air layer - what went wrong?

[QuintinBonsai]

If you have the EXACT SAME problem as eland, the bark below your gridle is also black; NO the branch will probably never make it as an air-layer because the xylem is likely clogged.

If you have green bark on both sides but no roots, YES, but wait until next spring - nothing much is going to happen without any leaves. A dusting with rooting hormone might also be helpful then.

Well it's definitely not black below the girdle, and is green on both sides. I'll try again this spring.

 

[erb.75]

You don't want it to callous. You want it to throw roots. When it callouses it is healing instead of throwing roots.

Sometimes this means you didn't make your airlayer girdle wide enough (so the bark below and bark above doesn't heal across the wound) and sometimes it means that you didn't remove ALL of the cambium in the airlayer, or perhaps left some of the phloem.

When you girdle the tree you need to remove EVERYTHING down to and including the phloem. The removal of the cambium keeps the tree from healing. The removal of the phloem blocks carbohydrates and photosynthates from flowing down the trunk, and these excess materials gather at the wound site and trigger root formation. The level beneath the phloem (called the xylem) is what transports water and nutrients UP the trunk and is what keeps the part of the tree above the girdle alive. So you want to cut your girdle deep but not TOO deep. Fortunately the xylem is located in the deeper woodier layers of the trunk and it is pretty hard to cut too deep. In almost all cases air-layers fail because you girdled too shallow, or left some cambium or phloem behind.

I had one of my air layers heal over (looked like some mushy bark was present)...the branch was about an inch wide and I made the girdle 1.5 inches or so. The leaves have started to go from darker green like the rest of the tree to a lighter green. It's an elm. Should I try to cut the girdle wider?

 

[erb.75]

The tree looks alive on both sides of the girdle. I might just cut it off...this damn air layer means I haven't worked on the tree all season yet. I'd rather just go buy the same size tree as my air layer for $20 and not waste an entire season. It was fun to try though! Definitely a learning experience. I think I might just need to cut deeper and wider for these chinese elms...I don't know if I got roots in any of my four layers I tried this year

 

[GrimLore]

The tree looks alive on both sides of the girdle. I might just cut it off...this damn air layer means I haven't worked on the tree all season yet. I'd rather just go buy the same size tree as my air layer for $20 and not waste an entire season. It was fun to try though! Definitely a learning experience. I think I might just need to cut deeper and wider for these chinese elms...I don't know if I got roots in any of my four layers I tried this year

In "general" if the branch you are attempting to layer is 1 inch wide take 2 inches of bark(two times the width of the branch). Make sure you peel it right down to the wood and scrub the wood clean with alcohol. "Most" times that insures it won't heal over. For the record you can try it again next Spring at the healed over spot.

Grimmy

 

[0soyoung]

this damn air layer means I haven't worked on the tree all season yet.

You could have done just about anything you wanted to the rest of the tree. And, you still can, independent of whether you retry the layer this season, wait until next year, or lop the branch off.