Alocasuarina Littoralis Layers

[Jan]

I know it is a bit late for layers on Alocasuarina Littoralis but the weather is still warm and the trees are poping out new shoots/growth everywhere so it seem to be worth a go.

We have a grove of this species and, as I checked on a Eucy layer that has been in process for a while, I noticed some promising branches on the nearby Alocasuarinas. I gathered some gear and spent the afternoon putting layers on two that may have some promise. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

As I saw in an earlier post of Pup's, Alocasuarinas can bridge so I have cut away a substantial ring of bark, then added hormone (purple - hardwood cuttings) and used damp spagnum moss for the roots to grow into.

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The wood was cleaned up, root hormone added then the layer applied as usual. This one has good shape and bark, and the tree has a good amount of new growth. The trunk had seen better days, judging by the deadwood, but current growing conditions could be the opportunity to collect this one.

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I usually add a layer of foil to the outside of the layers thinking that the roots may develop better in the dark - don't know if it helps but it hasn't hurt so far with other layers.

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This branch is poping out a lot of new shoots so I'll probably add another layer further along so as not to waste the material.

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Now we wait with

[shibui]

Congrats for trying something new Jan. I know some Alocasuarinas can grow from cuttings but I have not seen much on layering. It will be great to see the results of this.

[Watto]

Good luck, I am also looking forward to seeing the results.

[Jan]

Congrats for trying something new Jan. I know some Alocasuarinas can grow from cuttings but I have not seen much on layering. It will be great to see the results of this.

Good luck, I am also looking forward to seeing the results.

While I've seen posts of Torulosa and Cunninghamiana grown as cuttings, I've not seen much on Allocasuarina littoralis. I thought that layering might be a safer bet than cuttings this late in the season so worth a go particularly as they are all poping out new growth at the moment.

I've done quite a few successful layers over the years, most recently on wisteria (these are almost impossible to get wrong) and a small Podrocarpus Lawrenci, so I'm comfortable that the method I use works, just have to wait and see if Allocasuarina littoralis will cooperate. If it goes well I have a few more promising branches to try.

[matlea]

I’ve had success on one I did a few years ago but the layered branch was only about 2cm dia. Fairly young and hadn’t barked up like the one your trying.
Hope it takes for you... good luck!

[Jan]

There are some branches with younger bark about the 2cm dia that I will eventually try but I can't resist, I think I'll have a go at this one tomorrow.

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[terryb]

Not sure if Casuarina behaves differently to Alocasuarina but I recently layered a C. cunninhamiana at around 6 cm in diameter viewtopic.php?f=36&t=26400&start=15.

[Jan]

Not sure if Casuarina behaves differently to Alocasuarina but I recently layered a C. cunninhamiana at around 6 cm in diameter viewtopic.php?f=36&t=26400&start=15.

Thanks, Terryb, layering works as well on older bark.

I did brave the mosquitos again yesterday afternoon and put a layer on this broken portion of the tree in the previous post.

It had been broken off by a large branch that fell out of a nearby Brittle Gum some time ago (they live up to their name) so the wood in the remaining stump was shreaded and hanging loose from the live portion.

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I gave this loose timber a clean up to get a better seal on the layer to keep it moist.

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I then cut a strip out of the live bark on the opposite side, applied hormone liquid, packed the cut area with damp spacnum, enclosed it in plastic and further covered it with foil. By this time the mossies were throwing a party, had invited the whole district and were intent on making me their main course. I was somewhat distracted and neglected to get a shot ot the stump showing the cut in the bark.

I thought that as a comperison I'd try a layer on younger wood and see if there was any diffenence in the success rate. I'd spotted some vigerous new growth on another tree and set off (with my entourage of mossies) to apply the final layer for the day.

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I had intended to just layer the younger growth but when I looked at this branch again I could see the potential offered by taking it off a little ways down from the new growth to incorporate an interesting bend.

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This was a smaller branch and, while not the newest growth, did not have the old crusty bark of the stump I had just layered. A couple of quick cuts with the pruning saw and work with a knife saw the bark came off cleanly then hormone liquid was applied. By this time I'd lost count of the number of mossies I'd dispached but I was seriously outnumbered and loosing the battle. Damp spagnum was applied, along with a plastic cover and a final coating of foil. Now we wait

[Jan]

Hope these are new roots starting.

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I've been checking these layers, keeping the spagnum moss moist, willing them on and it finally looks like something is happening. I checked them again this morning and the two that I opened up, before the heavens opened and chased me indoors again, are looking promising. The image above is of the first layer that I did on the branch with the dead side.

It's been a very unusual season here, the weather has had three attempts at "spring" then turned cold again and it looks as if we are headed for amother "spring" next week after this cool and wet phase passes (12 degrees C at 12 noon today!). The trees have certainly had every opportunity for the layers to take as they have shown growth spurt after growth spurt.

What to do now? The roots need to grow considerably before I remove the layers but I'm toying with gently buttering these new roots with honey and hormone powder to encourage growth before summer wakes and temperatures race back to what we'd expect in Dec./Jan. Another part of me is saying, so far, so good, so leave it be.

Decisions, decisions..... Maybe just hormone powder after all the ants are very active, moving to higher ground, and honey might attract them.

[Jan]

The rain eased a bit after lunch so off I went to check the last layer. I found that it had bridged in a number of places so it was time for some maintenance and root growth encouragment.

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Armed with hormone powder and liquid (and an umbrella) I headed back to treat the layers. I scraped back the bridge material to wood and applied hormone liquid and powder to the calousing to encourage root growth. I'm hopeing that the white callous areas are new roots starting. The damp spagnum was replaced and the layer covered in plastic and tied.

Closer inspection of the second layer found that it too had bridged but only at one point so, again the bridge material was removed and on this one I widened the bare branch area, just in case.

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Again, I treated the calous with hormone liquid and powder, packed in moist spagmun and rewraped this area. I'm pleased to see that the area below the layer cut is swelling more than the original branch above so hope that callous and new roots are swelling it. The younger branck on the left has a lot of new growth so hope it is feeding the callous/root growth. Note: this layer looks upside down as the branch twists downthen back up. I selected it to layer because of its shape.

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The largest branch has not bridged at all but hormone liquid and powder were applied to encourage root growth. The layer was packed in moist spagmun and I rewraped this area. I hope that the white callousing is root growth not bridging callous.

Time to get away from the mozzies and the rain. And, again, more waiting.

[Jan]

We have roots! On one and the white callousing on the other two looks promising.

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[shibui]

I hope those photos are upside down because you need roots on the top section rather than the lower part.

[Jan]

All is good, Shibui.

This branch angles down so the roots are on the correct side (extending branch side, not trunk side). It is the layer shown in the previous post - Images 2 & 3.

This tree has quite a few contorted branches on it and I'm pleased to see that the vigorous young shoot on the left of the image (growing out and up towards the sun) and the older branch is comes off are both thickening up compared to the branch above the layer that the "new plant" comes from.

I'm expecting a possible issue with the roots as they are looking like they want to answer gravity and grow down, which will be the new "up" when the layer is inverted and potted on. I'll keep an eye on them and may end up severing the layer sooner than I would have preferred to try to prevent the new roots from ending up like "knees" on a swampy.

Jan.

[shibui]

All good then Jan. I'd agree with an early parting to get the roots growing right way up. They will be extremely brittle when still white but should still be flexible enough to move for a year or so.

[Jan]

I checked the layers today, the one with the dead side and the horizontal one are still developing roots but slowly; the branch that was growing in a downward direction had some good roots but, as suspected, they were heading down, parallel to the future trunk.

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The roots were much better developed on the last one so I decided to separate it and treat it as a giant cutting . Out with the loppers, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and the brittle new roots were going to be a problem to repot at a later date if they continued this way. I wrapped the cut end and roots in the layer sphagnum and head back to pot it.

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I left the roots safely wrapped while I considered the branching. I wanted to retain enough foliage to ensure the plant's survival but not so much that transpiration would be a problem, and I wanted to retain branching that would be used in the future, so, decisions, decisions.

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I cleaned one of my plastic bottle propagators, (yes, I know I cut it wonky originally, but it was available and the plant won't care) placed a small, wet piece of newspaper over the holes in the lid to minimise soil loss into the water-well base, filled the inverted top/pot with a bonsai mix containing a lot of gravel to encourage root branching and planted the layer. I added a chopstick "stake" to help support the plant. These propagators have worked well for me for years. You can see in the hole in the side of the water-well base to allow surplus water to drain so the mix stays moist not wet. The hole is cut just above the point where the lid and bottle neck meet.

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I decided to break another couple of branches off (broken to give a more natural look to the plant in the future) to balance the "cutting" and placed it on a bench where I could tie both propagator and cutting to an upright post for further support from winds (we've had a fair bit of wind lately). An occasional top up watering in the pot is all that is needed to keep the water-well level at the right height and you can see when the "pot" fills with roots, and is ready to transplant, through the clear sides. (When I use this method for small or soft cuttings I also use a cut off bottle inserted into the pot as a mini glasshouse).
Now I wait 'n see. Let's hope that, since it already has some roots that it will continue to produce more and behave like a cutting for me.