Greetings all Forum members

So, I have a Hardy Chicago fig that is full of figs that are ripening each day.  The tree is about 9 feet tall with about 6 or 7 lateral main branches, with many smaller branches from each main branch. 

I'm wondering when is a good time to start an air layering or two to start some new plants?  I don't want to compromise the superIor gowth and developing and ripening figs with air layer, but it seems like a good time to "start the process."

I'm in central Maryland, z 7a, and heavy frost is a good 3 months away.. temps today still low 90's.

I also have a much smaller Brown Turkish in a pot, that  I'd like to air layer as well.. It has three small branches, growing laterally, vice vertical, but FULL of figs..

Many thanks in advance for guidance and advice..

I think you need at least 4-5 wks to root the air layer and then another 4 wks or so to get growth into the pot you plant it in.   I think its a little late.

I think the best time is in the late spring.  Somewhere around mid June here in 6B. 

Mark,

You would be pushing the limits of air layering if you tried to start now. You could get the roots in the small media but once removed from the tree is the concern with going dormant. My choice for this time of year would be cuttings and rooting them indoors and overwintering till spring. 

I would however take the time and make notes on which branches you wish to air layer and place a loose plastic tie on that area. Use different colors for different spots. 

When spring comes go back and place the air layers where the ties are as the tree starts coming out of dormancy. 


Chris

If you have a greenhouse to put the new air-layers in, you can start later.

You need to wait till late enough in the season so that the wood you are air-layering in hardened sufficiently ("brown" not green).

I started several about 4 weeks ago in San Diego, but can start them as late as early September and finish them in the greenhouse.

If you get them started, even to the point of a minimal amount of roots, and keep them in a humid greenhouse, most will finish rooting more like a cutting. I got 3 out of 4 this way last year, when I started them very late in the season, and they were beginning to go dormant.

Great

i appreciate everyone's comments so far, and now I'm thinking maybe cuttings vice air layering.   I'd appreciate some good tips on taking cuttings as well.  Although I don't have a green house per se, i do have a 10 x 10 sun room that we fill with all of our over- wintering deck plants (geraniums, jasmine, banana trees) so i could find room for an air-layered fig or cuttings as well.

thanks again..

I just recently got a new treelet grown from an air-layer that was started at the beginning of July.  It is now in a one gallon pot, and looks perfectly healthy.

However, I am concerned about the coming winter taking its toll on the new tree.  I have a good growing area in my kitchen, next to large sliding-glass doors that face South.

Should I NOT allow the tree to go dormant in the cooler weather, bring it inside, and let it continue to grow throughout the Winter, then return it to the outside conditions next Spring...or, should I give it a brief dormancy period ( Oct-Dec. ) and take the tree into the house for the Jan-Feb freezes, and allow the tree to start up and continue growing from there.  Either way the tree will get lots of South sun.  My concerns are that the new roots, and new tree will be damaged by the cold weather if I store it in my unheated shed.

I need advice.

Frank

Frank,

The one I got my celeste tree from (also a new rooted cutting) advised that I skip dormancy this year. I would agree with his statement as there are only a small batch of roots on the tree when transplanted. 

In addition I am just now potting some cuttings that will stay active this winter under some HO T5 lights or Metal Halide.  


Chris

Chris...Thanks.  I will come into my house, and take a place next to the glass doors.

Frank

PS...It's a very special fig - (ethnic, unknown ) - and I don't want to lose it.

I've been toying around with the same idea now that the figs are gone :( :(  It has been in the triple digits here for a while, it finally rained this week - lots of storms so the temp went down to the 90's whew! 

Skipping dormancy is not a problem. The tree will be small enough that you don't want to emphasize fruiting, yet, anyway.

I overwinter all my Black Madeira plants in the greenhouse, without dormancy because they need more time to get well established. Doesn't hurt them.

I just got a bunch or rooter cups and I'm going to try and air layer about 10 branches. I 'll let you all know how it goes. I'm also putting over 30 cuttings I just harvested into soil w/ a ziplock bag covering the pot. And I'm going to try some hardwood cuttings from trees that have finished their fig production. I will keep anyone who pm's me in the loop. I honestly have no idea how things will work out but I'm game and will give it my best shot.

I cut off some "5-weekers" today and started 3 more big ones using open-topped gallon milk jugs. The tallest is 65 inches from top of air layer soil to growing tip. In my zone there should still be plenty of heat to finish them off this season. I've previously left a late season air layer in place until it went dormant, and then cut it and stored it in the garage for the rest of winter, which worked great too. I love air layering! How else could you get a 5-foot tree in just over a month?

I've read a lot about air-layering method, and it seems that figs in particular are very responsive to this propagation technique.  I'm wondering if most successful growers apply a rooting hormone to the nicked branch, or skip that process entirely?

Ken in Tuscon, really nice new plants there!

Whoaaaa Ken... very impressive!  I can't quite tell - are those on multi-trunked trees?

I can hardly wait till I have trees large and healthy enough for that.

Thanks, Mark & Gina. The pair of air layers is on a Black Mission that was severely frost damaged. The main trunk was killed nearly to the ground and a bunch of suckers sprang up from the base. The left-hand suckers are too close to a cage I'm enlarging to protect some persimmons, so they have to go. I figured I'd air layer them, rather than just prune them off and throw them away.

Mark, I don't use rooting hormones. Air layers root so readily there's no need.

I'm pretty much letting all my young trees grow how they want for the first 2-3 years, so most are multi-trunked. If I ever decide to train them into single trunks, then I'll do the same thing and air layer any big branches or trunks that I want to remove.

Ken
Thanks for the info regarding your use or non-use of a rooting hormone. Seems like With many gardening things, some people have success one way or the other, and that's what they stick with..

Figs seem to want to just want to easily put out new roots.  i think I'll try it without hormone this go 'round.   I have plenty of main shoots growing from the main trunk to experiment on. 

Ken
When you let  the air layer'd tree go dormant and took the air layer to the garage, were there roots already started?  did you take the whole tree or cut it off and take the trunk? Sounds like the dormant air layer is a great way to go.

When the tree went dormant, there were already lots of roots showing in the 3-liter bottle I used for the air layer. I had never done one that large (4', with lots of branches) and I was nervous it would crash when I cut it off. I could have removed a lot of the leaves to balance the amount of water taken up by the roots to what would be lost through transpiration, but I opted to just let them drop on their own. If it had been earlier in the year, I couldn't have waited that long because by winter the roots would have been compacted into a nearly solid mass.

What seems to be working well so far on those fairly large ones I just "harvested" for a couple of local forum members is to put them (still in their original air layer containers) directly into buckets with about an inch and a half of water in the bottom. They're in the shade but I have to refill them daily; it keeps them from losing too much moisture, although the Black Mission (on the right) is yellowing a little and dropping a few leaves.

Greetings,

Just a quick update..

I started this thread back in August, and started two air layers on my Hardy Chicago at that time That I'm going to snip from the main tree this weekend. Fingers crossed that Both are well rooted and ready to pot up. While inspecting the progress of the air layers, I noted at least two other stalks that I had covered with mulch earlier in the year that are now dropping roots down into the mulch.

So, in addition to the two air layers, I have two additional branches with roots ready for planting.

My Brown Turkish, purchased Spring this year and in a large pot, has about 15 or so figs just waiting to ripen! Temps in the low 80's today, but that is probably it for the year. Cooler and more rain from nw on.

I guess I should start some cutings from these as well.