Air layering with root balling and orlah count
Question
Good morning. I have a question regarding the propagating the saplings by the method in the youtube link. Is the fruit still the subject of orlah? https://youtu.be/mqYJBPsflQg?si=CfRqhUweVq49ifCu
Answer
Thank you for sharing the fascinating clip on a novel propagation method!
To answer your question, once the sapling is planted in the ground or pot as a new tree it is subject to orlah laws even if it is originally from a mature tree.
Expansion:
In general, today trees are propagated using shoots from mature trees and are rarely grown commercially from the seed. All of the resulting saplings are subject to orlah laws, the count beginning once planted in the ground.
The rule of thumb is if the shoot is disconnected (or appears to be disconnected) from the mother tree, it is a new tree and subject to orlah. This is the case even if a shoot sprouts from underground from the mature tree's root system!
The only case where you wouldn't need to restart the orlah count from a shoot is if it sprouts from the base of the tree in a way that is clear that it is above ground and on the trunk; in that case, its status follows that of the tree it is growing on.