AusBonsai

Hi all,

Can’t find this information, but I’ve started an air layer with Spagnum Moss on a Juniper and have wrapped it in plastic & aluminium foil. The Moss was lightly hand squeezed so it was moist but not dripping wet. Do I now leave it completely alone for 3 months or do I need to water the moss every week or so?

Also is it possible to go too deep with taking the bark off? It was in an awkward spot so I ended up ripped a lot of it off

Leave it alone now until you see some roots on the outside. If it gets too hot and you feel the moss is drying out just water it by either a syringe or slowly trickling it in.
There needs to be a clear separation between the base and the top all around the branch. Otherwise it will fuse back together. So it’s more important to take the bark cleanly, taking a bit of the wood shouldn’t impact the chances of success.

Thanks, I'll leave it alone then for a few months

This is what it looks like and I've covered it in Foil to protect from the sun

Hopefully it works out

If the plastic wrap is tied reasonably tight top and bottom very little moisture escapes so it does not need to be watered until the roots start taking water. Some water will inevitably seep down the trunk into the moss which also helps. Just keep an eye out that the plastic does not fill with water if more gets in than can get out at the bottom. I like to leave the bottom tie just a bit looser for that reason.

It is possible to go too deep when removing bark but that's rare. Most people don't get deep enough to remove the cambium layer and the gap just heals up. I find it is a good idea to do some test runs on easy accessible and disposable wood first to find out how thick the bark is and the different feel and look of bark, under bark and wood.

Foil is not necessary. Roots are quite happy to grow in light provided they have adequate moisture. Really hot sun may be another matter entirely but I have never seen problems caused by sun on layer here.

Thanks for the advice,

I hoped it would come off cleanly however that wasn’t the case. I used a box cutter and Jin pliers, it came off in sections and I had to go back to make it deeper. Anyway, next time I’ll approach it differently. Go deep with concave cutter to make the incisions and squeeze it similar to making a Jin, hopefully that makes the bark come off clean.

I’ll update in October/November on if this worked

In the growing season cambium is active so bark peels off very easy. Still need to scrape the cambium off the wood after removing the bark.
In dormant season the cambium is also dormant so the bark is firmly attached to the wood. You have to scrape every bit off.

Winter is great for wiring and bending because the bark does not separate but not so good for ringbarking for a layer. Try doing layers later in spring or early summer. There's usually plenty of time to get roots or the layer can be left through winter and removed in spring at repotting time.