Air Layering

[TimS]

... Apart from cutting the layer as close to the roots as possible, would it be recommended to use cut putty on that large wound under the soil surface?

No sealant under the soil surface as a general rule. More likely to do more harm than good… but that is just my view. Similar to root work… no sealing required on big cuts to roots either.

Thanks Ryceman3,

I’ll leave it alone.

Agree with Ryce, there is no need to putty underneath the cut where it was separated, it will just naturally die back and you can cut it away over time as you get it into shallower pots in the future

Good job with the layers too, the crepe myrtle should become a nice tree with time and the big change in taper will become very much smoother as well

[Albo]

Thanks Tim,

I think the crepe myrtle has great potential despite its flaws, nebari, taper, scaring. Will work on those things over the coming years but it’s growing strongly and I think it already looks interesting at least.

These were my first attempts at air layering and I’ve been rewarded well for very little effort. At the least I have some extra material to play around with now.

I’ve got a couple other layers going on the Maple, the smaller of which has roots but not enough tho separate yet I think?
The other has calloused a lot but no roots yet, The callous hasn’t bridged I’ve already checked that. It is a thicker one, about 4cm thick.

I’m wondering if the thicker gauge plastic on the smaller airlayer makes a difference? Maybe better insulated?
I’m thinking I might be better off resetting the big one with heavy gauge plastic? Woolworths bags probably not the best
You can see the roots growing through the clear plastic on the smaller one.

[TimS]

I separated that shishigashira with probably similar roots to what is on your one there in the clear bag. 1 day so far and no obvious signs of it going to die, but i did reduce some foliage from the top to try to compensate and realistically it's probably going to be at least a week before i start to relax about it surviving being separated

There's no rush, if you don't have to remove the layer then it's almost always going to be better to leave it on. I only removed my one to try to get a larger layer below it to push roots before autumn

I use the clear ziplock bags just cut down the side and bottom and then some twine to hold it all together. I like being able to quickly see the root progress (or lack thereof) of the clear plastic but itd shouldn't really make a difference

[Albo]

Good idea with the zip bags,
Clear plastic is definitely easier, otherwise you have to undo the plastic to see if any root development and potentially damage fine roots.

I want that thicker one because it’s nice and thick already with multiple trunks to pick from. Also want to seperate before autumn. But if not sufficient roots will leave it till next growing season.

Hope your shishigashira works out

[TimS]

Is the thicker one stacked below the upper one on the same stem/ branch? If it is then you are unlikely to get the one below to root until the upper one is removed from my experience.

Sometimes you get lucky and hit what i presume is dormant buds/ nodes that promotes rapid and expansive root growth, other times you just have to wait for the tree to do it's thing. As long as you aren't seeing the foliage above visibly showing signs of stress/ dying off then the tree is fine just needs longer for the rooting process to happen. I've had some take a matter of weeks, others take 18 months before i was comfortable to separate the layer.

I wasn't too worried about losing one shishi layer as i have another layer almost identical on the tree at the moment growing roots, and 2 more shishi plants entirely to use for layers as well, so it was worth the risk to separate it earlier than i would like. Fingers crossed though.

[Albo]

They are on completely separate branches.
I’ll probably wait a week or two and separate the sml one before autumn.
The bigger one I suspect may need to over winter unless something happens soon.

I’d like to try a really thick limb, say 5-10cm. Trouble is finding thick sections that have good movement and taper.
Neighbour’s have some nice looking big maples that are in danger whenever I look at them.
Can get really thick stock off crepe myrtles but would love a good maple.

Be nice to the neighbours for free trees

[TimS]

Yep that's going to be a reoccurring problem with Japanese Maples; their propensity to grow dead straight at all costs. In the project trees thread i just posted a photo of me going ham on a piece of rough material to put taper and movement into it in the future. It's a process of time.

If you have good neighbours that will let you put layers on then go for it! most of mine would recoil in horror i think

Sometimes you'll luck out and find a twisty maple in a nursery, but it is very uncommon these days. I struck it supremely lucky to find the Kotohime with bends and movment and also good taper over a short section. Today i was looking at Sango Kaku and all are just dead straight with dead straght secondary branches leading to dead straight tertiary branches. I might still get one eventually but it would be another air layer and grow into something interesting job.

Turnover is relatively quick in nurseries so there are very few neglected trees stuffed up the back struggling to live getting interesting movement as a result. Best you can do is buy a straight trunk, air layer or cut back hard and put the movement into it yourself really.

[TimS]

Further updates

Kotohime layer now allocated to SuperBonSaiyan pending working out the exact deal in the future is pushing new shoots from the base so it's super happy. These could be kept and encouraged to thicken the base, or removed too, depends what the future holds for it i guess

koto new shoots 24.1.23.jpg

After the first shishigashira layer separated without hassle i decided to separate this 2nd clump layer tonight. Hopefully should be a great little tree in the future with a nice spreading habit from the start

shishi224.1.23.jpg

This is the third shishigashira layer that is still on the tree, no signs of roots yet but hopefully now both layers above it are removed it can start to do its thing. Thicker single trunk layer with another clump still above it, but i might just discared the top section as it doesn't have nice movment like the two smaller ones i've already taken. Basically i would cut where my finger is and retrain the thin branch for taper

shishi324.1.23.jpg

[SuperBonSaiyan]

I'm honoured to be receiving a tree from you I love the bonsai community.

I haven't checked the Seigen layer, but it's pushed new leaves (the new leaves are much bigger than the first push, back in spring - don't know if that means anything). This one is allocated to you TimS if you want it. It's a tad blemished with the snapped portion sticking out of the top... but I'll let you decide if you'd still like it.



Actually, looking at it again it doesn't look too bad. That shoot near the snap site is brand new, which will eventually (hopefully) hide the flaw rather well

I also set around 15 layers on straight long uninteresting branches of Shimpaku, thicknesses ranging from pinky size up to 50c size. I'm wondering whether to make a very clustered forest (where the trunks are nestled close together) or a very large forest (where one can clearly see through the trunks).



I've a few years to decide if the layers take. Hope they do. I'm new to bonsai, so I don't like wasting material just yet - even though I know to create "good" bonsai one must be unafraid to cut.

(updated with images)

[TimS]

Most welcome dude, happy to spread some bonsai love about and get more maples into the world

New growth pushing from the layer is the best possible sign even with no roots appearing on the outside of the bag, shouldn’t be too far away from seeing the roots now. All going well with it I’ll 100% go with it, a bit of snapped stem doesn’t put me off. All the shoots look happy and healthy below it

Shimpaku comes down to what you aesthetically prefer; dense vs sparse forest, sparse forests just take up more space on the benches/ in the garden because they need bigger pots

It took me a while to get comfortable with doing the big cuts needed, but ultimately it’s just easier to do the cuts earlier than put it off for 10 years and still have to do the cut anyway

[BirchMan]

Good looking work guys

[TimS]

Good looking work guys

Thanks mate! Just got home and had another look at shishi layer #3 and saw it in fact has roots right down the bottom of the bag so that's 5/5 100% success rate on my 2022 air layer selection.

Looking forward to doing even more in 2023 and getting some new varieties in as well hopefully

[Albo]

I Separated this Japanese maple today.
Thought I better get it off before we start getting too close to Autumn.

Decided just to throw it straight into a Bonsai pot to keep the root system sml straight off the bat and I’d like to see how this approach goes.As long as it survives I’ll decide what to do with it next year, whether to bring the size right down, But I do like it as is at the moment.

It’s in Ray Nesci soil but I’ve just left sphagnum on the top to keep the roots close to the surface moist.
Tied in well so it doesn’t move around.

I like it, will see what happens.

[TimS]

Great success Albo, got to be happy with that!

The roots look ample to me, already getting secondary branching on them so they are well established, can't see any risk for separating it at all

No problem at all going straight into a bonsai pot presuming you're not aiming to grow it into a massive stump of a trunk of course.

[Albo]

Thanks Tim,

Most of my stuff is in grow pots as I tend to prefer med size stock so I’m developing most. But figured I’d try something smaller. Next year I may cut it down to half the size and develop some better taper. I could even lose the thick trunk on the right hand side but I’ll see how it develops.

This one was better than my first Maple air layering attempt. It’s got roots all the way around and I think I selected a better position to do the air layer.

I’ve learned that selecting the right point on the tree to set the layer is very important to get some movement and taper right off the bat.

Great fun though for very little effort and next to no cost. Everyone loves a freebie