Air Layering

[BirchMan]

Couple of late summer air layering updates. I had a look into this apical Seiju air layer since the lower one rooted moderately well over a month ago. Alas, maybe due to the moving around in the wind, maybe it just didn't feel like rooting, nothing but a knob of Jacques Kallis. To preserve the hard work through windy winter days and nights I'll brace the branch it's on and won't be inspecting again til mid spring. For now, recut and repacked.

IMG_2236.jpeg

You can see the start of bridging here.

IMG_2237.jpeg

IMG_2239.jpeg

Recut with the grafting knife.

A couple of successes though, first one is a green islander, second is a Blauuw's.

IMG_2232.jpeg

IMG_2240.jpeg

IMG_2242.jpeg

[SuperBonSaiyan]

I have some JM layers with buds popping - however, if these haven't rooted come autumn & winter, should I leave the layer on over winter? Or is it dead and I should just chop it off?

[TimS]

I have some JM layers with buds popping - however, if these haven't rooted come autumn & winter, should I leave the layer on over winter? Or is it dead and I should just chop it off?

If there are no roots but still healthy buds then you can reapply rooting hormone powder/ liquid in winter and wrap it up again to root this spring

[terryb]

Took three glory vine layers off over the weekend and potted them up. These were started 5 weeks ago. I would have liked to have taken them off a week earlier but last week was rather hot.

20230225_1.jpg

20230225_1a.jpg

20230225_2.jpg

20230225_2a.jpg

20230225_3.jpg

20230225_3a.jpg

[SuperBonSaiyan]

I checked my shimpaku air layers from early January and not a single root has formed yet.

I just wrapped it back up and I'll check again in a month or so.

Hopefully they'll root... It would be a shame if they died off instead. Some pieces of decent thickness there.

[BirchMan]

Shimpaku can take some time. The best one I've done (best post removal response) came from leaving it on 7 or 8 months. If the roots aren't up to supporting the amount of foliage the whole thing fails rather than dropping a portion of the foliage. A couple I've posted in this thread have succumbed in this way.

[TimS]

I haven't personally tried shimpaku layers but my reading on the subject mirrors what BirchMan says there that they take a lot longer to root than things like maple do, so not all is lost yet

[TimIAm]

I have a large shimpaku layer which I started in November, it's calloused over but no roots yet. All of the others I did this year were successful, so I'm assuming this one is just slow. At this rate and now the days are getting shorter I'm expecting at least a year.

I know shibui has done some shimpaku layers so should be able to give some clarity, but I'm assuming they just take longer. I've had some other species take less than 4 weeks.

[Albo]

About six weeks on from removing this air layer JM, it seems to be doing well.

[SuperBonSaiyan]

Shimpaku can take some time. The best one I've done (best post removal response) came from leaving it on 7 or 8 months. If the roots aren't up to supporting the amount of foliage the whole thing fails rather than dropping a portion of the foliage. A couple I've posted in this thread have succumbed in this way.

Should I just keep checking to make sure the moss is moist every few weeks then?

I assume if it hasn't rooted by now, it'll likely be late spring this year before roots will form?

Also, I was going to repot these trees in spring, can I repot with layers still on? (They are in big nursery pots, I was going to reduce down to bonsai size (30cm orchid pots)).

[Daluke]

The successes this year;

Millettia
Magnolia
Euonymus
Apricot

Failures

Maple

[BirchMan]

Shimpaku can take some time. The best one I've done (best post removal response) came from leaving it on 7 or 8 months. If the roots aren't up to supporting the amount of foliage the whole thing fails rather than dropping a portion of the foliage. A couple I've posted in this thread have succumbed in this way.

Should I just keep checking to make sure the moss is moist every few weeks then?

I assume if it hasn't rooted by now, it'll likely be late spring this year before roots will form?

Also, I was going to repot these trees in spring, can I repot with layers still on? (They are in big nursery pots, I was going to reduce down to bonsai size (30cm orchid pots)).

I'll answer the first and second q's, though I suspect the answer to the third is 'yes'. Think of the layer as a freeloader on the tree, so as long as the unlayered part still has enough foliage to sustain the roots, that part should get its allocation of resources and push on.

Yeah I'm finding if the area stripped of bark becomes dried the layer will probably fail. I suspect the moisture pathway feeding the air layer needs to be surrounded by moist bark.

In Australia I understand and have some experience witnessing, shimpaku growing through the cooler months, so I think you could get results in June/July.

[SuperBonSaiyan]

Removed a JBP air layer today. Set it in January so it took just over 2 months.

Don't have pictures but there were a decent amount of roots. Mostly towards the bottom and only on one side.

I know pines like it drier, so I've filled the pot with pumice around the sphagnum.

Not a great layer, just wanted to test it to see if it could be done. I'm impressed it was layered so quickly.

[TimS]

Wow, I had no idea pine could layer so quick, will be interested to see how it progresses

[shibui]

Wow, I had no idea pine could layer so quick, will be interested to see how it progresses

I've found many things can be done if we don't just take other people's word that it can't. Ignorance can be bliss. It can also be a great way to discover new things that will work well. Fortunately, out in the sticks, I had few bonsai teachers to tell me what I could not do and what would not work so experimenting showed me that a great many bonsai 'rules' are actually myths. Pines as cuttings and layers are just the tip of the bonsai myth iceberg.

Should I just keep checking to make sure the moss is moist every few weeks then?

I assume if it hasn't rooted by now, it'll likely be late spring this year before roots will form?

Also, I was going to repot these trees in spring, can I repot with layers still on? (They are in big nursery pots, I was going to reduce down to bonsai size (30cm orchid pots)).

Definitely keep checking moisture levels in layers. A dry layer will not produce roots. Any roots that have developed will die if the layer area dries out. As the roots develop they take more and more moisture out so they dry out far quicker through summer. I've lost a number of good layers by not paying attention.
Do not assume.
Assumptions are likely to send you off on completely the wrong path in a lot of cases. There's still lots of growing season left in most of Australia and our relatively mild climate encourages growth through winter and early spring.

You can repot trees with layers on provided you don't need to reduce top growth when you do so. Just be aware that layers up high may make the freshly repotted trees more unstable or unbalanced in pots so you may need to tie down well to stabilise the tree.
NOT repotting would be my preference, allowing the trees to put on as much growth as possible because that's one thing that seems to enhance layering but, as usual, it all depends whether repotting will stimulate more growth or less. Sometimes pot bound trees decline and don't grow well so repotting will be the best option, despite having the layers on.