Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Forum for discussion of Deciduous bonsai – Maples, Crabapple, Hornbeam, Elm species etc.
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TimS
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Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Post by TimS »

First off i'm sorry for the flipped photo, no matter what i do it just won't orient correctly.

This year i have been working on prop of some of my uncommon and rarer varieties of Japanese Maple, along with a handful of other deciduous species. Being that Japanese Maple cuttings from cultivars have extremely low success, i use air layering on them to take sections or remove them from unsightly grafts.

I thought i might jot down a few thoughts on the various species and their reactions to air layering for successes and failures now that all those that have grown roots have been separated for the year.

Successes
Acer palmatum (straight species)
Dead easy almost foolproof. Nothing really to add on that, just set the layer and wait. Takes 4-5 weeks from initial ringbark to roots emerging like clockwork.

Acer palmatum 'Kamagata' (front right) -
I had great success with this cultivar. Really nice radial roots emerged quickly and it held it's visual appearance well as compared to other species i tried. Leaf size is naturally small and from all accounts provides strong and reliable autumn hues of orange both of which are pluses for bonsai.

Acer palmatum 'Shindeshojo' (Far left behind purple leaves of prunus)
An unpredictable species from my experience with success only on one of two attempts despite them being similar thickness and set at the same time. Last year i also air layered this variety and had even less success with it but i was determined to persevere owing to it's beautiful spring foliage colour. I put last year's one in the ground, but it struggled so it went back into sphagnum moss and it has perked up again.

Clear loss of colour and visible health of leaves on the air-layered branch compared to the untouched branches. Will see if it recovers strength after being separated or if it continues to struggle on its own roots.

Acer palmatum 'Arakawa' (Centre leaning over straight species)
I set two air layers on two separate trees. One reluctantly grew roots, the other firmly refused to. I'm certain this is more to do with me trying to use a branch that was too thin rather than a propensity for this variety not to air layer well. Leaf size is rather large and coarse so this cultivar would be best for a larger tree certainly.

Just like Shindeshojo it also clearly lost visible colour/strength in the leaves on the air layered section, however it has been quite happy since being separated from the parent tree. I will grow on my motherstock trees for a few years untouched to get thicker branches that may layer more successfully in future.

Acer palmatum 'Shishigashira' (two dark green leaved rear left and right)
I have several motherstock trees of this cultivar, one for more advanced than the other, so i set 3 layers on that one and one on the other. Two from the large tree were successful, one failed to separate but the branches have not died off entirely and the one on the younger tree started to put a root out then stopped so i will try them again next year.

Of the two that were successful; one (the single trunk) grew incredible roots very quickly so i suspect i hit a dormant bud or node with my layer, the other started more slowly and had only grown roots on one side (albeit strong roots) when i separated it. Both performed well during the layering, no visible loss of strength and were quite content even in a very sunny position.

Prunus cerasifera 'Oakville Crimson Spire' (purple leaves at the front)
More out of horticultural curiosity than anything else i tried airlayering this prunus as my attempts on several cherry blossoms had failed dismally and i was wondering if it was me or the entirety of the prunus species. Turns out it was just me! Both rampantly grew roots and never looked back. Separated from the host plant very quickly and have already filled the pots with roots.

How this variety will go for bonsai i don't know as it is a fastigiate/ semi fastigiate variety so getting it to spread out and have any movement at all will be a wiring job.


Failures

Acer palmatum 'Mikawa Yatsubusa'
This variety just does not want to air layer for me. I tried last year and got nothing. I tried again this year and it looked like i might get one to start rooting but it too did not come to fruition. I'm giving up on this variety for air layering as I've had no luck with 6 or more attempts to even get so much as single root to emerge.

Acer palmatum ' otohime'
I attempted this variety but i think the branch was too thin and the whole branch died off. Might look into it again in the future as the leaf size is very small though it is a spreading dwarf variety so keeping a tall apex alive would be challenging

'Tilia cordata' Little Leaf Linden
I couldn't find any information on if this species took to air layering so i just tried it. The answer was no in my case, or at least not in a single season. I also tried cuttings but they also do not root. Unsure if i will try again or not.

Prunus shirotae 'Mt Fuji' and an unknown cultivar of same (flowering cherry/sakura)
No luck with either of these with multiple air layerings, wounds just leaked sap and went funny.

Prunus elvins
Also a fail on this prunus, the wound looked like it was ready to push roots out but nothing ever happened. It's a shame as it has a very nice flower and i was hoping to get some extras to work with.

lagerstroemia indica Crepe Myrtle
I set two air layers on a large tree in the garden, i suspect i set them too late rather than it being a species that doesn't want to air layer. That and it's a hot part of the garden and the moss can dry out easily there which wouldn't help. Will try again next year.


Final thoughts
1. Liquid rooting hormone is far more successful than powder from my fairly unskilled approach of 'if i set many i should at least get one'.
2. Start in spring and don't be tempted to keep going into summer. My air layers started earlier have far better results than later ones, many of which never even grew roots
3. Stop propagating so much young material that i fill up every corner of my house with it and get back to bonsai proper.

For Japanese Maple go for a branch that is an absolute minimum of pencil thickness to have any chance of success. I've had good success up to thumb thickness which is the thickest I've attempted so far. Thicker actually works far better and more quickly. 4-5 weeks seems to be the time-frame to see roots emerging in generally speaking though, as i mentioned above, some seem far more reluctant than others to root.

Anyone with more experience than i than can chip i feel free
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Re: Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Post by MJL »

Great summary here Tim and thanks for passing on your knowledge.

Regarding rooting hormone ... you note more success with liquid rather than powder; while not related to air-layers - I too note better results for softwood cuttings when I dip in liquid hormone than powder.

Also, I enjoyed reading your post just to research the varieties! That Shishigahsira is quite a beautiful tree - that said, I am biased towards Japanese Maples - love ‘em - whether Bonsai or not.


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Re: Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Post by Max »

Hi Tim
Were they all done at the same time (weeks)? was wire tied under the top cut? was sphagnum used? was it pre-soaked in seasol? did you use pots or plastic wrap? what were the size of the layered branch? did you try liquid and powder hormone mixed into a paste? of the failed ones did you try layering earlier?

Sorry for all the questions :palm:
I'll think of some more after my coffee :lol:
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Re: Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Post by Ryceman3 »

Thanks for the post Tim, lots of good work there. Guess that means a few more trees to throw in amongst your seed grown maples... after a while it’s probably best to stop counting. ;)
Interesting observations regarding the different maple varieties, I too wouldn’t mind a brief description of the basics of your technique. When I layer I generally stick to sphagnum with plastic wrap/foil around the site and use a paste of rooting gel/powder. I find it works pretty well generally but always like to hear what tricks other people lean towards.
Good job! :yes:
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Re: Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Post by TimS »

A description of my technique is the sort of thing one would think to include in their original post :palm:

Very simple, I just ringbark a section wider than the thickness of the trunk, use plain water soaked sphagnum moss in a clear plastic ziplock bag tied off with string not too tight at the top so I can gently pull the moss back to check progress. I tie the bag on at the bottom first, then apply the roofing hormone liquid with a paintbrush and finally wrap the moss around the wound and finally tie the top off.

All trunks were between pencil thickness and maybe 2-3cm in thickness, though as I mentioned the thinner ones failed more often. I didn’t use wire underneath; I briefly helped out at a bonsai nursery who used the wire technique but I didn’t see it produce any noticeably different results to not using it.

All airlayers were started across a 4 week or so period from late spring into early summer with better results seemingly from those started in late spring. Once separated I pot them into 100% sphagnum soaked in seasol or similar to try to give the new roots a push along.

The failed ones I will try again next year with the exception of Mikawa Yatsubusa which can f**k off after failing for 2 years in a row :tounge:

Thanks for the tip about mixing a paste, i’ll definitely give that a go next year! I have tried to order yet another variety which *crossing fingers* I might get in a few weeks so that would be a good candidate for next year’s attempts.

If I think of more i’ll Add to it!
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Re: Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Post by Keep Calm and Ramify »

Great Documentation TimS,
I'm sure many will benefit from this post for years to come.
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Re: Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Post by TimS »

MJL

Thanks mate! It’s no secret that I’m a slave to the Japanese Maple and Shishigashira is my favourite cultivar for sure. It’s an extremely slow grow growing cultivar, especially on its own roots rather than grafted, but I love it too much not to grow it. The biggest hurdle is embracing that it won’t be a stunning bonsai anytime soon and just enjoying the tree. The autumn colours are sensational which doesn’t hurt either. It’s somewhat uncommon here sadly so every time I see one I buy it assuming I can afford it. If it keeps going at this rate i’ll become the Bayside Melbourne connection for Shishigashira.


KCAR

AYYYYYYYYE! Hopefully people might learn from my successes and failures in their own air layerings in the future. What is the point of gaining some small knowledge or experience if you don’t then share it?
Last edited by TimS on December 31st, 2018, 1:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Post by melbrackstone »

I've had success with Sango Kaku here in Brisbane, hoping it'll grow on its own roots. I only separated it about a month ago, after setting the air layer last Autumn sometime...
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Re: Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Post by TimS »

Thanks for adding your experience Mel, we will get a compendium of how different species respond to layering going for future reference.

Also on my fail list that i forgot because i did so damn many air layers this year were;

Acer palmatum 'Aoyagi'

The green cousin to the coral bark, lovely tree but just wouldn't root this year, possibly a case of again trying to air layer a branch that was too thin. Will be trying again next year as it is certainly charming with bright lime green foliage and branches.

Acer palmatum dissectum atropurpureum
This weeper refused to root this year, not really sure why as it is growing on it's own roots so it must have been a layer at some point. Will try again next year. Approx thickeness attempted ~5cm wide


Acer shirasawanum aureum Golden Full Moon Maple

This is a tree planted out in my garden so i decided to try it to see what would happen. Did two layers, one died quickly, the other hasn't died but looks unhappy about life. Unsure if i will try it again next year or not as the leaf size is huge so the final tree would need to be very large too. approx thickness attempted one at ~5cm, one at ~10-15cm
Last edited by TimS on December 31st, 2018, 5:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Post by melbrackstone »

Well now, you mentioned you tried and failed to air layer mostly branches, Tim?

My Coral Maple air layer was on the trunk. Only a 2cm trunk, but whether that makes a difference, I don't know...

I suspect that this variable needs to be considered as well...

Strangely enough, I've cut quite a few branches of both the standard JM and the Coral maple, and stuck them into a pot and they've struck without any extra care! Probably looking at a 50% strike rate just with cuttings...
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Re: Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Post by TimS »

Yes i mainly did branches as some of the cultivars are difficult to locate again easily so i take branches off them and keep the trees as motherstock for the future.

I have definitely found that thicker pieces do far better for air layering; last year i layered the whole trunk of a shishigashira off a terrible graft that was as thick as my thumb without any difficulties at all. Compared to my less than impressive results with thinner material i think it's safe to draw a conclusion that maple air layers work better from thicker pieces.

You have 50% success with maple cuttings even from a cultivar? You have a true green thumb! I did about 60 cuttings from straight species and got only 5 of them to root, let alone my abhorrent results with cuttings of cultivars. Well done!
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Re: Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Post by gnichols »

I tried a plum, Liquid Amber and a JM tree/s in my yard at the beginning of spring and it looks like the Liquid Amber and the JM have succeeded. I'm not sure of the JM type but will post up some pics tmrw. I just used the cheap hormone powder with a see through zip lock bag and a black bin liner outside of that. Next spring I'm going to go berserk on the JMs in the yard - is there a limit of how many you should do on 1 tree at the same time?

I also tried a callistemon in the yard but only did the layer a week ago.

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Re: Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Post by melbrackstone »

Being in Brisbane I don't see any mature JMs, I have to point out, so most of my cuttings have been teensy weensy little things...but yes, I seem to have a micro-climate that suits them, and I don't know why...

All this extra info should be helpful to anyone wishing to have a go, for sure. :)
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Re: Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Post by linhad »

Don't give up on Mikawa Yatsubusa too quickly Tim.
I did two air layers on this cultivar last year, one formed a pretty good radial root structure, the other was weak and one-sided.
The one with the good root structure is powering on this year. The one with the weak root structure, I added a root graft with a normal palmatum seedling this spring, hopefully this will fuse and provide a good supplementary set of roots. Looking good above the soil and growing well so far.
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Re: Deciduous Air Layerings class of 2018

Post by Redsonic »

Just in case it helps, here is the photo rotated:
Maples copy.jpg
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