Hi everybody,

I have a tree/plant that I rooted this year, I want to do an air layer on it next Spring if at all possible, I have a few questions?

#1 can I do that to a tree that is that young, it is about 4' right now and still growing fast.

#2 it has two limbs that are about 2' long now, but they are about pencil size (dia)growing straight up from the soil

#3 I could take one from the top main part it is about 5/8" thick.
I need to add, the nodes are about 3" apart???


Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Ciao Cecil, Is the branch brown or still green?  With brown it would be easier to remove bark so to cause a wound that you would put bag over and fill with dirt to airlayer. 

Hi Maggie

The entire tree is still real green!

I dont know cecil, In MY opinion, I would wait till it got brown, so you can make a good cut ( wound ).  This is just what I would do.  Ciao Cecil! 

P.S. Cecil,

I did have almost perfect luck this spring and summer rooting green cuttings off the trees while they were active,  maybe if you just slightly make little mark with sharp knife, dont go too deep, you may be able to pull off, like I said, the green CUTTINGS from my tree worked wonderfully.  Ciao

Maggie,

I was going to attempt it next Spring, maybe it would be brown by then, yes/no?

Cecil im pretty sure all new growth turns brown after dormancy.

That's what I was thinking, maybe it would be hardened off by next Spring

Hey there Cecil,
ya bet your shorts it will be brown color the stems thats is next spring.
I would wait till the plant starts budding out and then do the airlayer at that point .
But thats just me.

and here i am, gonna cut every tree i have to about 2 inches off the ground this november :). i don't think i can air layer a nub in the spring.

Shorts?

Yes shorts , thats what we call pants that are short, shorts, cutoffs, you know when we have summer here? I now have to wear long pants ie: jeans because its to cool here. Can't drink my coffee out on the patio anymore either .
Cecil i you can airlayer that in spring yes .
I airlayered my first year ronde last month and the branch was green as money, same plant i showed picture of here on forum.
I severed it from parent after 4 weeks and put in cup for a full week and shipped it.
Best Health

That is good to know about plants having shorts!

I will TRY and remember that....

I'm glad your first air layer worked out for ya.

I know what the books say, but I found that cutting the bark encouraged ROOT ROT! This occurs after transplanting them, of course.
Find my method here:
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=2942139&highlight=layering
It seems like everything happens at the nodes !
Also, if you have fig shrubs instead of trees, you can simply bury part of a low hanging  branch in the topsoil (I usually cover the buried part in plastic & weigh it down with a rock). I haven't checked mine yet, but with all the rain we've had, I expect good results. In fact, observing an older tree rooting on its own, thanks very much, gave me the idea for layering in the first place!
Good Luck,
Stephen in NW AR

Thanks Stephen,

This is great info. for myself and others!

Come to think of it i never did scratch the bark when doing airlayer .
Stephen yes i like the burying of low branch the best of all the options.
It to me is same as airlayer except no cup (easier)
What i do is dig trench , cut of all the leaves except at the tip of branch, lay it down and i use a metal coat hanger with a hook end and slide it down around branch to hold it there, cover everything except end with few leaves and keep it moist.
Never has failed me.

Martin,

The plant is in a 3 gal bucket, so just putting soil over it is out I would think!

No no i know Cecil i was just explaining how the process is  easily done, no i know you cant do it with yours. It works best if stem is at soil level coming out of main trunk.

From my own experience, mature fig wood does air-layer
much, much, much  better/quicker than the green wood...

Another down-side about green-air-layering; once you think
that the twig is well rooted (it takes longer), and then 'cut' it
and pot it up, most likely the whole thing just 'rots' up.
I have recently lost such-things, due to my push to
reproduce a precious plant.

Yeah, stick to brown wood.

Then I will wait until Spring of 011, assuming I don't kill it first with Love


Thanks All

Late-spring/early-summer 2010 may be just fine....

Ok George,


I will remember that.

As always THANKS

it is a curious thing about the rooting properties of hardened wood. james robin sent me a hollier, and had to cut the top off to get it in the bag. it was hardened wood, and i cut that top into 3 pieces and stuck them in sand. all three rooted in a few days, and now i've got 4 trees.

Guys:
really appreciate the brown wood observation!
With my beginner's luck, I hadn't really paid attention to that, but will from now on.
Stephen

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