Ground layer technique

Paulneill · Post by **Paulneill** » December 30th, 2012, 9:32 am

I often layer my trees so I can start a nice root system . More often than enough I want the layer to be as close to the base as possible to make full use of the taper. Because ring barks on traditional layers need to be quite wide I often loose a couple of Inches of tree and the nice fat base.

So

instead of ring barking too wide and loosing the base I only ring bark a thin strip and then use a saw to cut a shallow Chanel around the bare sap wood . This allows me to insert peaces of plastic into the gap all the way around .
This should stop the tree bridging the gap and may also help develop a good root spread.

Paulneill · Post by **Paulneill** » December 30th, 2012, 9:34 am

Paulneill · Post by **Paulneill** » December 30th, 2012, 9:35 am

Paulneill · Post by **Paulneill** » December 30th, 2012, 9:37 am

I cut the rim of the pot to allow access with the saw. When I was finished I taped it back into position and topped up with soil.

Post by **Bougy Fan** » December 30th, 2012, 9:54 am

Great idea Paul - have you successfully used this method in the past ?

alpineart · Post by **alpineart** » December 30th, 2012, 2:22 pm

Hi Paulneill, i see it and don't believe it

the risk here is the sap cant flow up or down the trunk or will be severely reduced because of the cut in the outer trunk and plastic . Way back when things were done differently ring barking trees with an axe by cutting into the outer sap wood all the way around the tree was the way to kill them off .Just removing the bark wouldn't kill the tree , but cutting into the last couple of years growth / outer sap wood , would stop them dead in there tracks .

I think a double wire tourniquet would do the job with a couple of nicks in the base to stop the wire from slipping upwards ,even burying the trunk will produce roots while the old roots are in tack especially on a Trident Maple . Alternatively when the top was chop , i dare say in winter , slice the old root base off and use all of the available flare in the base . Tridents can be severed almost anywhere close to the base and planted out in winter for a complete regrowth of the roots by mid summer .

Good luck with this one .Cheers Alpine

Paulneill · Post by **Paulneill** » December 31st, 2012, 9:46 am

It's my first time trying this .

Oh no hope it doesn't keel over I will let you know all t ow if it makes it . I didn't cut the chanels very deep and it still looks very healthy .

Time will tell .

alpineart · Post by **alpineart** » December 31st, 2012, 10:07 am

Hi Pualneill, mate it in the lap of the gods this one . Good luck .

Cheers Alpine

MattA · Post by **MattA** » December 31st, 2012, 11:44 am

Hey Paul,
Thanks for posting this method, being a gardener from a young age I had always been led to believe that cutting into the sapwood would guarantee a dead tree. It wasn't until I read Bonsai Today #48 & saw an article on the layering of a big old beech that I learnt otherwise. I no longer have a copy but it explains the method used, which included cutting into the sapwood to create a channel for a large piece of wire to prevent the bark healing. In the second year of this layering they cut an even wider & deeper channel & the tree never skipped a beat. Since then I have used this method on numerous occasions when layering species that would otherwise heal over the cut instead of forming root, most recently with a large (4+") Casuarina

Matt

Paulneill · Post by **Paulneill** » January 16th, 2013, 9:56 pm

I can confirm that this is successful so far I can't see it failing because it could not look more healthy it has been 4 weeks since I applied the layer and its still growing strong . If it was going to die due to the sap wood being removed it would have done so by now . I will have to wait until late winter now to see what it has produced.

Simon_Ben · Post by **Simon_Ben** » January 17th, 2013, 4:49 pm

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Post by **Bougy Fan** » March 27th, 2013, 7:35 pm

Hi Paul how is the progress of this one - is it a confirmed method ? I have a couple of figs I would like to try this on

Paulneill · Post by **Paulneill** » March 27th, 2013, 8:07 pm

Mate the tree is healthy and has produced a good looking flared callous and roots but I won't know exactly whats happening until I expose it at spring . I Have already done this with a large benjimin ficus not long after the trident and it has a heap of roots appearing at the surface and is also healthy . But same story won't know exactly whats happened until next season.

Post by **Bougy Fan** » March 27th, 2013, 8:20 pm

Thanks for the reply Paul

Well it obviously doesn't seem to have killed the tree - so much for that theory

Is the plastic you used a cut up pot ?

Paulneill · Post by **Paulneill** » June 17th, 2013, 4:54 pm

I repotted this yesterday and was pleased with the results . It has formed a nice even flare around the base despite the fact that only 2 large ish roots had developed.

I am giving the toothpick method a go now .

I am glad i can recommend this technique as I thing it is useful .

AusBonsai