Clothes pin now thats another good one Jon. I sure did not think of that one.
Here is picture that i messed up when i did the Edit
Cannot see roots in front view but there are some on backside of bottle that have shown themselves.

Thanks for the clarification--I'll remove a ring of bark tomorrow. When you use the "clothespin method" do the roots form all down the length of the branch inside the bottle? I had gotten the idea that root formation would be concentrated very close to the girdled part.

They are expected to form at the bottom, just above the girdling point, which is the point of doing the girdle. They may well form above that point, as well. but I haven't washed the compost off to see where the roots actually formed. When air-layering other plants, the girdle is more important because many plants to not initiate roots as easily as figs - and need the extra "encouragement" that the girdle provides.

I should add, that 5 weeks later, these air layers have roots coming out of the drain holes of 5 gallon pots. Part of the benefit of the air-layer is the ability of the leaves to drive root formation because of their ability to photosynthesize. This is an energy source no available when rooting cuttings.

Hi,

I saw in another post where someone said something about scraping the bark to hasten rooting for air layering.  What does that mean and how is that done?  How much scraping should be done?

Thanks,

Vivian

Girdling is the "technical" term for removing the bark. You may a couple cuts through the bark, completely around the branch about 1" apart, and then remove the bark in between the two cuts. On some trees (not figs) you will need to scrape off the green cambium layer that is under the bark. That interrupts the flow of nutrients, which are the product of photosynthesis, from going to the roots of the tree, and helps direct them into making new roots at the point of the girdling.

Because figs will root just by being in contact with moist soil, (such as a low hanging branch touching the ground), the girdling may not be necessary, but probably still accelerates the rooting process, and made a convenient way for me to hold the air layer in place by using the clothes pin.

I guess I should take some pix, next time.

I'm trying my hand at air layering as of yesterday on this Atreano.  This is a green branch but I did girdle it, and wrap it with sphagnum moss in a zip lock bag.  We'll see what happens in 30 days.  I have another air layer going on a Marseilles Black VS.

Here are some ix I took today to better illustrate the "front end" of the process.

1.5 liter water bottle, clothes pin, duct tape and grafting knife (others will do).



Bottom of the bottle. Yes, there are drain holes, because of the rooting medium I am using: compost. Split down one side all the way to the middle of the bottom, and a hole for the branch in the bottom of the bottle. The top was cut off.



Plant to be air-layered.



Cut around the branch in two places about 1" apart.



Bad pix, but you can see the sap oozing from the cuts.



Starting to peel the bark off of the girdled section.



Bark completely removed.



Clothes pin added. The spring tension keeps it tight against the branch, and allows it to sit on the shoulder created by the girdling and bark removal.



Bottle resting on the clothes pin.



Bottle taped together.



Fill the bottle with rooting a medium (in my case, 100% compost) and soak it. Excess water will drain trough and water can be added at the top any time. If exposed to direct sun, you should consider covering it with aluminum foil or alternative to keep the rooting zone from overheating. In the shade, this was not necessary.

Thanks for the photos--they're very helpful. I think my first attempt was on too big of a branch, so I'll try again on something smaller.

Thanks so much for the great photo instructions.  I'm going to try it with a larger branch and see if it roots, or not.

Vivian

Great pix, thanks.  The original tree that you are grafting is a straight main trunk with no branching.  After you pot the newly rooted plant, would you then keep the original tree and get new branches from it? 

Girdling is totally not necessary.  I just 'scar' an inch-long section of the lower part of the branch with a sharp knife and then add the rooting medium and wrap in plastic.  I water rarely by using a 50 milliliter syringe, to make up for losses.  I started some air layers on June 6th and they are all filled with roots.  After I take off the fruit (which did not drop) in another few weeks, I will cut off that branch at the air layer and pot it.

You can use this method to propagate one limb off a larger tree. Or as I am doing, to make a second tree. The base of the tree will be allowed to regrow in a "bush" form. Usually the new branches are forming by the time I remove the air-layer.

Again, girdling is probably not necessary on figs, but this technique can be used for lots of trees, and some really do need to be girdled to initiate root formation. Also, in this case, the girdle gives a place for the  clothes pin, which helps locate the point to be air-layered. There are a lot of possible techniques.

Very nice way of explanation Jon
Thanks.  ; )

Thank you Jon.  I think I'll also try air-layering my elderberry shrubs.  I usually root green cuttings now, and hardwood cuttings in late winter, but just for giggles, I'll try this.

John,

What does scarring mean?  Do you hack at the branch you want to air layer, or scrape it with the knife?  How much scarring and scraping is needed?

The reason I want to know is that the part I want to air layer has a larger diameter and is actually the main part of the tree that somehow got bent to the side, or at least it looks like that's what happened because it's main girth is larger than what looks like what should be the main top (leader, I think it's called).  Very strange, but I have reason to want to root a larger girthed trunk so that someone might get figs sooner.  The person has a health problem and it may get worse before a baby tree would get large enough to put out figs.  :(

Thanks,

Vivian

All together here.

Well, I finally got smart. I was cutting the top of the bottle, splitting the side, and cutting a hole to fit around the branch in the bottom. But the bottom of the water bottles was very hard and tough to cut towards the center. So, I finally realized that I could saw off the neck of the bottle, which left a hole of the right size, and then cut the bottom off where the plastic was thinner. Voila! Faster, easier.

No matter how well something works, it seems there's always some way to improve it! It does sound like an easier approach.

You can't ever assume that you have arrived. Something may be working well, but there is usually room for improvement, and laziness can be the mother invention.

It's been 23 days since I started an air-layer on an Atreano.  Today I peeked under the foil and I saw roots growing along the plastic bag.  I'll leave it alone for another week or two, and then pot it. 

Success.

The more roots it grows, before removing it from the parent tree, the better

After more than three months, it looks like my first attempt at an air-layer might work after all. The branch I chose was likely too big (44 inches from tip to bottle neck), but I'm guessing that if I wait till the leaves drop before cutting it from the parent plant, and then prune off the lowest branches to balance transpiration with uptake, it might be able to establish a strong enough root system to support next year's foliage. But--I'll definitely select a much smaller branch next time!

Tusc.

I have done a few branches in the 36-48" category. They do fine. It is important to wait as long as possible to get maximum root development before removing from the pareet tree. The more roots that you develop before removal, the better the air-layer does. Placing in a humid environment for 4-5 weeks really helps, also.

Jon--would you suggest leaving it on the tree, then, until the bottle is really packed with roots, even if it means waiting till mid-next season to remove it? Or would it be best to make the separation while the tree is dormant and the risk of water loss is reduced because there are no leaves? Will roots continue growing even during winter when the branches are bare?

Tusc,

Not sure as I haven't been there. I don't know how much root development a tree has during the winter. A dormant, in ground tree, might develop roots from the energy stored during the summer, don't know. The air-layer is driven differently. The root development is driven by the energy intake from the leaves above the point at which you are inducing roots in the air-layer. You have diverted that energy from going to the roots of the parent tree and redirected it to growing roots at you chosen location. So, when the leaves are gone there isn't much to drive root development. If it was me, and I would be going where I had never gone before, I would wait till the leaves were gone or very nearly so, to maximize roots, then remove it and put it in a green house or indoors, where it was warm enough to probably keep root growth going and maybe even encourage new leaf development, and maybe use a grow light, to get the plant well established. I would not worry about it not being dormant through the winter, since vegetative growth, not fruiting is the issue at this time.