Air layering bougainvillea

Beano · Post by **Beano** » October 6th, 2014, 12:30 pm

I just got a big tall taperless bougainvillea that want to air layer. Can you air layer multiple sections on a trunk at the same time? Does each section need to have a branch?

fredman · Post by **fredman** » October 6th, 2014, 1:55 pm

Each layer has to have its own foliage to sustain it. Do a search. Ray M has a nice pic that illustrates that well...

Beano · Post by **Beano** » October 6th, 2014, 2:13 pm

Thanks.

wattynine · Post by **wattynine** » October 6th, 2014, 6:27 pm

Beano, not sure if you have tried this or not but if this is an "old wood" cutting you are attempting, mate I have to say I have literally chainsawed through a bougie, stuck the bit in a pot and 6 - 8 week later it shoots.
I have done thisw now at least 8 or so time, maybe more and 100% success, there pretty tough and come back strong,
will be posting some of these "stumps" later tonite,
good luck with whatever you attempt
Watty

Mount Nasura · Post by **Mount Nasura** » October 6th, 2014, 6:33 pm

wattynine wrote:Beano, not sure if you have tried this or not but if this is an "old wood" cutting you are attempting, mate I have to say I have literally chainsawed through a bougie, stuck the bit in a pot and 6 - 8 week later it shoots.
Watty

Is this similar to flat cutting an olive? No roots no foliage? Or leave the foliage?

peterb · Post by **peterb** » October 6th, 2014, 9:14 pm

Hi Beano
A good place to start if you want info on layering is contacting Ray M and getting his books on layering they are great value for money and a wealth of info

regards
peterb

Beano · Post by **Beano** » October 7th, 2014, 12:12 am

Thanks everyone!

mtarros · Post by **mtarros** » October 7th, 2014, 5:43 am

I did try to air layer a bougainvillea a long time ago and it failed and i just made cuttings from it and it worked.

It was a thick cutting also.

Beano · Post by **Beano** » October 7th, 2014, 12:14 pm

I hope it works. I mainly bought it because I've not seen one with variegated flower colour before without variegated leaves. This one has solid pink, solid white AND part pink part white flowers. I nearly left it there, because it wasn't a great tree but I can't stop getting bougies when I spot new colours. If it were orange I would have bought it without question. Seems orange in bigger specimens are hard to get, unless you dig one up.

Now all we need is a rainbow bougy! I think it's amazing how many bougy colours there are. I've got small orange ones - but they're not the same orange, I've got a white with faint pink tips, I've not seen it anywhere else exactly the same, though other plants may be similar.

wattynine · Post by **wattynine** » October 7th, 2014, 1:31 pm

Yeh Beano, I'll retract my chain saw advice on this one, very youthful tree so no I wouldn't.
Sorry, I'll tell you what I do with that one though, chuck it in a BIG pot and forget I own it for about 5 years, except for a prune now and then, the rewards from this cannot be measured, the trunk will fatten up and you will then be able to take multiple hard wood cuttings from it and create your own.

peterb · Post by **peterb** » October 16th, 2014, 6:01 pm

HI Wattynine
when would you take a cutting , i live in adelaide and there is a big bougy down the road that i can take a cutting from which is still dormant at the moment, would it be ok now.
regards
peterb

Post by **kcpoole** » October 16th, 2014, 10:34 pm

In Sydney I would take them now.

I have a large tree that I layered off one of Mums and cannot find the thread fro it. Either buried somewhere else or did not do one specifically.
I hope to repot it this weekend so will make a progression thread for it.
this previous thread discusses when to take them viewtopic.php?f=133&t=12559&hilit=+airlayer
and this is the only post I can find about it viewtopic.php?f=133&t=9126&p=102489&hil ... gy#p102489
Actually the photo in the listing for the School of Bonsai has it prominenlty displayed with an second layer it put on it here https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/directory/l ... onsai-inc/

Ken

peterb · Post by **peterb** » October 17th, 2014, 6:43 am

Thanks for that Ken will take a cutting this weekend and pop it into the green house
regards
peterb

Beano · Post by **Beano** » October 27th, 2014, 9:40 am

They've got roots already!!

Beano · Post by **Beano** » November 1st, 2014, 2:41 pm

Took the layers off today. Unfortunately I accidentally cut the only branch off the middle layer while removing the top layer but now it has roots I'm hoping it'll just out out some new leaves.

AusBonsai