AusBonsai

Hiya,

I have had this Trident Maple and couldnt for the life of me decide how to style the tree. I like the nebari and the nice trunk, but the 3 main branches were too close.

Here is the nursey stock tree I got advice from a very experienced club member and we have decided to make 2 for the price of one, so to speak. And today I learn and put into practise a new technique - airlayering. Multi-trunk top bonsai and see what I get out of the lower one... I'm excited

Here is the tree with a bit of thining of the branches

Air layer marks made in white marker
My first air layer (did a bit of brush up from the other ausbonsai threads as well ) Then decided to wrap with black plastic per discussion on other threads in the forum
Now fingers crossed and hope that it takes

Hi makro,
Good on you mate for giving the Trident a go. I look forward to see how it goes for you.

Regards Ray

Is been a bit quiet as I watch this tree grow... and with the nice weather here in Melbourne I was wondering

1. how often should I water this airlayer?
2. How do I know if there is too much/too little water.

I dont want to lose my first airlayer, while I dont want to kill it with kindness I also dont want to starve it.

Thanks in advance.

Hi makro,
I am not quit sure if you mean the layer or the tree. You should not need to water the layer. As long as you have sealed the layer well you don't have to add anymore water. The tree is treated as all your other trees. You can also fertilize the tree as normal.

Regards Ray

Thanks Ray for the input, but I remember reading on the forum that someone used a small syringe to wet the moss in the layer.. hence my question.

Cheers
Mak

HI makro,
When you layer a tree, that should have roots in a couple of months, shouldn't need water added. I must reiterate again that the layer must be sealed well. If it is sealed well the layer should be okay.

Regards Ray

Mak, as Ray said, if it's well sealed then it shouldn't need any extra water - but if it does appear to be drying out then yes, you can use a syringe to add more water. If an air-layer dries out totally, it would usually result in the death of the top section.

Hi Mak,
What Taffy has said is correct. One way you should be able to tell if there is enough water is to look for condensation under the plastic. You should see beads of water under the plastic.

Regards Ray

Hey Mak,

Your first layer is looking good, being a trident I reckon you will be seeing roots before you know it and taking this baby off by new year at the latest! It really can be that quick.

It was probably me who mentioned watering a layer with a syringe. As has been stated by others, if you tie the layer up tight enough AND have used moss then you should be fine unless its something thats going to take a couple of years. Sometimes I dont use spag as it would keep the layer too wet and roots would not be able to form, in these cases I use a mix of soil, spag, sand roughly equal eg the cedar I am layering at present..

A layer I currently have on a tree has the opposite problem, due to the very rough bark it is difficult to seal the wrapping well. This allows alot of water to get into the top but for some reason it doesnt drain out as easily. To help reduce water build up I have punched holes all around the sides & bottom edge of the plastic. Will have to check that one soon given how much growth it has made since reworking.

I disagree with Taffy about the top section dying if a layer dries out. Most trees will simply redirect energy from root production to bridging the gap and are usually successful. These can be recut bagged & if kept moist will then root. I was recently told by a very knowledgable grower that this can help some species that are reluctant to root from layers, do so. His advice "Set the layer as per normal, once callousing is well underway but before proto roots start to form then you open the bag & allow it to dry right out for an equal amount of time (ie if 6wks closed 6wks open). Remove the bag & dry moss, recut the bottom edge of the callous to help encourage it to spread sideways instead of down and clean out the rest of the cut, deepening into the heartwood slightly, bag up & treat as per normal again." He had never lost the upper portion of a layer and had success with species that would callous or heal but not root. He tends to use narrower rather than wider cuts when doing his layers, most are only 1/4-1/2inch wide (7-15mm) even on very thick wood and on older wood he cuts DEEP.

Matt

Based on the replies above, I am going to open up the black outer covering and check the spag moss and water if it look too dry. wish me luck!

HI Mak,
A good way to put black plastic over the clear plastic is to make a skirt of the black plastic. You can lift the skirt to check the layer then pull the black plastic back over the clear plastic.

Regards Ray

I would love to know what the result of this layering was. Do you have pics of the 2 new trees now?

unfortunately the top failed since i didnt scrape the bark properly, the bottom bit is doing well... will take some photos over the weekend

did the top die off completely?
If not you can recut the layer and reapply

Ken

makro wrote:unfortunately the top failed since i didnt scrape the bark properly, the bottom bit is doing well... will take some photos over the weekend

Gee wizz i strike tridy's as thick cuttings, hard to imagine a layer not taking ??? Btw the bottom tree will be great with the chop look forward to what you do with it.