layer above layer

[Petra]

Hi, is it possible to aerial layer above another layer when the excisting branch is extra long. Meaning two seperate layers on the one branch. Has any one attempted this . If so Let me know what the results are. Why i ask is because i have a Hakea native, not sure of its real name, but comonly known as pin cuhsion. Its very lanky with lots of movement all the way up. i could almost get 3 layers from one branch.
Petra!

[Chris]

m interested on this fact aswell. I would think one layer to one branch or trunk at a time.

[kcpoole]

Yes I have done 2 layers at the one time sucessfully on a black pine.
Put as many as you want on together

Ken

[Jamie]

Yes I have done 2 layers at the one time sucessfully on a black pine.
Put as many as you want on together

Ken

as many as you want on at one time??? i think the success rate would be lowered to a degree.
maybe deciduous trees it would be ok but at the risk of the highest or furthest layer not getting enough nutrients pass several layers may cause dramas. one would think.

[Chris]

very well i will try that on a fuschia i dug from the back yard at least 4 trees can be taken see how we go

[Jamie]

lol, is the trunk like a broom stick? my thought to this is if there is no foliage on the branch above the layer i cant see how it would work..?
it would need some way to pass nutrients to the top layer to encourage root growth. thats the way i think any way. has any one else tried 2 or more layers on the one branch or tree? and if so how successful.
was the highest or furthest layer the weakest in root growth?

[FlyBri]

Gday folks!

I was once told by a former Internet bonsaist that there is really no limit on how many layers might be made from a single branch or trunk. Of course, there are spacial concerns, and I would imagine that each potential layer should have at least one branch in order to survive... Unfortunately, I do not really know, as the bonsaist in question kicked the bucket and left me (and many, many others) floundering.

Long live Behr Appleby (Grampz).

Fly.

[Jamie]

so a side branch is needed then, as i thought, i didnt see how it could work, but i still think it would weaken the furthest layer from the trunk etc.

[Petra]

Thanks for all your replys. To answer your question Jamie, yes and no.Part of the trunk is broom stick style. But it is a side branch that forks and then that one forks and that one forks. That is why i thought it may be a good way to save the rest of the branch. You guys are a gem. Always appreciate your help.
Cheers Petra!

[kcpoole]

Yes I have done 2 layers at the one time sucessfully on a black pine.
Put as many as you want on together

Ken

as many as you want on at one time??? i think the success rate would be lowered to a degree.
maybe deciduous trees it would be ok but at the risk of the highest or furthest layer not getting enough nutrients pass several layers may cause dramas. one would think.

Why woud the sucess rate decrease?
When we do a layer, we cut back all of the Bark, xylem etc till we get to the heartwood of the tree. there is ( as I understand it) nothing left on the trunk to pass nutrients up and down so why does it matter how many are on there together. So long as there is a bit of foliage between the layers then all is good.
I have seen trees with 3 on a branch togethere and they each looked the same when taken off. I have done a JBP with 2 and they both looked the same to me when I separated.
I would have no hesitation it putting at least 4 on the same tree if i wanted no matter what the variety.
In fact I will be putting 3 on a buxus soon but they will be on different branches I think

[Chris]

thanks Fly , kcpoole. off to the sphagnum moss shop I go this fuschia i have is getting mossed down to size.

[Japh]

I know I'm a beginner, but everything I've read suggests, as kcpoole says also, that the number you put on there is irrelevant to the success. The fact that you are ringbarking the branch in order to get roots to grow, means anything that happens closer to the trunk no longer has any impact on the part you've disconnected.

In fact, in some ways, I guess if the branch is long then having more reduces the size of each portion and might actually make them more likely to succeed? Maybe I'm going too far there, but logic seems to dictate that the less there is to feed the easier it would be for new branches to adequately support the disconnected portion?

[stymie]

I recently did this on a lanky Acer shishigashira. In all I obtained five trees from the one. Two layers were on the same branch but there was foliage on each. All the layers were able to be separated within two months and there is no difference in the amounts of root growth.

Shishi....layered.jpg

[FlyBri]

...off to the sphagnum moss shop I go...

Gday Chris!

When using sphagnum moss for layering, I like to chop it, as the long strands can be very difficult to separate from your newly formed roots. I half fill an old blender with sphagnum and then add water so that the moss is completely submerged, then whizz it for a few seconds.

Good luck!

Fly.