Air Layers rooting...?

[fredman]

Hi Everyone. I have done something clever and dumb. I kind of new before hand but thought "I'll have a plan when the time comes".... I layered several kinds of maples and some other deciduous trees. Some I did the traditional sphagnum moss way, and some I figured I'll try something new and I used plastic pots filled with bonsai mix. I figured it will make stronger more matured roots that will be "hardened" off quicker before winter sets in.
The maples here takes about 5 months to root and that don't leave me much time and as a consequence I battle root rot and dieback in the winter.
My problem now is that I cant see how much rooting is on the layer. (a Pyracantha was easy as that climbed out the pot)
My plan so far is to take the bonsai soil out around the layer very carefully, using a spoon. I can at least then see how vigorous the rooting is. By that I can hopefully make an estimate how full the pot is
Any better plans out there?

 

[small trees]

Maybe use chopsticks or tweezers to move the soil around? Either way, if you're not very careful you're likely to break any roots that are in there.

 

[fredman]

Yeah I am thinking spoon, chop sticks and tweezers. No I wont damage roots
My other thought is to just leave it on until next season. That way I'm sure there is enough roots on.....?

 

[Jock]

cutting / airlaying

It doesn't help you at this time but plastic translucent cups are great so you can see the roots without having to disturb anything. They do have to be wrapped with some sort of opaque material like Aluminum foil to block all light from the root mass.

 

[small trees]

Yeah I am thinking spoon, chop sticks and tweezers. No I wont damage roots
My other thought is to just leave it on until next season. That way I'm sure there is enough roots on.....?

I'm not sure what season it is where you are, but it won't hurt to leave it on another season for sure.

 

[fredman]

Summer is starting now so I have some time in hand. Will see how they go. If I have doubts I will leave it on until next spring.

Yeah I was stupid. I should've used clear plastic bottles. Will do that next year. The Pyracantha that I separated yesterday has beautiful strong roots. I even trimmed them. They almost look like normal potted roots. It sure looks like it helps to get a stronger root that will have a head start, compared to the sphagnum mossed ones...

 

[sorce]

I,'ve done dumber stuff than that!

My guess is it would have healed over.

But I can't wait to find out!

If Theres ANY roots, they should be strong enough to withstand a tinkerin.

Sorce

 

[fredman]

No they wont root over Sorce. I did it properly. Big enough gap, properly scraped and "alcoholed" any cambium that may have been left and then I wrapped wire around the top so the roots grow out straight.....

 

[Eric Group]

I have seen blog posts and articles where people used Akadama and bonsai soil as the rooting medium exactly as you described. There is nothing dumb about it... Looks like a viable plan. I think Pearlite will be what I use next year! It works so well for cuttings, seems it would have to work for layers as well.

Didn't you have to split the pot to put it around the branch? Just open that sucker up and take a look man... If the roots aren't good to go yet, save the rooting medium and re-apply.. If they are good to go, separate it..

 

[0soyoung]

I'm a Turface MVP user and have used it for layers many times. Angiosperm roots ramify and surround each grain of the medium so it is easy to tell that the pot is saturated with roots by rubbing the surface of the medium. Not much of anything will brush aside if the pot is saturated with roots. If it isn't saturated you can continue brushing the medium aside until you (hopefully) find roots. Do this in one location and if you damage roots, you know you have some and the damage to the total should be minimal. If you don't find any, look at the layered stem underneith your pot of medium. Make sure it is the same color and consistency as the rest of the stem. If there is black instead of green or the bark slides/crumbles off, the stem is dead. I've encountered this a few times. While there is nothing you can do about this time, there may be something that can be done for future layers from this tree. Otherwise, the only thing to do is to take the works apart and see (figure out) why nothing is happening.

The sphagnum in a bag method produces thick fleshy roots that are quite fragile and that need to be subsequently grown in a medium to harden into 'real roots'. The advantage of bonsai medium in a pot is that this extra time is eliminated - the two ends are accomplished simultaneously.

My growing season is fairly short and I have run into some troubles with getting sufficient roots in one season. Just leave it on the tree and protect it against cold like you would any similar tree on its own. I have several Japanese maple clones that were potted-Turface air-layers that I harvested in the spring, a year after I girdled the stem. I've even got a couple that were 2 years in the making (it just happens sometimes). The worst thing you can do is to get in a hurry to harvest your layer.

The Puget Sound / Seattle-Vancouver,BC area is renounded for being rainy most of the calendar year. I have no real problem with root rot (in ceramic pots, I sometimes have a zone at the bottom with no roots is all, but the tree is healthy otherwise). Get rid of all organics in your medium and move to larger grain sizes if that medium is still too retentive. If you really think this is a problem, I suggest that you deal with it straight away.