Hi, I believe my biggest problem on this fail airlayer was improper watering. This airlayer was on a hackberry (celtis occidentalis). I performed the airlayer as soon as I saw leaves hardening off.
https://imgur.com/gallery/N9RCc2l The pictures get better as you proceed (pls be patient). As you can see, the cambium didn’t do sh*t. On the last branch, it might have produced 1cm of cambium max.
I used sphagnum (ground) moss, but not the moss long fiber type. I’m going to try DE and pumice at 1/8-1/4" this time. I will focus on wrapping the layer tighter and watering much less. The previous airlayer had a slit to allow water in. This time I will water myself.
Did I remove tissue correctly?
Have you tried DE or pumice with an airlayer?
Thanks! All thoughts are welcome
Hi @Emawman,
Looks like you have a nice clean cut next to the shoulder, then a ragged one up the branch. Needs to be the other way round. Clean off the branch side and scrape off cambium. Don’t give up. Air layering is awesome!
I assume that the portion you are trying to layer is on the right where the clean cut is. The type of sphagnum you used is the wrong stuff. You need to use the long fiber sphagnum, and you should cut a drain in your plastic wrap to let excess water out. If you are going to use granular material for the re-do I would suggest 100% akadama. Also, if you are using granular material you should use a split pot to tie around the branch rather than a wrap of plastic.
Then I will go with long fiber sphagnum. I had drainage in these airlayers. I will make better cuts and wrap it more tightly. The branches that are sideways will get wrapped in plastic, the vertical growing branches will get your split pot technique.
