Hello and thank you for taking the time to help me.

I have seen several suggestions for rooting media in an air-layer.  The forum page shows 100% compost, and I have seen/heard of spaghnum moss being used as well.  Which is best?

Next question: I see an airlayer can take 4-8 weeks approximately.  Does one water or mist the rooting medium, if so how frequently, or will prewetting last all that time?

Next question: in a sunny spot, does one keep the foil over the bottle enclosure the entire time, until the air layer is removed, or is it just at the beginning?

Finally, how old does the wood you air layer have to be?  Is lignified one year old wood sufficient?

Thanks again.

Well I will throw in my 2 cents...LOL   I think the concept on airlayering is to keep the humidity up in the container/bottle used. I have seen on my grafts, that just the plastic wrap used on the branch creates humidity and roots pop out. So I would use a medium that stays moist longer, potting mix dries out....others will chime in with good suggestions. The aluminum foil is to keep the sun (drying out) off of it, keep it covered on beginning to the end......Good Luck !!!   PS will check back, I need help also...LOL

it does not matter what soil you use, but a lighter one is best. I use the same ground dirt the momma tree lives in, with pebbles and all. I had huge airlayers. some took longer than others, depending of the warmth of weather.  I used milk jugs upside down supported by sticks of bamboo, so lots of soil I could see how the soil was, and water as often as it needed.   Closing with foil is an alternative. I don't like as it is place for creatures to hide, earwigs, for example.

it is not that complicate, you score the bark, remove that ring of bark, and roots grow.

Well, it depends. I haven't done many, but here is my 2 cents. If your layer is going to be up higher in the tree and if the tree isn't large or if the layer is out farther on the branch you would want a lighter weight material so you don't hurt your tree. For me, so far all my air layering has been done low, as in just off the level of the soil low. I use my regular potting soil, and keep the container elevated with something so the layer doesn't root through the drainage holes back into the mother pot. I keep it wrapped in foil to keep light out of the pot, because it is clear so I can see progress. I water it as needed, so being I'm using fast draining soil, maybe once a week..just depends, I take the foil off the top or side and look.

everyone has slightly different way of doing it. i use 1:1 mix same as I use in cup and 1 gal. i pre wet the soil, scrape and score the place i want the roots, and using plastic wrap i wrap the whole thing around the branch. then wrap aluminum foil over the whole thing. takes a month or two to get good root mass. oh... i wrap the bottom with plastic tie to support the soil and also to girdle the branch.

Last year I used the giant root riot cubes inside a deli container, worked great. And of course, aluminum foil.

Thanks for the replies. Armando, you never said what medium you are using...

For smaller layers I use Root Riot Cubes. For large layers
I use Q Plugs.

Yes I didn't say the medium, because I just started air-layering, so may be making mistakes. I have been using 70% Soil, 20% Potting Mix and 10% Perlite.  So I have some roots popping out, another I am experimenting with just wrapping with Plastic Cling Wrap and See how big the roots grow, I added a small amount of water, to see if this will create humidity, ( concerned, if I may get mold )......both air-layers are wrapped with Aluminum wrap also......Remember I am just experimenting, so I may be completely wrong.

The top  pic is of Nero600M I did last year. It is a good example of to much moisture during the process










The bottom pic is of Abicou from last year. The roots look much better although you can still see some root tips starting to turn from excess moisture.

KB air layer from 2 yrs ago.

 

Mike and Pete- those are monster roots. Thx for the pix.

How long did the roots take to get to that stage in your photos?

Timmsm, I started them on 7-29-13 and potted them up on 8-24-13.

little over a month, i think. i remember checking that at 1 month and didn't see any roots, then within two weeks it start filling it up. after 1 month of not seeing the roots, i girdle the branch. not sure if that helped, but since then, i girdle the branch when i take air layer.

What does girdle the branch mean please?

Ditto Pete what is definition of girdling....

Remove a ring of bark around the airlayered stem .
You should do that under the zone you applied the airlayering system.
Basically, you remove half a centimeter of bark in a ring shape all around the stem.

I usually airlayer at dirt level. So I build a small mountain of dirt around the stem and two months after I check for roots. If they are enough developed and the air has freshened, I tare apart the new tree.
I use that a lot on root shoots .

Thank you jds

My first airlayer, all set up.

There are a lot of methods; experiment and find a way that works for you. If the rootball is kept moist and you keep it from overheating, it should work.

I usually use 1-gal plastic milk jusg or 2/3 liter soda bottles because they're free and you can gauge root development through the plastic. I've done them with moist medium all sealed up inside, as well as with the tops of the bottles cut off to make an open pot. I've come to prefer leaving them open, because that way I know I have enough moisture (they can dry out quickly in my climate). I just make drainage holes in the bottom and water them like any other potted plant. Sometimes I'll stick the end of a drip emitter through the side of the pot and let it happen automatically. I usually drape a rag over the pot to keep sun from damaging the roots; it's easy to lift up and check progress. Five or six weeks usually does the trick. The forum has a lot of old posts on the topic, with photos--you might want to do a search and see what ideas appeal to you.

How often do you water Ken???

Rafael, I have found that if you keep a check on it and don't let it get to dry or to wet. To me, there is no specific time frame to
say water it.

Every day or two. The excess just runs out of the pot, so I don't think I can really overwater--but bear in mind that I'm in a hot, dry climate, which is why I don't do the sealed-up method any more. I found sometimes I didn't get it sealed well enough, and the soil dried out.

Ok thx Ken, and thank you Mike!