Water bottle air layer figs

Also virginia creeper and tomatoes-

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Thanks for sharing. It’s a very simple easy to use concept. I’m surprised your Figs don’t die to the ground most years in zone 6b.

What are your inground varieties?

Tony

Some years ( when it gets like -5…-10F) I have had them all die to the ground.
The older they get, the tougher they are.
I used to wrap ,mulch, cover, but often ended up with rodent damage. So I quit wrapping
Bass recommends ; mothballs to prevent this,…have not tried, but may on a new planting,

Very nice technique! I may have to give this a try, beats trying to worm my way under a fig tree that’s all leafed out.

My best ,hardyest ones,are unknown local plants;

My best is one I found at the 3rd. Oldest house in charlston Wv.
The McFarland -Hubbard House
It had a cannonball shot through the roof in the civil war.
So iam calling it " cannon ball"
It is a mt. Etna type, very similar to ( and may be ?) Hardy Chicago .
The original plant I believe is gone.?
If it freezes to the ground (-5…-10F?) it will come up from the root and still produce figs.
Right now I have a few of them over 8’ tall some 6’…"still trying to assess winter damage, as it has been 0F here a few nights
I have a few cutting of this for trade, ( that were harvested befor the cold)
And possibly plants , depending on winter damage is my barely protected nursery.

My other best is ;
One I found in the historic town of Matewan Wv…in bloody Mingo Co.
Site of the Hatfield -Mcoy feud. …Matewan massacre
Mine wars etc. and a community called little Italy ( i.e. figs)
This plant was in the back yard of the Historic Matewan house, the front porch of wich served a the morge after the massacre.
I was staying there and admiring the fig .
One day the owner asked me if I wanted that old fig bush , as they were going to start construction on a new building there tomorrow .
I dug the whole thing up , a large bush,in July “after” a day of hard work at my job, and brought it home .
You could see the bullet holes in the wall from where the fig was.
The original plant is not there , it’s in my front yard.
Sorry if iam rambling here,I think it is a good story,and needs to be recorded somewhere that will out live me ( here ) as I have distributed these plants to NAFEX members and others.
Had no intentions of posting this here, but now glad you asked.

So Matewan is ; a yellow fig , not as hardy as my cannon ball , but second in line, also Mt. Etnna type ( I think) very hardy, " if" it freezes to the ground it also will produce a late crop of figs.

I have a few other unknown in ground locally acquired varietys,some do ok.

Also many newly acquired varietys ,I can not vouch for the hardyness of here.

Iam not selling fig plants !
But may consider trade.

Mostly just want people to know that the bottle method is a fool proof method to propagate figs,
If you are having trouble rooting fig cuttings, try the bottle ! :champagne::dizzy_face:
And after that, put some bottles on some figs !

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We like to hear these stories, what this place is about! I live in Michigan and I grow corn every other year in a 4x12 raised bed. last year a fig appeared in there! I took it out and call it corn fig. it is still seedling size, so hope it survives dormancy in my garage. It could be from old cuttings, or a seed from figs I have purchased. I often just toss the stems, and well some flesh with seed could have been in there. I have no idea? I probably will not have fruit till next year, it is still very small. If it even survives the winter.

Another thing is figs can often come with root knot nematodes.
By using " clean " potting soil (not soil from the ground) and placing the bottles up high , you can propagate a nematode free plant, from and infected plant.

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I did a test last year with 1 girdled and 1 not and the 1 I girdle rooted so much faster in 30 days it was full of roots vs the 1 I didn’t girdle it took 2 months.

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What a great idea! I will try this with roses.

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And other stuff too ! Let us know how it works .
Hopeing that if this catches on those bottles along our roads will become
Repurposed ,into a highly sought after commodity,full of useful plants,
Freely traded, then we just need to work on the unicorns , and rainbows .:+1:

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This is the best comment on here and it is buried! Such a simple process AND getting a clean start from infected stock. I use the same plastic bottle technique, but I don’t cut the bottom out. I just make slits in it. It allows a little more moisture to stay in the bottle. But the down side is a greenhouse effect when the sun heats up the bottle. I alleviate this by shading the bottle.

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Yep, you can cover it Reynolds wrap.

Tony

Dug through old photos and found one showing just how many airayers you can fit on a tree. These are paper cups wrapped in tin foil, mostly to hold moisture in.
image

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I bet you could get 1-2 more on there, don’t you think ?
Good job !
You are making me look like a slacker…

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Ha! Maybe a couple more :wink: I needed to get as many plants as possible from that one tree for a planting.

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How many of those were successful? When were they placed and did you rewater while they were rooting?

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Not all of them had rooted by the time I cut them, I stuck the ones that didn’t in pots and most of them eventually rooted from what I remember. I put them on in early March 2012, I do remember having to rewater once, I made a little depression in the top of the tinfoil to collect water and then poked holes and hosed it down.

I remember someone from Malaysia did about as many or maybe even more with plastic bags and that might be a better way to go since those would not dry out at all.

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This is my first water bottle air layered fig. Thanks for sharing such an easy air layering method.

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Yes,…!
So easy…