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littletreeman's blog

Sad to report
7:29 PM on Jun. 10, 2008
Filed under: Bonsai in general
I'm sad to report i had two deaths,my air layering experiment has died,the tree itself,a sapling maple will survive but the crown is dead.Also i have lost a maple seedling but gained a beautiful 3 yr old (approx)  oak sapling out of my ivy bed.


Comments (2)
littletreeman - 3:31 PM on Jun. 16, 2008  [ message ]
thanks,

I'm new to airlayering and this tree is going to be clear out by the power company soon.
Anthony - 1:26 AM on Jun. 11, 2008  [ message ]
For littletreeman: Don't know how you organised your air layering - you should begin the layering process in early spring. The branch you are going to layer needs to have the bark removed (including the cambium layer) to a length approximately 1.5 times the diameter of the branch. Rooting hormone should then be applied in this area and ultimately covered with sphagnum moss that has been soaked in water. This is then covered with plastic sheeting and fixed in place with either wire or string - the most important aspect of this operation is that the moss does not dry out during the following three months (for maples). If there is a tendency for it drying out the easiest way to get water into the sealed plastic area is with the use of a syringe, simply fill the syringe and inject the water through the plastic - the resulting hole is small enough to be negligible. The air layered maples should have a viable root system at the end of three months and can be removed from the parent tree (do not remove the sphagnum moss from the root area - let it disintegrate in its own time). I would tend to put the cutting into a deepish garden pot to let the root system develop over a season at least and then the following year can be transplanted into a bonsai pot.