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Air layering my Michelia Alba.... What am I doing wrong?
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Posted by genericboi 10 CA (My Page) on Sat, Jan 24, 09 at 18:48
| I attempted last year with no success. I was thinking about trying again this year. But before I do...I thought I might ask the community. First off...this is what I did.
I would find a branch(semi-ripe) about pencil thickness. Remove a 1 inch ring of bark(including scraping off all of the cambium) around the stem about 12-18 inches from the tip. I would dust the the wound with rooting hormone. Then wrap it up in plastic wrap with moist peat moss. I did this in January and waited until March-ish to remove the peat. What I would find is that the wound would callous(a lot)...but no roots!
What am I doing wrong? Is it the wrong time of year? Am I selecting the wrong type of wood? Should I have waited longer before I took off the Peat and plastic?
Any stories of success would be helpful! Thanks!
=D
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Air layering my Michelia Alba.... What am I doing wrong?
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| Time of year ok The two main problems people have with airlayer is the moss dries out. I check mine once a month & add additional water if needed.... and many give up to soon... I delay till I see roots comming through the moss then remove & plant |
RE: Air layering my Michelia Alba.... What am I doing wrong?
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| Thank you, Yiorges! Most of my experiments with other plants usually root(a lot) within that 2 months. When I try it again, I'll keep an eye on it and wait longer. Do you use a powder rooting hormone?...because I've seen it in liquid, too! |
RE: Air layering my Michelia Alba.... What am I doing wrong?
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RE: Air layering my Michelia Alba.... What am I doing wrong?
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| I also wouldn't scrape all the cambium off all the way around. That girdles the branch and, in effect, cuts it off from the mother plant, and you lose the benefit of air layering (which, of course, is the "cutting" still being attached to the mother and getting water/nutrients from it as it roots). If you do scrape that deep all the way around, you might as well take the cutting completely off and root that way. So just scrape the bottom side a little bit. You really don't need to wound it much. |
RE: Air layering my Michelia Alba.... What am I doing wrong?
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| Hi! I am new at air layering, but I have had success nonetheless. The best time of year for me has been right before they leaf out, in the spring. They have rooted quite quickly and I severed them from the shrub/tree in the fall and potted them. I would scrape the branch all the way around so that the shrub doesn't try to heal it self over if I only scraped one side of it. Pencil thickness is good, but make sure that it isn't old wood. I do put rooting hormone on mine, the powder kind, although honestly I am not sure if I need it. Then I wrap it well with moist (not wet) moss that I found in our woods. Holding the moss it place with my hand I completely covered it with aluminum foil. I think foil works best because it helps it not to dry out as fast, because the sun bounces off of it. If you were to use, let's say plastic wrap or something, then you would be making a mini greenhouse.
Check your air layer in about a month to see how it's coming along. If you are too eager you may hurt the roots that are coming when you unwrap the foil. Some people wrap the moss in plastic wrap, then put the foil over that so that when they unwrap the foil they will be able to see if
there are any roots without disturbing them. Hope that helps a bit!
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RE: Air layering my Michelia Alba.... What am I doing wrong?
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| You can also just wound it on the bottom as Knittlin mentioned. I usually do use a little RH, but I am not sure it is necessary either. Anyway, I lay my 'cutting' on top of a pot of rooting medium, and place a good rock or brick on top of it. If my 'cutting' is in the air, I figure a way to hang my pot on an arbor or fence, or tree. The cutting MUST callous to make roots. No callous, no roots. You just are giving up too soon. You can use a turkey baster to deliver water to the moss. It works very well. Janie |
RE: Air layering my Michelia Alba.... What am I doing wrong?
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| HI, all, I am new in this forum. And I only have airlayer experience from punica Nana, which is very easy. My question is: Are the Michelia ALBAs you were airlayered on the ground or in the pot? Or say, can you airlayer M. ALBA in the pot? I have one in the 5 G pot (~5 feet tall)and now it leaves out. Can I airlayer from it? Thanks! Wei |
RE: Air layering my Michelia Alba.... What am I doing wrong?
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| I did air laying my guava , After a month , it had root , I cut and plant in the pot BUT all dried out , all of leaves fall , what did I do wrong ? |
RE: Air layering my Michelia Alba.... What am I doing wrong?
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| I try to air laying on my Michelia Alba also but has the same problem. It's been almost half year but when I checked it. Just some callous on one end of the wounded area and no root. I used the same method as genericboi did and got the same disappointing result. It is a tough plant to root. I would appreciate if someone could share their success about Michelia alba propagation. I tried cuttings last year but not one cutting had root. genericboi, if you still plan to do it again let us know the result. Thank you. |
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