OK fig friends, in cuttings I find the best cuttings comes from wood that is a year old. Well, in terms of air layering -- is there any advantages
taking older wood like 3 or 4 yrs old or younger wood preferred?

Thanks.

Paully

Paully,

It depends on when you're planning on removing the layers. You need to make sure the root system that develops within the growing medium will support the top of the tree when it is removed.  If you take it mid summer (while the layer is still in growth) a smaller tree is better.  If you take the layer at the end of the year and can let the roots develop while the top of the layer is dormant, a larger layer can be taken.

I had planned to experiment with taking a larger cutting during the summer.  Then removing the leaves from the top before planting to allow the roots some time to establish themselves before new leaves pushed out.  I haven't gotten around to do that, yet.

~james

Paul, I had good success with layering off of 3 year old wood, although 2 year also works great.  I'm just guessing 4+ year is a bit too mature.  I think I know the reason, but at this moment, I just cant remember the details from the horticulture classes I took.

Talk to you soon,
Nas

James, Nas  ---  thanks for the inputs. I am planning to do multiple layering on a branch for friends and such info based on your experiences are great.

Paul this is a great topic you brought up as I was not even aware that you could do more than one airlayer per branch. I have a few more questions I want to ask and dont want to start a new Thread.

1. Can you airlayer a branch that is longer than a ft? Or is it better to use shorter lenghts ?

2. Does amount of leafs on that airlayer affect the first transplant and should some some of the leaves be removed? 

For example a 1.5ft branch with 10 leaves

3. Is humidity still a factor after removing the airlayer from Mother tree?

Paully,

If you are planning on air-layering in succession on the same limb, only the lowest one on the limb should be fully girdled.  The one(s) that are higher up should be partially girdled.   If your limb is thin, you should provide support for the multiple layers.

Nelson,

1) yes / not necessarily
2) probably / more than likely
3) yes

I'm sorry, I've run out of time.  I will expand on my ideas later.

~james

Just my two cents, but I did three layers on one long limb at the same time summer before last on a Texas Everbearing. Not knowing any better, I girdled the branch on each consecutive one and all three rooted well and are now in ground trees. I was surprised later when I learned that, the  limb shouldn't be girdled all the way. Wish I had taken a picture, but all was well in the end.

I once air layered a green ischia. Took a branch that was prolly 2 or 3 years old and about 1" diameter, and placed the layer about 3 ft. from the end of the branch. Ended up with a root ball inside the moss about the size of a tennis ball. I cut it loose during the heat of summer and potted it up in a 1 gal pot, regular miracle grow type mix. The leaves wilted down and most of them fell off, but a few leaves at the top stayed and it started growing well. I had to stake it up in the pot. It was a whopper. Gave it to my parents for their yard. I had air layered many different kinds of plants and usually layered smaller cuttings of about 1 ft. on my figs, so I guess I just had dumb luck layering one that big.

One thing to remember... figs are a bit different than most plants.  It is hard to screw them up.  Once I posted some of my experiences on a plant propagation forum and people were impressed with my results, until someone asked me what I was propagating.  Someone even suggested that propagating figs wasn't really propagating.  LOL.

Tim, the wood has enough energy to push out roots as cuttings, it will push out roots as an air-layer.  The reason not to fully girdle the limb on higher layers is the leave send down carbohydrates and photosynthates including auxin (think rooting hormones) down the tree.  The auxins get trapped at the girdle and their build up.  The build up help coax the adventitious buds (the cells that would normally grow new branches if you were to prune your tree) into becoming root cells.  It is not a necessary step to girdle, but it seems to speed up root formation.

Good Daughter, the wilting of the leaves is due to the roots not being able to support the top of the layer.  When my trees did not have sufficient water during Houston summers, I have seen my trees go into a dormant-esque state.  The leaves will fall off thereby reducing transpiration.  I have read somewhere (but not tried it) if the leaves are cut (about in half) it will reduce transpiration, but the leaves will continue to produce photosynthate.

~james

James that's an excellent suggestion on not girdling completely the higher up's air layers. Thanks. I have experimented not girdling completely
last season & it was successful. The multi layering is a better way to meet commitments than pruning so many limbs.

Nelson  -  the answers provided by James are exactly what I do. I select a short branch not more than 12 inches to air layer. After cutting off
a successful air layered branch & potting, I only keep at most 2 leaves. Most times just one leaf. I leave plant in shaded place, sometimes burying
a third of the pot. I make a dome with a breather hole.

Hello,

Can you put a larger piece of plastice around the first roots, with more rooting medium in it, or even potting soil, to get a larger root ball on the air layer and keep the branch on the tree longer?  Like, maybe all summer and then cut the branch off in the fall?

I live in South Louisiana, and it's like a jungle down here.  I have a story about one of my two Celeste trees that I would be so ashamed to tell anyone, but that's one vigorous tree.  After what I discovered the other day, I can't believe it's lived this long and been so strong.  I hope that, now it's out of the pot it was in, it will be all right, but I want to get some air layers from it because it's a sort of legacy tree and I am a very ignorant person to have let the tree get into the trouble it's in.  In spite of this trouble, it hasn't affected the tree in any way I can ascertain.

I think the only way you can kill a Celeste fig tree is to put it where there is poor drainage, although I was told that some years ago the FMV decimated so many Celeste trees around here.

Thanks,

noss

James, Can you expand on not girdling completely?  What exactly does that mean?  Thanks

James may correct me or expand more on it but "girdling completely" means removing a certain width of the bark from all around the trunk completing a circle so there is complete bark disconnect between the part being air-layered and the part below. So carbohydrates and photosynthates including auxin have high resistance to move down so it helps the rooting process for the air-layered part. However, one may chose not to complete the circle and leave a path in the bark so the above stuff have some path to flow down and help the remaining branch below (& the plant). The width of the patch left uncut will depend on the diameter of the branch. It is almost like one cuts an eighth of an inch from a ring.

There are a couple of ways to air-layer without a complete girdle.

1) No girdle at all.  I've been successful at air-layering without marking the tree.  I don't remember it to take much longer to root.
2) Partial girdle: Either do as Ottawan said or dig a knife into one side of the limb then slide a toothpick between the limb and the flap to prevent the scar from healing.
3) Etiolating.  If you can plan ahead, etiolate the limb before air-layering.  I use black electrical tape (sticky side out, please) and wrap a 3-5 inch section of  the limb.  The lack of light will start the process of converting cells to root meristem.

If you have the foresight and time, #3 can be used with any other air-layering method. 

Noss,  It is difficult to maneuver in the tree.  Also, once the roots start to grow more vigorously, you will want to give them water frequently.  One option is to set your air-layer later in the season then remove it from the parent tree when it goes dormant.  Pot it up and let the roots establish themselves before the tree breaks dormancy.

~james

James, question on 'etiolating'.
If one is ready to start air-layering, will it help for some reason (?) to delay air-layering and do 'etiolating' first before starting the air-layering?
My feeling is 'not' because etiolating will merge with airlayering (medium creating darkness) when air-layering is started when one is ready.
It may help when one wants to air-layer but the branch is dormant yet and wait is better so 'etiolating' may be a good start.

I suppose I don't really know.  So the rest of this post is my interpretation of what I have seen without any sort of good control to measure against. 

I always think about resource management.  It the longer the layer is on the tree (whether or not rooting has occurred), the more moisture is lost.  So the longer it takes the roots to start the less moisture is there.  Again, I'm not sure there is enough of a difference to matter.

I agree with  you about etiolating while the tree is dormant.  I have also found there are times when a girdle is not desirable.  When a parent tree undergoes stress, the portion of the limb beyond the girdle is more susceptible to the stress than other limbs.  Also, when layering a larger limb, the girdle weakens how much weight the limb can hold and has a greater possibility of breaking (same with a really thin limb, well). 

If pushed to answer the question, if you are ready to air-layer, go for it.  If you are planning on it in the future, etiolating ahead of time helps speed up the process when you're ready.

~james

Great info James. Thanks.
That makes air-layering of a branch close to the ground is less problematic if it can be anchored to the ground easily. No pots and stuff but just bury a part of the branch and dig it out at convenient time. I have left air-layered mock orange plants connected to mother tree for up to two years and got a big ready-made tree when dug out.
I have a couple of air-layering to do (ornamental olive tree and Korean Dwarf lilac) so I better tape it until I am ready. Taping it easy and fast prep.

You are right about breakage sometimes with full girdling. I had 1/2" branch of Russian olive tree air-layered at a height of 6 feet and it looked good all the time from below. One day it was not there! It had fallen from the tree on the other side of the cedar hedges. It had good roots and survived. The part of the branch just below the girdle had rotted because of the moisture.

Thanks for the input, James.

noss