Hi! I am new at air layering, but I have had success nonetheless. The best time of year for me has been right before they leaf out, in the spring. They have rooted quite quickly and I severed them from the shrub/tree in the fall and potted them. I would scrape the branch all the way around so that the shrub doesn't try to heal it self over if I only scraped one side of it. Pencil thickness is good, but make sure that it isn't old wood. I do put rooting hormone on mine, the powder kind, although honestly I am not sure if I need it. Then I wrap it well with moist (not wet) moss that I found in our woods. Holding the moss it place with my hand I completely covered it with aluminum foil. I think foil works best because it helps it not to dry out as fast, because the sun bounces off of it. If you were to use, let's say plastic wrap or something, then you would be making a mini greenhouse. Check your air layer in about a month to see how it's coming along. If you are too eager you may hurt the roots that are coming when you unwrap the foil. Some people wrap the moss in plastic wrap, then put the foil over that so that when they unwrap the foil they will be able to see if there are any roots without disturbing them. Hope that helps a bit!

Thank you so much for your reply! I really appreciate all of the information. I didn't even think to pollinate all of them - I just did 3 because the videos I watched had only pollinated one or two and I thought that would be enough. Unfortunately, my all of my paternal plant's blooms have fallen off (too many suckers, a lot of the blooms were on their way out when I had bought them, but the plant itself looks very healthy. It's growing rapidly - I can't believe it. It's a good time to repot though, since it's not like I have to sacrifice my pretty little flowers). By the way, about how long does it take for new flowers to bloom after repotting? Once both plants are ready, I'll try again. I'm so excited! That's a great idea as well! I had just tied strings around the ones I pollinated. I had seen a few people take off the petals of their pollinated ones, but I wasn't sure how much of a difference it'd make. And even if that is just a superstition, I wouldn't be surprised if it were true. It may be the mother plant's fault - but I also don't know if I pollinated too late? The flowers had been quite open by the time I pollinated, and the paternal plant's pollen was also a bit old (though, I read older pollen is actually considered better in some cases). Thank you for the suggestion, I'll give it a go! Would getting a humidifier do the same job, or would it not help as much since all of the humidity wouldn't be concentrated in one little space? (I think all the plants could use a little more humidity) Will do :) Wow, your seedlings look great! The leaves are very interesting - good luck with them!

Another lesson from this is not to plant seedlings right on top of each other. If you put six seeds in one hole, as it appears you've done, you're going to have six plants coming out of that hole, each of which would fill that whole pot and a lot more. That will make separation of the plants without damaging the roots very hard to do. The roots of your plants are all tangled up. If you plan to put a bunch of plants in one pot, with the idea that you're eventually going to separate them, at least spread them out. I suspect that they're so tangled up that separation won't be smart. Snip away.

Pictures are also helpful for us in figuring out what might be occurring with your plants. Don't give up. Gardening is complex but also simple; if you are persistent you will get something to harvest each year, even if it is different. The most likely issue with what you described is "hardening off," which is not getting the plants used to the conditions outdoors before moving them.