Trident Maple - Need air-layer tips

[Stan Kengai]

I have a Trident maple in a growing bed that I want to air-layer this spring. I put a wire tourniquet at the proposed layer site this past fall (like I've seen on a couple of Japanese blogs). The swelling got out of hand pretty quickly and the layer site lost the proportion that made me want to layer it to begin with. I still think it could make a nice bonsai in the future and want to proceed with layering. The trunk diameter before the tourniquet swell is a little over an inch, at tourniquet is about 1.75".

I have had no luck layering Tridents (although I've been very successful with palmatums), and I would like to know what's worked for you.

Talc vs. gel rooting hormone?
Hormone concentrations?
Before leaf out vs. after first leaves harden?
Closed bag with sphagnum vs. open pot with "soil"?

Is there any specific treatment/operation that works consistently?

Thanks for your help!

 

[lordy]

Stan, I can only add that I tried to airlayer a branch (1/2" caliper) and the first attempt resulted in the gap becoming callused over, and the second attempt resulted in ONE large fuzzy root, which did not support life in soil after the branch was severed. I have also since learned from a reliable source that tridents are susceptible to freeze damage, while A.Palmatums are not (in my locale). They are evidently quite different animals.

 

[Nybonsai12]

IStan,
I've had hit or miss results, but I'll give you my limited experiences as each season for the last three years i've tried some layers.

I'm not doubting what you have read, but my understanding from some sources was that the wire for the tourniquet should be placed at time of the layer to help prevent the callus from closing the gap.

I've used the powder and had better results than with the gel. Some folks say the powder loses effectiveness if it is old. While some people like the gel, I have not had success with it for layers or cuttings.

This year in addition to the powder and gel, I intend on trying dip and grow, which is a solution. I will use sphagnum by soaking it in the solution and wrap with plastic wrap as opposed to applying something direct to the site. I am copying this method from a local expert here on the nut. I believe sphagnum would be better than the pot method only because for me i know things will stay damp longer and I don't have to worry about it drying out and frying any potential roots that have grown.

I can't comment on hormone concentrations.
I've always heard wait til inital leaves harden before starting the layer.

I have yet to have any sort of consistent results, but wish you luck this season. Please post results so we can compare!

 

[davetree]

I have layered tridents at bud swell by the ring method, using bonsai soil in a pot. I used spaghnum imbued with powdered hormone at the site where I wanted roots, then ace the pot with bonsai soil around it. When the weather warmed the roots popped. Next time I will use bottom heat to speed up the process.

 

[VernG]

I air-layer pretty good

I took two 2-2.5" layers from the top of a mature (10"- 14" at base now) tree I started from a cutting 27 years ago. The cutting came from a bonsai I grew from a 2yo seedling. That tree is in a 27"x17" pot and it is 6" or 7" at the base. I have the top out of that tree and it was rooted in a pot at about 2"-2.5". I plan to dig the tree from the ground in a few years, but I plan to take as many cuttings and layers as I reduce it and begin to undercut the roots. But to your question; I used the tourniquet method on a small, young tree and it simply calloused over. That was begun in April. The next season, in March, I cut away bark and cleaned cambium layer then applied rooting hormone(as fungicide) and applied moist sphagnum. I did the same in the big tree. I did both prior to leaf out otherwise I could not work with ease. I did JGM even earlier (Feb). I am in NW Fl. We had a few freezing nights prior to April here last year and most layers took. I am going to try soil in cans this year, I don't like how the sphagnum binds to the roots and causes root rot, plus it is too much post care work for my taste. So, layer anytime freeze is past, rooting hormone is not needed, but use it any way (fungicidal potential), unless you have commercial grade stuff), wait and see! This is my first post. Hope it helps, VernG

 

[dkraft81]

Stan, what worked good for me was making the gap no less than 2". I used damp sphagnum moss in a clear plastic bag around the gap then wrapped it tight with shrink wrap. I used electircal tape on the ends and poked holes in the bag. I think I got this method fro Graham Potter. It work real well for me.