Rooting hormones on a ground layer

[Goodbrake]

I plan to ground layer a Japanese maple this spring just above it's existing root structure using the tourniquet method. Would it be beneficial to apply a liquid rooting hormone to the tourniquet area? I've read rooting hormones can impede rooting when applied to root tissue, and I am not sure if the area I plan to layer is high enough above the roots to ensure that the area doesn't contain root cells.

 

[JackHammer]

I plan to ground layer a Japanese maple this spring just above it's existing root structure using the tourniquet method. Would it be beneficial to apply a liquid rooting hormone to the tourniquet area? I've read rooting hormones can impede rooting when applied to root tissue, and I am not sure if the area I plan to layer is high enough above the roots to ensure that the area doesn't contain root cells.

I don't have a confident enough position to give you an informed answer. I am curious though, what are you using as your tourniqute? Wire? Zip tie?

 

[Goodbrake]

I don't have a confident enough position to give you an informed answer. I am curious though, what are you using as your tourniqute? Wire? Zip tie?

I plan to use some anodized aluminum wire, but I haven't set it up yet. My maple is still in dormancy and I plan to do it during a repot once it starts to wake up. I have a large net pot I plan to use to maximize oxygen to the roots and hopefully strengthen growth.

 

[Eckhoffw]

It can’t hurt.

 

[JackHammer]

I plan to use some anodized aluminum wire, but I haven't set it up yet. My maple is still in dormancy and I plan to do it during a repot once it starts to wake up. I have a large net pot I plan to use to maximize oxygen to the roots and hopefully strengthen growth.

Might care to check out a wire hose clamp tool or fashion one yourself, they are pretty cool.

 

[Goodbrake]

Might care to check out a wire hose clamp tool or fashion one yourself, they are pretty cool.

I suppose I could, but I already have plenty of aluminum wire. My understanding is that as long as it bites into the tissue it will work, though house clamps are pretty cool. I guess the house clamp might be more difficult for the tree to bridge over, but I don't think that's particularly likely.

 

[Shibui]

Some substances can soak through intact bark but I'm not sure if root hormone can penetrate through bark. Mostly we use it applied direct to fresh cut tissue.
Plants do have natural auxins so most will still root without added hormone. It just takes a little longer.
Hormone will not impede root formation on any trunk layer, even right above the existing roots.

 

[AJL]

I suppose I could, but I already have plenty of aluminum wire. My understanding is that as long as it bites into the tissue it will work, though house clamps are pretty cool. I guess the house clamp might be more difficult for the tree to bridge over, but I don't think that's particularly likely.

Id would be wary of using a hose clamp as it could be difficult to remove to without damaging the young fragile roots?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Some substances can soak through intact bark but I'm not sure if root hormone can penetrate through bark. Mostly we use it applied direct to fresh cut tissue.
Plants do have natural auxins so most will still root without added hormone. It just takes a little longer.
Hormone will not impede root formation on any trunk layer, even right above the existing roots.

Yeah, no rooting hormone penetrates bark without a helper chemical/carrier. And most commercially available hormones don't have such carriers.
The rooting hormone will likely seep down into the rootball below and probably have some effect there.

 

[JackHammer]

I suppose I could, but I already have plenty of aluminum wire. My understanding is that as long as it bites into the tissue it will work, though house clamps are pretty cool. I guess the house clamp might be more difficult for the tree to bridge over, but I don't think that's particularly likely.

Not a clamp. There is a tool that binds wire really well.

 

[Goodbrake]

Not a clamp. There is a tool that binds wire really well.

Oh wow! That is very cool! I've never seen that before, thanks for the tip!

 

[Goodbrake]

Yeah, no rooting hormone penetrates bark without a helper chemical/carrier. And most commercially available hormones don't have such carriers.
The rooting hormone will likely seep down into the rootball below and probably have some effect there.

If I tighten the wire enough to bite into the tissue when I initially apply it, do you think that damage would be enough to allow the rooting hormone to penetrate? Or would the benefit of using added rooting hormone be negligible, and I ought to just apply the tourniquet by itself?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I don't think that rooting hormones will have any large effects if they're applied to biting in tissue. If you cut a small ring around the bark, sure. That's a 360° wound with exposed tissue. But small bark breaks.. It could have some effect but it would be minimal.

In conifers I apply tourniquets to create swelling. That swelling is super easy to root when I make a cut just below it, compared to regular air layers or regular cuttings even.

 

[Goodbrake]

I don't think that rooting hormones will have any large effects if they're applied to biting in tissue. If you cut a small ring around the bark, sure. That's a 360° wound with exposed tissue. But small bark breaks.. It could have some effect but it would be minimal.

In conifers I apply tourniquets to create swelling. That swelling is super easy to root when I make a cut just below it, compared to regular air layers or regular cuttings even.

Interesting! Can you tell me which coniferous species this approach works best with? I know some conifers are notoriously difficult to root.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

It works the best with junipers. I only get blaauw junipers cuttings to root when they have spent a year swelling up. @Bonsai Nut , if memory serves me right, was able to do it without!
I also did a couple mugo pines like that but they are 3€ a piece here (3-4 year old), so no real reason to take any cuttings.
It would probably work with other species as well, because in essence the swelling is undifferentiated callus tissue; stem cells that can become anything the plant wants them to be.
But it can take a year before proper swelling occurs. If a species is known to air layer easily, I wouldn't invest that year, that same year could be spent on root growth as an individual plant.

 

[Shibui]

Not a clamp. There is a tool that binds wire really well.

That works really well on a nice even circle like a pipe. Have you ever tried this on a real tree trunk, especially close to the existing roots? The trunk is very unlikely to be a nice even circle so any torniquet can be hard to apply to put even pressure on the bark all round.
Some growers cut a narrow channel right round then hammer wire into the channel right round the trunk. Still hard to get it even but at least you can get the wire to follow trunk contours.

In conifers I apply tourniquets to create swelling. That swelling is super easy to root when I make a cut just below it, compared to regular air layers or regular cuttings even.

This works on most plants. The obstruction accumulates auxins and carbs coming down from the leaves. The swelling is the first stages of callus which is usually a preclude to roots so by using the tourniquet you've made a head start on the rooting process while the trunk keeps the shoot alive for you.

 

[Maiden69]

Not a clamp. There is a tool that binds wire really well.

That won't work on a maple, you will still have to ring bark it. A maple can grow callous over that small diameter wire and you will have to redo it again.

Ring the bark, use a #4 aluminum wire right at the edge of the cut just to help the roots flare out, you can also use a plastic card, of a plastic container with a hole in the middle.