Air Layering

Suppose you had a strong need for propagating more fruit or nut trees for a food source but you have no way to get the plants. What would you do? Fortunately for us the plant world is both prolific and highly adapted to self-propagate. Yes, most trees can be propagated from seed, but it's difficult, and usually takes a long period of time to get bearing trees. Also with seeds it's sexual reproduction and as such it's difficult to know how the resulting offspring will turn out. One method to speed this up and avoid any other growing from seed issues is through cloning. There are two main methods of cloning plants; from cuttings or air layering. Not all trees and the like will take well from cuttings, or the success rate is so low it's almost impossible to do. The best way I've found to propagate trees, vines, or shrubs is through air layering or Marcotting. This involves exposing the cambium of the plant and then promoting root growth in the exposed area. The resulting new root bearing stem is obviously an identical clone of the original plant and will thus bear true. The methodology is as follows and is done visually through photographs.

Expose the cambium by carefully cutting and peeling the bark away.

Fill and slit a plastic bag with damp coconut fiber

and lightly dust it with rooting compound.

Wrap and tie the slit bag around the area of

exposed cambium and wait for new roots to form.

Cut the limb off below the bag and carefully remove the bag to

expose the new roots and trim the limb up high near the new roots.

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Plant and water well (this photo is from 2 weeks after planting).

For a more in-depth read on how new roots are formed, as well as other growth processes in plants, this article on the meristem in Wikipedia is a good start.