Air Layering

[Barndog56]

Any of you guys veterans of propagating fruit trees by air layering?

I stumbled across a few youtube videos showing the process about a month ago. I've got several in the process right now.

My question is, how many branches can I air layer off one tree at the same time? I'm planning to try about 8 off of this crabapple mess shown below. It's from a crab I previously cut off at ground level when my wife was sure our lab was allergic to them......she wasn't.

 

[Turkey Creek]

It's from a crab I previously cut off at ground level when my wife was sure our lab was allergic to them......she wasn't.

So your wife just didnt like the tree huh?!

 

[Barndog56]

Lol. She actually liked it. We bought the place on July 1st and shortly after moving our lab began to get sick, vomiting her food about half the time. My wife had seen her eating some of the crabapples that had fallen off the tree, and assumed that was the reason. Cutting the tree down did not help though. Ended up having to switch her food.

The tree has come back with a vengeance. This is the second year of growth for those shoots, after I pruned out another dozen this March.

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[John-W-WI]

I've tried air layering on a old apple tree at my farm using the "rooter pot":
http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?cat=2,47236&p=46938

(This isn't where I bought them, just a quick google result for an example)

I had zero success. I've also had zero success grafting onto this tree. Maybe it's a mutant, not sure.

Keep us posted if you have any success!

-John

 

[DLH]

What's layering called when a limb is bent to the ground and buried ground layering? Anyways that's what I'm trying with a Betsy Deaton I have at my dads I bent it over into a pot with some promix and hopefully it will take root I should know more later this year. I would try bending a limb to the ground before air layering.

 

[sandbur]

I tried air layering with the pots about 20 years ago. Zero success. Stu had the same experience.

 

[Natureboy]

Any of you guys veterans of propagating fruit trees by air layering?

Barndog, hopefully you will have greater success than I did. I tried air layering a favorite apple tree of mine quite a few years back, no luck.

 

[Barndog56]

Disappointing to hear it didn't work for you guys. All of the branches I'm using are ones thst would be pruned this winter, so at least I won't lose anything if they fail.

 

[chickenlittle]

What's layering called when a limb is bent to the ground and buried ground layering? Anyways that's what I'm trying with a Betsy Deaton I have at my dads I bent it over into a pot with some promix and hopefully it will take root I should know more later this year. I would try bending a limb to the ground before air layering.

That is just called layering. I plan to layer a few rootstock that i could only get as scionwood. After layering onto their own roots, i can make some stoolbeds. These are ones that are supposed to root from hardwood cuttings so I might get them that way before I get to layering them.

 

[yoderjac]

I think air layering success will be a function of the propensity of the tree species to form roots and your location. The further north you are the less time there is for roots to form before winter sets in.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Barndog56]

I used plastic to wrap the sphagnum to the tree yesterday, and it was very awkward. Switched over to using empty water bottles today and that went much better. Now for the waiting game.

 

[yoderjac]

Very interesting.... I'm guessing you won't have success like this. I'm thinking that even if you can get some roots to form, they won't be enough to support such large tops. Tell us more about the technique you used. I've seen one technique where they wrap a wire around the scion from the previous year's growth. It was left there for a week or so and then removed. The idea was to stimulate the production of auxin. The branch was then wounded but the cambium was left intact in at least one spot between the tree and scion. Then the bag or bottle with medium was applied and the wire removed.

I'm presuming from your picture this tree was on its own roots. If so, I might have been tempted to treat this like stooling. Perhaps cut it flat to the ground and cover it with a large mound of sawdust or other loose medium. However, given your location, I'm not sure you have enough time for roots to form even to support a small scion regardless of method.

I do hope it works out for you. Keep us informed!

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Barndog56]

I had to replace the aluminum foil on a handful of them today, perhaps due to the hail we had Thursday night. First tree up was an Elm tree.



Pretty psyched after seeing those roots on the first one. Of course the next three trees, apples, didn't have roots showing. I didn't disturb the soil to investigate as I didn't want to damage anything. Last one I fixed, a crabapple, showed roots too. So at least a couple are working.

 

[yoderjac]

Outstanding! Great work!

 

[Jhoss]

First success I've seen using air-layering. Great job!

 

[yoderjac]

I'm not sure I'd declare success quite yet. My concern is not whether the apples will root. They form roots fairly easily compared to say persimmons. My concern is that air layering with so much top above the bag. The question is whether or not the root system developing in the bag will be large enough to support the top after it is cut from the parent tree.

He has a great start though!

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Barndog56]

The way I've seen it done, is once the branch is removed you prune off about 3/4 of the leaves, so the roots don't have as much work to do.

But what I'm wondering is if I can leave the branch on the tree until it goes dormant? That way all of the energy in the branch now, will go into the roots in the bag. Then I cut the branch off and transplant it. The roots then have the chance to establish themselves fully while the new tree is dormant. See any problems with this plan?

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[Jhoss]

See nothing wrong with that plan, seems like it puts the odds in your favor. Please keep up posted.

 

[chickenlittle]

I've no experience with layering but I would figure things can only go wrong after you managed to get roots. I would take it off the tree and plant in my nursery.

 

[woodchuck]

Hello everyone. I have never posted anything here before so this might be formatted wrong.

Anyway I was clearing brush around a small wild apple tree not long ago. Finding one of the lower branches buried under leaves, I yanked it up thinking I was helping it. Turns out it had grown roots 2 to 3 inches long and was firmly established. So I replanted it of course. This made me think that if layering can happen spontaneously surely it can also be done deliberately by a person.