame - no mean feat I can tell you. More to follow later.


 

Right now I'd like to grow the tree to the right of the picture.
Too bad we don't have the climate for it.

@ Pete - Well, there had to be one, didn't there? But I have to say, your container looks too small in relation to the diameter of that trunk. Even so, I wish you every success with yours.

@ Rafed - You mean the loquat tree, right? Also one of my favorites, hence my username.  We have several, and we used to get ripe fruit every summer from them - until they went native on me and started to flower in the fall instead of spring. Also the subject of other threads initiated by me. Because of the mild winter we've just had, this is possibly the first year we'll see ripe fruit again since they went native on us around 5 years ago.

I kind of figured that's where your name came from since I saw the picture.
It is an awesome fruit.

There are so many other fruit trees I would love to have but I live in the wrong climate.
To move my family away from their friends and relatives over a fruit tree is just not fair for them.

So I make the best of what I can get.

Maybe one day when I move to a bigger place I can build my dream greenhouse.

@ Rafed - I hope the subsequent post answered most of your questions, but thx for reminding me re. moisture. I check the moss for moisture about 1 month after its installation, and top-up as necessary. I judge it based purely on touch, as I don't know any other way. After that, I check every f/night, coz you gotta remember that the developing roots will consume increasing amounts of water as they grow. For this size layer, I will have to make an educated guess that it will be ready for removal after about 10-12 weeks, and in the final weeks, I might even check moisture level at weekly intervals. 

Because of the lack of easy visual checks, I may end up removing the cover, take the string off the container, and then very carefully partially open the container along the cut in order to ensure that the roots have reached all the way to the bottom. I would then be fairly confident that the layer will survive detachment from the parent plant.

Hope that helps, but if you have any other queries, let me know.

Oh yeah, here's that link where I originally described my method:

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/zone-air-layering-5418136?pid=1269578965#post1269578965

Yes,
Your post helped answer the question.

When I checked on my air layers and if they looked like they need a little drink I would use a plastic syringe and inject it into the soil and place a piece of tape to seal the hole. I would do it in different parts in small amounts. 

I looked at your profile and it says you're from London. Is this London England?
Are your winters that mild to where you can grow Loquats?

Yes, London England, and depends on what you mean by mild. This year the temp did not drop below -2C, which our loquats easily survive. Our lowest is usually around -5 to -6C, which in theory is also survivable, but crucially, if it snows, the blossom or setting fruit is destroyed unless I take protective measures.

This year, it didn't even snow, so I didn't need to protect the blossom or setting fruit. Having said that, our springs are obviously not as warm/hot as our summers, so the only remaining question is whether we'll get enough sunshine now to ripen the fruit over the next 2-3 months.

Again, time will tell, but if the fruit can hang onto the tree long enough, then it's just possible it might get some summer sunshine too. I'll update you on my loquat thread when I get the answers.

@ James - Thx for the kind words. Appreciated, & glad you found this thread of interest. I'll update as & when there is more to report.

Thanks for the info.
Compared to where I'm at, your winter is mild. Trust me on this one.
Especially this past winter where we dipped to well below -25f quite a few times. I think this is -31c if I'm not mistaken.

Hope all is well with the Loquat and your other trees.

Well, there's plenty of small, unripe and undamaged fruit on it, so the omens are good so far. As I said, I'll update on that topic too when there's more to report. 

Yeah, I heard about the 'vortex' that affected most of N. & central US this winter. That was a tough one for most plant life to get thru unscathed. Maybe a greenhouse would have helped, but it would have to be heated to make enough difference, and that ain't gonna be cheap, is it?

Anyroad, must sign off now folks. Way past my bedtime, & gotta take the missus to hospital first thing this morning.

Speak again soon.

Sayonara, buenas noches, kali nichta, etc etc.

Just reviewed my slide show, and noticed this part didn't appear for some reason, tho I actually remember writing it up. Bizarre, and no wonder Rafed queried the lack of covering. So, here it is again, and hopefully it will appear this time.

As best as I can recall, the description went along the following lines, tho the 2nd para. is additional:

Cover the whole shebang with any light-excluding material, such as a black sack, and again secure with a wire tie or string. Apparently, roots don't like direct light, which is why they grow mainly underground. The opaque container also helps in this respect, but suffers from the disadvantage that it prevents direct visual inspection of the progress of root growth.

That's a real shame, coz I rely on visual clues to tell me when the layer is ready for severing. The covering also conserves the moisture, so you won't need to top up so often. 

BTW Rafed, based on advice I read on the web, I also tried layering my main loquat tree. All attempts failed - a complete waste of time, so I don't know why the authors thought it possible. The bark simply regrew over the wound - I assume in an attempt to effect a repair of the 'damaged' area. Very strange, and not so much as even a hint of a root. I gave up after about 4 attempts. Some trees are simply not suitable for layering. Ours were all grown from the stone.

That is a huge air layer!  Wow!  My air layers are on much smaller branches, but my trees are all smaller too!  I have a lot of respect for the old ways.  No science involved.  Just methods that work passed down through the generations.  My favorite method of rooting cuttings came from the advice of an old Greek.  It is to just lay them in a trench, cover with soil in partial sun, sprinkle them now and then and be surprised when one day they pop up as little trees.  I leave them in their spots for a few months to be sure they have good root systems.  No mold, rot or fungus gnats with that method.

Nice photos.  Thanks for sharing!

Suzi

@Costas, very impressive. You should tram the tops too, since the tree is still dormant. that way there will be less for the tree to cary. I have been air layering my Dorset and  Fuji, stared in end December and I am just starting to see some very few white roots towards the cellophane wrap... 3 months... when do I cut the trunk separate?
 

@ Suzi:

@ Aaron

BTW, this tree is an Italian Purple. Not the creme de la creme for taste, etc, but has the distinct advantages of being an early ripener, hardy, and prolific. And the flavor is more than acceptable to boot.

All in all, a good all-rounder. Almost all our friends and relatives have expressed their disbelief that this fruit actually grows and ripens to this level of flavor and sweetness in England. So there you go.

thanks for the advise Costas, we can all see how vigorously your tree has grown, good variety... :)

Hey Frank - where are you? You've gone strangely quiet since you challenged me to 'display my wares'. Have I disappointed? If so, don't worry. There's more to come.

Costas,

I'm looking, but quietly.  You whipped out a very impressive air-layer!  That's some stick you got there.  I'll leave it at that.  Carry on.

Frank

Ah, there you are. Glad you're still alive & kicking, & hope you found the thread instructive, if not %ing.