We attempted air layering on a olive tree about a month ago. The leaves on the branch are dying now.
Did we kill the branch, or is all the energy being sent to the scaring to create roots?

I also just learned (from other post) about Forsythe potting and wonder if this would work better on the olive?

I don't know anything about air layering but I would love to see a pic of your tree. Someone gave me a tree and told me it was an olive tree. It may just be an ornamental one but the leaves are pretty and so are the blooms.

I will see if I can get a picture this afternoon (suppose to get heavy thunderstorms this afternoon) prior to any rain.

I should have known better than to post without a pic LOL , it was one of those last minute ideas of "oooo I need to ask this question"

I have had success using the Forsyth (Forsythe) Pot method but have a lower percentage of success with hardwood cuttings. I sent you a Treemail.

I am going to try anything and everything to get this guy to give us another tree - We do not care if it ever fruits, it just means a lot to us -

We have ask nursery's about this tree and they have been - Oh yea you should have tons of olives on that tree ---- We have only EVER had but one olive start to form , and both my wife and I were both in the yard when we saw a bird fly out of the tree - never saw our poor little olive again

I will be honest with you, Stewart, I have never had an olive tree and don't know anything about air-layering it. I do air-layer my "mother" fiddle leaf ficus tree three times each year. I air-layered six of her branches and just this afternoon unwrapped those branches. Anyway, this is what air-layering looks like on a fig tree.

The first photo is the (rooted) air-layered area followed by a photograph of the branch.

Hey Ken @drdawg, try propagating that Fiddle Leaf Fig from a single leaf:
http://www.lifelovelarson.com/...

I look forward to seeing photos of PlantMania's propagation success with the Olive tree.

@Greene, I want mature plants, well-rooted and 2-3' tall. That's the business item and sells out as soon as I list them.

Okay then. Back to the olive trees...

Perhaps there will be some folks chime in from CA, where I have seen lots and lots of olive trees. They are grown there commercially, so I am sure air-layering would be done with those trees.

Greene, my point was only to show what air-layering should look like when done on a tree. Technique (and perhaps timing) is everything.

Ken, your photos are very nice but they show the end product. Would you consider adding some photos of the step-by-step process beginning with how to cut the branch, then how to add the material (I believe you use the S. moss?), then how to wrap it all to keep it moist...etc.
Maybe something like this:
http://garden.org/ideas/view/d...

Yes, I took them only to show that end result, since I had just unwrapped the sphagnum moss a few hours before taking the photos.

Greene, you have already posted a link to my article "Air-Layering". What do you want me to do? The technique is shown and explained in the article.

I might note that I have altered the procedure slightly from that original article posting. I no longer completely girdle the branches but only remove that outer bark-like tissue from 2/3 of the circumference of the branch. By leaving that 1/3 area intact, I have pretty much eliminated losing the branches by cutting too deeply.

I know it can be done - I saw it on the Internet
(actually did watch one video where they air layered a Olive tree. I want to say it was in Israel)

Ken, I think you may have just hit on what I think my problem was/is. I think we went too deep, even though we tried not too. I am planning on going about it at different angles now. I am going to try the potting so I can do multiple tries instead of one larger branch.

(Thank you both)

Jeff, I tried all sorts of things to propagate my fiddle leaf. I've done cuttings in water, cuttings in moist sphagnum, and cuttings in moist potting soil. I had some success but nothing like air-layering. It took three years to get it all down pat, but now I am getting close to 100% rooting. I also invested in a very expensive rooting hormone and some gel powder. Using this formulae would not be too practical for just a hobbyist, at least not a hobbyist who does little propagation via cuttings/air-layering. I haven't used powders like Rootone or Fast Root in a couple of years, and as far as I know, they might work for me in my rooting processes.

Who is Jeff?

Someone I was chatting with via T-Mail, Greene.

What happens in Treemail stays in Treemail...just sayin'.

All is good I knew who he was talking too :)

Call me anything ya want, just not late for dinner

I thought the information might be more useful on the forum, Greene. I did not mean to error.

@PlantMania Some plants don't air layer well on old branches. olive tree cuttings root well when using softwood and semi-hardwood cuttings so if one was to air layer a branch it would need to be a very small one. also it would need to be free of both flowers and fruit. Hope this helps and don't give up.

@drdawg Ken thanks for sharing the info, there is nothing wrong with what you posted so there is no error. No private info was shared and this ain't Vegas.... just sayin'.