To air-layer this maple this year or not?

Relic37

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I have a year-old JPM air-layer that was taken off a tall, straight tree last July. I am trying to decide whether to let it grow another year or two, or to air-layer the top 75% off? I wasn't sure if waiting just one year was long enough before attempting a second layering? I assume waiting another year would thicken the trunk faster and let the relatively young roots further establish themselves and perhaps raise the odds of another successful layering. The tree in question is approximately 5 feet tall and as straight as a telephone pole.air layer JPM.jpeg
 

dbonsaiw

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Don't have an answer to your question, but you could probably use the height of the tree to bend the trunk, then layer off below the bend, chop back and grow the tree from there.
 

leatherback

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Wait a year. It is not just about the roots. It is also about reserves. Airlayering and re-establishing eats through reserves. As a result there is a much slower response to be expected if you layer now again (And you drain the base of reserves to keep the top alive)
 

Relic37

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Wait a year. It is not just about the roots. It is also about reserves. Airlayering and re-establishing eats through reserves. As a result there is a much slower response to be expected if you layer now again (And you drain the base of reserves to keep the top alive)
Makes sense about diminished reserves. I think I'll wire some gentle curves into the upper third this spring and then layer it off in 2024. Maybe wait a couple more years and do it again, hoping the base thickens some more, as well.
 
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