Air layer separation anxiety

[Paul G]

So I got this monster JM for a song and put three layers on it at different points back in mid May. All three of them have calloused over nicely, and two have put out roots...one more than the other.

What is the smart move here?

I'm inclined to separate the stronger one now so it has time to develop even more roots in the training pot between now and late September/early October. But what about the other two layers? Is it wiser to separate them now and let whatever roots develop grow into the training pot, or should I leave them on the tree and separate closer to fall, when there will be more roots int he sphagnum?

Thanks in advance,
Paul

 

[0soyoung]

In sphagnum, the adventitious roots tend to be fragile, thick, fleshy things. Placed in a substrate they will 'harden' or morph into normal, much stronger, less fragile, brownish roots with white tips. So, one option is to replace the bagged sphagnum with a pot of substrate (split a pot and close it around the girdle, use bits of sphagnum as a sealer so that the substrate doesn't get lost though the cracks) that you water periodically or 'seal' up in plastic. This is pretty easy to do on vertical stems, using a screw or a few loops of wire underneath the pot to keep it from sliding down.

Alternatively, leave what you've got in place and later, add another layer of damp sphagnum over the top of what you now have and leave it over winter maybe. Even fleshy adventitious roots will become cold resistant with the normal course of deepening frosts/freezes. The extra, damp sphagnum will insulate what roots you've got. But worse case, they get nipped over the winter - the whole process will start anew next growing season. Some lost time, but not a lost air-layer necessarily.

The worst thing to do is to harvest the layer before it has produced enough roots to survive. You never know until you experience this disaster, though. Since you have three, maybe leave the weakest on the tree over winter and go with your best guess otherwise.

 

[leatherback]

I separate layers as soon as they start to root. I plant them, keep the rootball very moist and place the thin out of the wind in semi-shade (An hour of sun early morning). So far, they shoot roots out in all directins and fill the pot in some 6 weeks.

 

[cbroad]

@Paul G

You'll probably want to get your layers potted up with at least 30 days before your average first frost date to get established enough before winter. If you find yourself with minimal roots going into fall/winter and decide to keep the layer on the tree, I've heard of people wrapping the rootball in bubble wrap to help insulate it. Never tried it myself but sounds like a good idea.

Good luck!