Air-layering succulents?

[aarnii]

Hello Nuts!

I want to air-layer this Crassula Ovata. It's an old photo, but it has a big 'foot' that half rotted and the base looks bad.

They are not wood, and the usual layering techniques would probably rot the trunk. I've read that some people just cut them, let them dry and roots will start to appear but I wanted to ask:

• Is this correct? Any additional step?
• What are the chances of survival? It's not much but it was my first bonsai years ago and I'm attached to it.

Thanks in advance for your help and experience!

 

[BrianBay9]

Never seen anyone air layer a succulent. They are so easy to start from cuttings. Just cut / break off the piece you want, let the cut end dry out for a couple of days, then plant. The only failures I've seen have rotted as a result of not letting the cut surface dry out before planting.

 

[August]

Well first of all, as a Jade connoisseur, you have a lovely tree, I'm sorry to hear about the rot. But yes jades are quite tough, I've left cuttings smaller than what you're proposing in the full sun for weeks with no problem. The 'problem' almost always with succulents would be too much moisture. Typically the bigger the cutting the higher your chances.

There are other trees, like bougainvillea for example, that people strike cuttings from so easy that I rarely have ever seen an air layer even attempted. Jade and dwarf jade (portulacaria afra) would top this list

 

[Eckhoffw]

Can you show us the rot, or problem area?

 

[LittleDingus]

You cannot "air layer" succulents because they are not woody. Peel off the "bark" and they will dry up.

You can "ground layer" them. The reason for the quotes is You can wrap soil around a node without taking off the bark and they will root. My jade will even make aerial roots sometimes.

Leaves that get knocked off will often root themselves.



Here's a leaf pair that probably broke off when I moved the plant inside in the fall but was caught up and hanging in the canopy for the past few months.



It wasn't even touching soil....just hanging loose from a branch.

Mine goes through winter with way too little light and basically zero water which produces weak scraggly growth. That growth will tend to sag and curve up at the ends. Hormones pool in the low point and often aerial roots form.



Occasionally I'll get aerial roots off the main trunk but I usually rub those off as soon as I notice them.

Portalacaria grows similar...it's sometimes called dwarf jade. Here's an idea of what a cutting can do:

[Dingus] For fun portulacartia afra progression from a single cell division

I've often claimed jade and fake jade (and many, many succulents!) can be cloned from a single cell. Since covid has me working from home these days, I decided it was time I did a little documentation to back up my statements :) "From single cell division" is a bit of an exaggeration. I...

www.bonsainut.com

Remember...succulents store water. Cut what tou want and stick it in soil and wait. No water necessary. Once you see new growth water sparingly until established.

 

[ZombieNick]

I haven't seen an air layer, but I have rooted Ovata much larger than this. These are trunk cuttings from a very old Jade, they took several months to root:



They were cut flat at the base and left in my garage to heal over for a couple weeks, then planted in pummice with a little potting soil. I used a bunch of garden stakes to keep them upright and secure.

 

[SWfloirda]

I agree with all above. They will root from nearly any size cutting with good care and a little luck, no air layering.

 

[August]

@ZombieNick stunning jade my man. Here in the Rockies that looks like a pile of gold. I've seen bigger jade in the greenhouses around here, but am still too scared to ask for a cutting if only they knew what some of us bonsai folks would pay for a branch...

 

[aarnii]

Can you show us the rot, or problem area?

This is it, half of the 'feet' is missing and the trunk has a dent at the beginning. Wanted to cut it just above and 'layer' it.

 

[Carol 83]

This is it, half of the 'feet' is missing and the trunk has a dent at the beginning. Wanted to cut it just above and 'layer' it.

That does not look so good. Not sure if the bottom part is worth saving, looks like rot. I would cut it off above the rotted part and just use the top as a cutting. Some say they need to dry out for awhile before planting but I just stick them right in some soil. I don't water until I see some growth.