How soon should one check a ground layer or air layer for roots?

[RichKid]

Like the title says...how long should you wait before checking layers for roots? Will it hurt or affect the layering process if one checks too early or often? Thanks for your experienced responses.

 

[GrimLore]

Guessing it is a Maple I would not bother for 6 weeks or so. If you open and close it a few times it won't really matter much if you are careful not to damage root in progress

Grimmy

 

[0soyoung]

From my perspective, the #1 problem people have with layers is residual cambium (actually xylem initials) left on the wood which will 'bridge' the girdle and cause the layer to fail to make roots.

Within 10 to 20 days you should open it up and remove any bridging of the girdle you find, if you

• are inexperienced with air layering,
• did not wipe down the girdle with 70% iso propyl alcohol, or
• did not leave the girdle exposed for a day before you bundled it up.

 

[RichKid]

Thanks guys. Yes Grim..its a maple! My favorite. I did wipe w alcohol Oso. I guess Ill wait till around Independence Day to peak. The suspense is killing me!!!

 

[KennedyMarx]

Good to know how long to wait. I made a couple air layer attempts on a coral bark Japanese maple. I still don't see any roots coming out of the moss at the bottom of the pot.

 

[sorce]

Thanks guys. Yes Grim..its a maple! My favorite. I did wipe w alcohol Oso. I guess Ill wait till around Independence Day to peak. The suspense is killing me!!!

Hey RichKid.

You peek lately?

Sorce

 

[j evans]

I bet he did, he is just trying to appear tough

 

[RichKid]

Yeah I did on the one I started first! Lol. And surprise surprise roots are there! Really short and fleshy. So I figure theres still a long way to go. Im not even gonna think about separating it until after July. For now Im just gonna try to keep it moist and let them grow stronger. I havent peaked in the one I started afterwards.

 

[Smoke]

I check mine about every two months. Watch out for the new roots they snap like bean sprouts. Here is one I peeked at yesterday. This was started in Jan 2015

 

[Erndogy]

did not leave the girdle exposed for a day before you bundled it up.

So you have to leave the girdle exposed for a day before bundling it up? Why is this? Is it so the cambium dries out?
I haven't done an air layer or ground layer but I have seen demos in my bonsai classes and I hadn't heard that?

Ernie

 

[Dav4]

So you have to leave the girdle exposed for a day before bundling it up? Why is this? Is it so the cambium dries out?
I haven't done an air layer or ground layer but I have seen demos in my bonsai classes and I hadn't heard that?

Ernie

You don't have to. I've done loads of layers and have never left the girdled area exposed to dry out or applied rubbing alcohol...both actions are done to assure no residual cambium tissue is alive to regrow and bridge the girdled area. In recent years, I've taken to using a knob cutter to take small continuous bites into the wood beneath the bark which assures the total removal of the cambium. The bottom line is that the cambium tissue needs to be entirely gone, so you need to accomplish that with whatever method you're comfortable with.

 

[Erndogy]

You don't have to. I've done loads of layers and have never left the girdled area exposed to dry out or applied rubbing alcohol...both actions are done to assure no residual cambium tissue is alive to regrow and bridge the girdled area. In recent years, I've taken to using a knob cutter to take small continuous bites into the wood beneath the bark which assures the total removal of the cambium. The bottom line is that the cambium tissue needs to be entirely gone, so you need to accomplish that with whatever method you're comfortable with.

Thanks for the clarification Dav4

Ernie

 

[RichKid]

The first one I did I dont even have to dig to check. Some are extending from just above the surface down and appear to be lignifying already. Im not sure how long one should wait before separating but Im in no rush. Ill probably leave it till the end of summer. The second one I still havent checked because I used sphagnum moss and its hard to really just pull it back because of the strands being all knotted together. When I feel resistance it scares me that maybe im going to tear a root. The other one is just in soil so I can pretty much dig it back easily to see whats going on. The one in moss hasnt started dying back or turning black so Im hoping thats a good sign. Im just gonna leave it till at least August before I even look Im thinking.

 

[lordy]

not sure if you are doing a ground layer or air layer--kinda looks like a ground layer. I might caution you against leaving it too long. I did a ground layer on a zelcova and left it for 3 months. The layer grew roots that completely filled a 6" x 4" plastic pot I had sitting on top of the regular soil. I dont think anything was negatively effected, but the roots were not as pliable for radial placement as I had expected. I would carefully inspect after about 2 months. If looking good, perhaps try to delicately postion roots now. After I severed the trunk from the old ugly roots, I screwed a piece of plywood shaped like the new pot but somewhat smaller, to the bottom of the trunk. I wired the plywood into the new pot so as not to hurt the new roots. That was a year ago and it hasnt missed a beat.

 

[lordy]

Dont mean to hijack your thread, but pics sometimes get the point across better than words.

 

[RichKid]

I dug around a bit in the roots today and one of them broke off. It hasnt quite been two months yet. I will probably leave it be till the roots can take a little prodding, maybe another month or so. I dont want to risk damaging any more roots.