Questions on Air-layering

luft

I have been doing a lot of air-layers lately and some questions have been running through my mind. First of all, how should you make your cuts in relation to the nodes on the branch? Do they have an impact on the roots? Should you include nodes in the region that you strip the bark from or do you make sure they are in the bark above the stripped region? Do they make any difference at all? Secondly, I 've been looking over threads on a number of sites and came across a fellow taking about how he leaves little flaps in the bark arond the top of the cutting which he props outwards with little rocks. Is this important to the formation of roots or to simply the aesthetics of the final product?

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tachigi

Luft, Your inquiry is quite generalized in regards to where you should make your cuts and how. It varies from species to species. So with out more detailed information it would be hard to give you a definitive answer. However the general rule of thumb is that you want a bud/node (s) in close proximity to your cut.

As far as the flap technique goes it boils down to more surface area for roots to form. I suppose aesthetics has something to do with it early on as well. However, if your doing the job right you will have addressed the nebari during development.

__________________
Tom

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