air layering apricot

[astroboy76]

hey peeps,

i have a large apricot tree i am about to shape. i will have many excess branches so i thought i might airlayer some, save wasting them! does anyone know how long this will take and if apricots are easy to layer? is there a minimum or maximun branch thickness you can layer?

[astroboy76]

this is the apricot in question. the base is as thick and round as the base of a wine bottle easily and some of the branches i want to layer are around the circumference of a 20 - 50 cent peice

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trunk1.jpg

[astroboy76]

no -one has any advice hehe? i have read a few posts on this forum about layering. i guess i was after specifics in regards to mume. has anyone layered a mume beforE?

[MattA]

Hey Astro,

I havent layered mume before but if you follow the methods you will have found in other threads you cant go to wrong.

I would wait until the first flush of growth hardens off then set them, I would expect it to take between 6wks & 3mths. There is no maximum size that can be layered, I have layered stuff up to 30cm in dia with no trouble & am currently doing a layer on a callery pear that is 15cm. The key is to make sure you cut right thru the cambium all the way round to stop the tree trying to heal the wound instead of producing callous & root.

Good to see your not going to waste the excess from your apricot, it is fantastic material & the layers will give you plenty of stock for some shohin size bonsai in no time. Use clear plastic to wrap the layer that way you will be able to see when it has produced roots. Let the bag get pretty full and you are almost guaranteed no loss when seperated.

When they have taken I put my hand up for one

Matt

[astroboy76]

the beauty of the stiock tree i have is that there are easily 6 or 7 decent sized branches i can layer. i still have to try and figure out which ones i want to keep. its prooving a bit difficult but its a challenge i am looking forward to. yup Matt, one has your name on it already!

still waiting to see if all my other cuttings have taken. not game to move them yet. just gonna leave them and wait till they start growing. it has been several weeks now already so i figure if they havent struck they wills tart to die or wilt soon!

[BirchMan]

I have layered stuff up to 30cm in dia with no trouble

30cm across? That's freakin huge! How long was the ring bark cut? Oh well that's promising for my plans to put a couple of layers on our nectarine tree when it warms up a bit.

[kcpoole]

Layering an apricot shodu be no dramas
Ray Nesi grows Prunus Okama and others from cuttings, so a layer should be easy

Very Nice stock
Where did you get it?

Ken

[astroboy76]

i got it from Leong at bonsai south. he gets a few in each year. i had hounded him for months and got the pick of the lot this year hehe. now i have no idea what to do with it. its going to need some major carving once the airlayers are taken off. still struggling to find a shape for her though. might take her to rays and get some advice. he is great for friendly and free advice, even on stock you didnt purchase from him

yeah i got a few starters from rays this year. a nice pink weeping apricot and a great tripple blossom apricot which i am using to test my first layer on. pic of the blossom below and some pics of the big one in flower

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[MattA]

the beauty of the stiock tree i have is that there are easily 6 or 7 decent sized branches i can layer. i still have to try and figure out which ones i want to keep. its prooving a bit difficult but its a challenge i am looking forward to. yup Matt, one has your name on it already!

still waiting to see if all my other cuttings have taken. not game to move them yet. just gonna leave them and wait till they start growing. it has been several weeks now already so i figure if they havent struck they wills tart to die or wilt soon!

Woohoo, I dont have a mume yet so am a little excited! The challenging pieces are the best IMO and nowdays I usually seek them out in preference over easier materials. I look forward to seeing the progression of this tree, it really is fantastic stock.

Dont rush judging if a cutting has taken or not, I have had some shoot then die then shoot again a few weeks to months later. If you can leave them be, do so. Many of the cuttings I put in this winter are starting to wake up including a few that I wasnt sure if they even would or not. The most interesting to me is the almond cuttings, thinner wood (1cm) doesnt seem to be taking yet thicker wood (3cm & over) is starting to shoot.

I have layered stuff up to 30cm in dia with no trouble

30cm across? That's freakin huge! How long was the ring bark cut? Oh well that's promising for my plans to put a couple of layers on our nectarine tree when it warms up a bit.

On that particular layer (Magnolia campbellii) the cut was 4" wide (10cm) and took 4yrs before it had enough root to seperate and support the new tree. The one I am currently working on is here viewtopic.php?f=104&t=4245&hilit=callery+pear and the cut is only about 1", an experiment that will continue being so.

Matt