Safe to air layer Red dragon maple?

alangs1

I have a 2.5 year old red dragon japanese maple. It is a cultivar and was grafted. What i would like to do is grow one with no graft wound to use as bonsai one day.

First, is it possible/a good idea to air layer this cultivar or most japanese red maple cultivars for that matter?
Second, what time of year is best to do this in?
Third, should i use rooting hormone and if so, what kind?
Forth, from what i've read sphagnum is good to use, is this true and where can one aquire it?

Any other info would also be appreciated.
Thank you
Andre

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yenling

I'm not sure about this cultivar but,
I believe most lace leaves are dificult to get to root( i know at least one type will actuall root).


Also many cutting grown maples grow really slow if they are not grafted. Check out www.evergreengardenworks.com for some great cutting grown maples.


S moss can be purchased at O.S.H prob Home depot, and rooting hormone can never hurt. Best of luck!

eeiko321

heya
post a picture of your tree?

from my understanding, maples dont grow as good from cuttings...especialyl japanese. ive tried it that way ... 4 out of 5 was unsuccessful. the 5th one its got one leaf...but doesnt show signs of good health.
air layering would be the best method.

usually trees thicker than one inch should be airlayered instead of propagation by cutting.

anyways, sphagnum moss is always used...you can buy them from your local garden store, or hardware store that sells gardening products & soils.

the other method which i havent tried for airlayering...is by splitting a plastic flower pot in half vertically and putting it around the airlayer and filling it up with damp bonsai soil.... this method is rare... ive seen it done in a book by pictures. but i imagine that using moss and plastic wrap would hold moisture alot better.

always use rooting hormone!!!... it promotes root growth and greaters the chance of propagation being successful.

they are also available at garden stores..

there was a post recently by nfimb about airlayering timing.
have a look..
for deciduous trees its when the first set of leaves harden at growing season.

Joanie

The question to ask yourself is whether you want to remove the graft union now... or wait until you have more trunk growth. Once you put it on it's own roots, it will likely grow more slowly, and also might be less hardy. Since you can be very successful on most maples, you can wait until the trunk is close to the size that you want it... then do the airlayer. I've had 100% success with all cultivars that I have tried, maples root like crazy! It's keeping them growing well on their own roots that gums up the works.

The pot method works well, depending upon what you want to do. The main thing is that it stay damp but not soaking wet, whatever you use, and that you really get in there and make sure that all of the cambium is removed. If you leave cambium, it will just bridge the gap instead of making roots.

PLEASE be careful with rooting hormones! They can cause cancer in humans. Don't breath the dust, don't touch it with your bare skin.

Also, use a good strong knife. Very sharp, very clean. I used an exacto and almost took a finger off once. Now I use a Japanese grafting knife, but there are probably much better choices available. Get a blade that won't fracture when twisted, and is strong.

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alangs1

Thank you everyone for the info. The purpose of my wanting to propagate the tree is so it has no grafting wound. I'm not worried about it growing slowly as long as it grows healthy. So basically my options are to learn to graft very well up to at least a 90% success rate(which is, from what i hear, alot of practice and money) Or i could air layer. I think i'm going to stick with the air layering. So now my question is, can you air layer branches or does it have to be the trunk? Such as could i do 2 or 3 air layers from a single tree?

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"Men will lie on their backs, talking about the fall of man, and never make an effort to get up."