I've been propagating fruit trees through air layering for a few years now, and honestly, timing is half the battle. My personal experience has taught me that the best time to start the air layering process is in the spring, once the sap starts flowing. Trees are waking up and getting ready to push out new growth, and you want to tap into that energy. I've had great success in May, especially with citrus varieties like lemon and lime, as well as with fig trees.

One year, I tried air layering an apple tree in late summer, thinking it would work just as well. Nope. It was a failure. The tree didn't have the same vigor and resources to heal and produce roots as it does in spring. The bark was harder to peel back cleanly, and the callus formation I got that time was minimal at best. The experience was a bit disheartening, but it taught me the hard way that when it comes to propagation, going with the natural rhythm of the tree's growth cycle is key.

If you're aiming for a successful new plant, get your tools ready in spring. I usually apply sphagnum moss wrapped in plastic around the wound, and that seems to hold moisture just right. While I keep an eye on it through the weeks, I find that roots generally start forming by mid to late summer under the right conditions, and by autumn, they are ready to be separated from the parent tree. But yeah, every year I press my luck a bit and try again. It's always a bit of a science experiment, but isn't that half the fun of it?