Wrong moss for air layering

Jluke33

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So, I thought I might try my hand at an air layer since summer temps last so long here in 8a. Might just have enough time to get some good roots or just leave it on till spring. So last night I followed all the steps to perform a successful air layer, only to find out later on that I may have been using the wrong moss. So what I had on hand was “Sphagnum Peat Moss” miracle grow brand. However in reading up more on air layering, apparently peat moss is not recommendEd so much as pure Sphagnum moss. So the question is, will the use of this moss significantly reduce my chances of a successful air layer?
 

sorce

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I think we've all had that brick of peat moss just sitting around since the beginning!

It's worth changing out and plenty fine to do so.

Did you use a RadialDisk? You can do it all better!

Sorce
 

ShadyStump

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I've seen plenty of videos on air layering for orchard purposes, especially from places with less developed economies, where they use regular soil from the ground. Peat can be highly acidic, which might make a difference, but if you're no too concerned about a possible failure I for one would appreciate seeing how the accidental experiment plays out.
 

Mash

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I use Sphagum Moss shredded fine which is different that peat moss mixed with Coconut Coir. Some people use bonsai soil I have tried it and have less success. I shred the moss so I can wash most of it out of the roots before planting. If you don't shred it I find you are stuck with a moss ball in the center of the roots.
 

Jluke33

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I've seen plenty of videos on air layering for orchard purposes, especially from places with less developed economies, where they use regular soil from the ground. Peat can be highly acidic, which might make a difference, but if you're no too concerned about a possible failure I for one would appreciate seeing how the accidental experiment plays out.
I did some cuttings a while back in a combination of this peat moss and pearlite. They all rooted quite well and are surviving fine. So I suppose it will come down to how pricey the pure sphagnum is at my local nursery and whether I am feeling cheap that day or not 😅
 

Jluke33

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I think we've all had that brick of peat moss just sitting around since the beginning!

It's worth changing out and plenty fine to do so.

Did you use a RadialDisk? You can do it all better!

Sorce
Hey radial Disk looks like a lotta fun! Maybe I’ll give it a go on my next attempt!
 

Hack Yeah!

Omono
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I've used peat moss for many layers and it works just fine. Maples/Hawthorne/Hackberry

Not much luck with malus though, maybe that's the problem...
 

Jluke33

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update here for those that asked. Opened up yesterday to check on it and it had some scarring but no roots. Not even the beginnings. based on some other posts here I'm not necessarily convinced it was the peat moss causing the issue. could be a number of rookie mistakes contributing to the failed layer! maybe impatience, wrong time of year, etc. though I am quite sure I got all the cambium off. thanks for the advice everyone and I guess I'll be waiting till June to give it another go!

any tips for aftercare of a branch that failed the layer? When I opened it up there were a few ants crawling around at the wound site.
 

n8

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Did you do this layer at the beginning of September? I would not expect roots to form so quickly and I typically plan on at least two months for faster rooting trees like Japanese and trident maples.

What kind of plant was this?

For layers that fail, I typically just leave the setup in place and hope for the best through winter and check after it warms up in the spring. I would also recommend layering sooner than June. I do February-April layers in my climate, which is when leaves have fully emerged. I reckon you could probably do about the same.
 

Jluke33

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Did you do this layer at the beginning of September? I would not expect roots to form so quickly and I typically plan on at least two months for faster rooting trees like Japanese and trident maples.

What kind of plant was this?

For layers that fail, I typically just leave the setup in place and hope for the best through winter and check after it warms up in the spring. I would also recommend layering sooner than June. I do February-April layers in my climate, which is when leaves have fully emerged. I reckon you could probably do about the same.
It’s a standard acer palmatum, and I figured it was worth a try since it’s a landscape size tree that I was going to prune the branch either way come spring. Yeah, I read it would be at least two months, and that it wasn’t the best time but I figured I should have seen at least the beginnings of some roots a month in IF it was going to work
 
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