Air Layering with fruit trees

[Charles Clear]

Has anyone tried air layering with fruit trees? I have a few crab apple tree I'd love to try this with.

 

[Native Hunter]

I have 5 of those air layering pots and haven't used them yet. But, there is no reason it won't work just fine if you do it right.

I can tell you that ground layering of various shrubs works like a charm. Air layering is not that different.

 

[Charles Clear]

Thank you for the reply!

 

[yoderjac]

It should work very well with apples. Apples root easily. However there may be an alternative. Plant seeds from the crabapples then graft the seedlings with scions from your desired crabapple tree. This should give you fruit a bit faster because the scion is mature.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Native Hunter]

Another thing you could consider - if those crabs are on their own roots, you could possibly find some root suckers and start a clone that way. I've seen this done successfully many times with apples. But, if they are grafted trees, that won't work.

The problem with doing this is that if there are a lot of deer around, it's sometimes hard to find a root sprout, because they will eat them.

 

[John-W-WI]

I tried the air layering pots on an apple tree in the yard at my farm. It's a good tree and I wanted a few more of the same.

Zero luck. Not sure I did it right or gave it enough attention but I tried.

And I'm usually pretty successful growing stuff.

If I still have them I should try again.

-John

 

[Native Hunter]

My FIL found one of the best root sprouts I've ever seen coming from a good old tree on an abandoned place. It came up in a brier patch and the deer couldn't get to it. He dug it up this spring and planted it. As you can see, it needs some shaping because all the limbs are on one side of the tree, but he said he got lots of roots, so I expect it to do well.

His guying system looks kind of rough, but I think that was just temporary until he could get back and do a better job....LOL.

 

[yoderjac]

One more note: It probably doesn't matter much with apples, but for some hard to air layer trees, I've seen a method that wraps a wire around the scion for a couple weeks. This girdling evidently causes auxin to build up stimulating rooting when you remove the wire and apply the layering.

THnkas,

Jck

 

[yoderjac]

I tried the air layering pots on an apple tree in the yard at my farm. It's a good tree and I wanted a few more of the same.

Zero luck. Not sure I did it right or gave it enough attention but I tried.

And I'm usually pretty successful growing stuff.

If I still have them I should try again.

-John

Another consideration with air layering is the length of the growing season. When we try to start trees by rooting dormant cuttings, the scion must root enough to supply enough energy to support the scion before the stored energy in the scion is exhausted. Many trees, especially hard to root trees, are almost impossible to clone from dormant cuttings. Air layering is a technique where we keep the scion connected to the mother tree while the roots are forming. The mother tree provides energy to the scion while it is forming roots. This allows more time for roots to form before the scion is removed from the parent tree. Some trees take a very long time to root. In northern climates, there may not be enough time to air layer with a bag or other device above ground. One method of air layering that may work with shorter growing seasons is similar to digging up root sprouts. You simply take a long low flexible branch, dig a hole, and bend the branch so the middle of the branch goes in to the hole and the top stays above ground. You fill in the hole. Depending on how deep an hard your ground freezes, this allows the air layer two seasons to take. The other advantage of this method is that it can be done with a grafted tree where root sprouts won't work.

One final method that is similar is to take a branch from the subject tree. Apply rooting hormone as you would when air layering. The top of the scion is cut and is grafted into the mother tree. An upward pointing bud is left between the graft and the ground. The other end of the scion is buried so it can root. After roots have formed the graft to the mother tree is severed and the new tree dug up and transplanted.

John, I know you know all this stuff given your experience with cuttings but others should understand the concepts and limitations.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[sandbur]

I tried air layering with the pots many years ago. No luck. I believe SmSmith also tried about the same time.

My advice would be to spend your time on some other project.