Ok my Brown Turkey ??? has got an ugly shape and I was planning on Pruning it this spring, before the plant broke dormancy but its too late for that. I have brought the plant inside my office and wanted to know if its possible to airlayer now since its broken dormancy and is pushing out leaves. I have started one airlayer on one branch, am I just wasting my time?

Hi Nelson,
i dont think your waiting your time in doing an airlayer now, shoot if it was me i would also prune it now to shape it for it wont kill the plant or anything , you can do both at the same time.
Bottom line you ain't going to kill it and your not wasting your time !

Thanks Martin I guess I will leave the airlayer as is and see what happens and prune the rest off. Thanks for the advice

Yes/No.

Air-layering is best done when there is active growth, in sunlight. The energy from the sun, through the leaves, provides the energy to form new roots at the point of layering. What you have now is stored energy in the roots/wood of the tree pushing new leaves (in repsonse to the warmth of indoor location). Those leaves will need sunlight (or a good gro-light) to provide the energy to get good root formation.

Jon right now it gets Halogen lights plus about 5-6 hrs of sunlight at the most where its located. So technically if I could get it closer to the window my chances are slightly better correct. This is that Brown Turkey that I posted pics last year has brunswick shaped leaves but produces round purplish figs no red eye, unfortunately none ripened last year but were the size of a golf balls by early nov.

Yes. Air-layerng is usually done when the plants are actively growing, such as later Spring. It's a little like rooting cuttings. Cuttings don't root well in the frig. Likewise, air-layering doesn't work well on dormant plants.

Hi all,
Curious what to do with this LSUPurple airlayer started in early September. Don't know if I should cut and pot or leave till later. Roots look fat and healthy, but don't have the tight root ball that I've seen in others' airlayers at time of uppotting. I may get another 1.5 months before freeze. Thoughts for air layers-in-progress with winter approaching?
Thanks!
Rick

Rick, I'm not an expert, but if that were my plant, I'd cut it loose. With winter coming,
root growth will slow down. Once it hits, those roots are going to be
exposed to the elements, with little insulation.

I might pick off all but the top leaf from each branch of the air layer, cut it,
pot it, and bring it inside, to a bright window. Another six weeks of constant
70-75 degree temps would give that plant enough time to settle in.

Hi! Nelson,

This is my post from the thread: can I do an air layer in the winter? or does it have to be a certain month?

Hey, thanks for the advice, Ruuting and Tam. Gonna go ahead and pot before the cool rains blow in. I have a 3gallon pot my roses came in with a breathable soil/bark mix I think it will be happy in. It's earmarked as a gift for my brother, so really hoping it makes it through the winter. 
Thanks again,
Rick

 

I airlayer entire branches in the winter. Yes, the entire branch. I then cut the branch into about 8" sections in the spring once roots are visible. I then plant the sections in pots. Its been fail proof for me.

Has anyone else done this?

fig_it_about_it: Did you bury the entire branches in the soil of the outdoor dormant fig tree? Yes, the air layer will also take roots in the outdoor dormant fig tree if you bury the branches in the soil with mulch on the top and by the spring the branches should have healthy and strong roots. Thanks for sharing.

Best,
Tam

I wrap the entire branch with a tube I created that's filled with dirt.