AusBonsai

hey guys

this thread is a bit of a sister thread to my honey as rooting hormone, after deciding to go with a rooting hormone gel because i didnt want to risk losing this one.

so to start with i will show you the tree and my plan.
the pics above are of how the juniper is now, it has been in its pot after a restyle for 3 months now or so, and has been very healthy, the other pics are of where the airlayer was planned for and a virt of what i want it to look like

to the actual process- i gathered all my stuff i needed amongst that was the rooting hormone gel, the coke bottle, sphagnum moss, black plastic (garbage bag top), electrical tape and a craft knife/scapel.
next stage involves choosing where i want the roots to come from and then ring barking the trunk, i have done this nearly double the thickness of the trunk this will make sure it doesnt try and heal. also being this time of year with everything flowing up and down the trunk the bark comes of really easy, it basically came off in one piece with out leaving anything on the actual wood and then the rooting hormone gel was applied.

i used a 600ml coke bottle as a base for the layer as i found using plastic was rather awkward, the coke was quite refreshing in this heat too
i also used the electrical tape around the bottle to hold it on, with the bottle i cut a hole in the bottom to get around the trunk and i put a split up the side of the bottle to make it able to wrap the bottle around the tree.
then using sphagnum moss i chopped it up reasonably coarse and filled the bottle up making sure it had plenty of moss in there to hold moisture.
the coke bottle allows great drainage as any excess water in there will pool in the "feet" of the bottle and all ya have to do is poke, cut push a hole into each "foot".
then all i have done is use the black plastic and electrical tape to wrap and cover the bottle to create darkness so the new roots will be happy
i also popped a few holes in the black plastic on top to allow it to breathe and i also put a few around the bottle too.
from here i mixed up a little bit of the rooting hormone gel with some water to give it a bit of an extra kick for its first watering, i will do this maybe once a week to once a fornight the rest of the time will be plain rain water from my tank.

i expect this to push some new roots within the next 6-8 weeks, i am hoping to be able to take it from the parent within 3 months or so and be confident that the new root system will be able to support the tree.
no foliage was taken off when doing this because that is what is going to feed the tree to produce the new root sysem

i hope this has been helpful to those that havent or dont know how to air layer and maybe given some people ideas for there next attempt at it.
i will update this thread as soon as i have some form of news to tells ya all, as for now its a matter of waiting, keeping the sphagnum moist and getting the results that i want a little down the track

if any one has any questions about how i have done something if i have missed anything, just ask and i will try and fill you in the best i can

jamie

well done mate piece of pie they are.

thanks mate and yea overall it was quite a simple process, i am just hoping now that it all takes fine, it should do, as long as proper after care is taken, and i think the little one i will get from the layer will make a fine little tree too

i forgot to post a close up of the top so i will put that in here
and the actuall layer point has been made below the two small branches of this pic, that desicion was made for the sake of both trees

i have some plans for this little fella once i get it off and growing strong but thats another thread


jamie

Lookin good buddy. Just keep posted.

Nice effort Jamie, im really looking forward to how the top up of hormone gel goes. This idea of a top up had always crossed my mind also, but didnt want to take the chance. I hope this idea works. Now i cant wait to see the results, good luck with it Jamie!

Petra wrote:Nice effort Jamie, im really looking forward to how the top up of hormone gel goes. This idea of a top up had always crossed my mind also, but didnt want to take the chance. I hope this idea works. Now i cant wait to see the results, good luck with it Jamie!

ta mate my theory behind the top ups of the hormone is that it will give it constant rooting hormone there similar to how we use a seasol solution to encourage strong root growth i figured it wouldnt hurt to have the hormones there topped up every week or two to help give the tree a nudge along, who knows i might have discovered a handy little tip for air layering time will tell any way

kvan64 wrote:Lookin good buddy. Just keep posted.

thanks pal, and no problem, i will let be posting results as they come in


jamie

I like your work Jamie, I am curious about the hormone gel what is this product?
regards Gerard

the hormone gel is just like the powder just in the form of a gel, this brand is rootex, i have seen many other brands out there but cant remember them right now, i know bunnings sell a variety of gels which have three different forms, a soft wood, medium and hardwood strength.

i have found that the gel is so much eaiser to use and it isnt any where near as messy gotta be happy with that

jamie

An equivalent product which is available here is called 'Clonex'. I have frequently used a split plastic plant container for layering in this way. I even leave the top open so that the layer gets watered along with the parent root. In this case a Larix, to shorten the trunk.

this is interesting don, i covered the plastic top with the black plastic to try and keep the humidity in which i would of thought you would of done more so being in a colder less humid climate then myself?

obviously this has worked for you with out a worry, have you had any issues with the sphagnum drying out? that would be my major concern with this one as i have my trees in approximately 6-8 hours of direct sun a day, and i dont think even with my humidity range that it would stay moist with the sun on it.


what are your thoughts on the extra top ups of hormone gel mixed into the water once a week or fortnight? i would be interested on pups opinion on this too


jamie

well the interesting thing is that i left the top open a bit today to see how moist it would stay as per how stymie does this with the mesh, results of a half open top was fine, still moist tonight when i got home from work, so i think i could nearly leave it open more so and not worry to much, so this is even better as it allows more oxygen and in the sphagnum.

does anyone else do this when they air layer? if so how were there results?

jamie

this one took 12 months in a collander with normal soil mix. watered morning and night. somtimes during the day. cut it off and put in a bigger tub of soil with the collander left on and mostly buried. growing strong. the new leader is wrapped aroun the old one. i will take a photo of it tomorrow.

anttal63 wrote:this one took 12 months in a collander with normal soil mix. watered morning and night. somtimes during the day. cut it off and put in a bigger tub of soil with the collander left on and mostly buried. growing strong. the new leader is wrapped aroun the old one. i will take a photo of it tomorrow.

Hmmm, no spagettie tonight then.

plenty collander's here pet, in all size's. depends wether ya doin a one man spag or a 12 man spag and everything in between

Hi Jamie - fantastic job of documenting air layering.

I tend to use an open top when I use ordinary bonsai soil withthe important thing to make sure that you dont forget to water the top..........
I also just use a normal black pot which I split in half

If I use Spagnum moss I wrap the whole layer as a bundle in glad wrap as I think you have to be a bit more vigilant with watering of moss as it seems to dry out quicker for me

Unlike Antonio, I keep the collander for the spagetti otherwise I find it results in gritty al dente

Good luck with it
Steve