Why are my air layers not working?

Dogwood87

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Hi guys,

Can anyone tell why my air layers aren’t working? There’s 3 in total, first 2 are on my beech hedge and 3rd is on my forsythia. Cuts were made over 6 weeks ago. Followed guidelines online and YouTube tutorials.

1. Beech - images 1 & 2
2. Beech - images 3 & 4
3. Forsythia - image 5

I think potentially on the first one and more evidently on the third my cuts weren’t deep or wide enough as the tree has potentially bridged the gap with the white matter? I’ve now widened and deepens the cuts on those and packed the back up for another 6 weeks.

Second one is more of a mystery as the cut looks good and no evidence of the white matter bridging down as you can see with the others. This one I just packed more sphagnum in there and wrapped in up and will wait another 6 weeks to see if we have any action.
 

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19Mateo83

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The forsythia will throw roots girdled or not. Give it more time and it will root. All I do is bend a branch so it touches the ground and sit a rock on it and it roots every time.
 
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The two easiest suggestions are a wider girdle cut and removing more material in the girdle to lessen the chance of bridging. I also wipe the bottom half of the girdle with an alcohol wipe which dries out and kills any living cells. Some others leave the girdle open for a day to dry them out before wrapping with sphagnum.

6 weeks isn't really enough time though. Even my most vigorous elms or maples I give about 3 months. Most others are over 4 months and I've left some on for over a year.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Widening the gap so the white callus does not bridge the gap is crucial. Check every 4 weeks, keep a small gap scrapped clean to prevent bridging. The minute the gap is bridged, root formation can be slowed or interrupted.

The white callus is where the new roots will form, so never remove more than necessary to keep bridging from happening. Removing callus slows root formation. It is a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. (callus is not always white, color is species dependent).

Beech, can be quite slow to root. It may take much, much more than 6 weeks for an air layer to strike roots. Plan on it taking at least one full growing season. It could be less, if you are lucky.

I air layered Japanese black pines, this is a feat that only works with a few named cultivars and not all the time. The slowest took 3 years to produce enough roots to separate. Some failed, and the top had to be cut off after 4 years. But when it works, it is a sense of accomplishment.

Point is, air layering is not a "guaranteed success", and is not an "instant success". It is common for more difficult to root species to take one or even two growing seasons to produce roots.
 

Dogwood87

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thanks for the responses. and shoot! i should have posted this before I worked on the air layers as i scraped away the white callus that had formed when i widened/deepened the cuts.

Thanks for the alcohol trick, will try it!!
 

Shibui

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The callus around the top of the layer is where the roots should come from. You can scrape off any in the debarked area without any problem.
Don't get too carried away with digging deep when air layering. If you cut down through the xylum (sapwood) you interrupt the path of water and nutrients up to the top and the layer just dies before rooting.
Time to root layers depends on many factors -
Species - some are naturally slow to root. I believe beech are one of the slower species so it is likely you are just being too impatient. At least you found the bridging and dealt with it. Even among species individual differences between seedlings can affect ability to root.
Conditions - some years layers root quickly, sometimes it takes longer depending on water, sun, nutrients, etc.
Technique - You've already discovered some of the pitfalls that can affect layering.

I think you will need to be far more patient. I'm surprised the forsythia hasn't rooted yet. As mentioned it will often produce roots without any interference and I've struck quite large cuttings so layering is probably redundant for forsythia but it will be a good indicator. If it hasn't rooted it is highly unlikely the beeches will have done so.
 

Kullas

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I checked my air layers today. All started about 9 or 10 weeks ago. The maples are just starting roots. The eating figs are almost ready to sever. The Bradford pear, crabapple and sweet gum is just at the callus stage. It takes quite a bit of time.
 
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