There are four sources of material for bonsai – collected trees, trees from seed, trees from cuttings, and trees from air or ground layers. Today I want to show you how to use two of these methods to make more bonsai material.
I made this Riverflat hawthorn, Crataegus opaca, from a cutting struck in 2015. Riverflat hawthorn is one of my favorite species for bonsai. I’ve collected quite a few specimens from the wild, and they are fast to develop for bonsai from just a bare trunk. They generally feature good surface rootage as well, so this is another positive quality.
Propagating the species from cuttings has proven to be harder than I would have expected. But last year I did manage to get one – exactly one – to take. It puttered along through the growing season, during which time I left it strictly alone. I was just happy to have succeeded.
Well, 2016 was another story for this rather small and nondescript new tree-in-the-making. I would estimate the cutting was 8-10″ long when I struck it, and it grew only a bit in 2015. But now, at the end of the 2016 growing season, the thing is six feet in length! And the trunk base, which was about 1/8″ when struck, has swelled to 1″ in a single growing season.
This is pretty exciting, and I’m encouraged to grow a lot more of this species from the ground up. I’ll strike more cuttings next year and see what I can do that way, but as I watched this specimen grow in 2016 it occurred to me that it was presenting itself as a prime candidate for air-layering. What’s even better, I can make not one but four layers on this single plant. So with a little luck I’ll make five trees from one.
Here’s a closeup view of the tree, with the layer points identified. You can also see where I plan to cut low on the trunk, in order to continue developing the parent plant.
I’ll keep you posted in 2017 as I prepare the layers, and then we’ll follow along to see how well that method works with this species.
Have you had any experience with layering? I’ve done some personally, but not as much as I think I’ll be doing in the future. Leave a comment below regarding your experiences, good or bad.
Dessication not eradication. Limited tablet vocabulary.
I didn’t realize such a project would require me to outwit the wildlife wanting to eat the rooting media to such a degree. The first week after cutting the bark I returned to find the wrapping tin foil and plastic all over theplace. I added two layers of chicken wire and thought that should stymie the nibblers. Today I checked on it and there was a 1 inch hole where the chicken wire pressed against the plastic. It’s raining today and tomorrow so eradication is not imminent but I will have up the ante.
Zach,
When air layering from a free in the woods, does the branch need to be removed before winter so the new roots don’t freeze?
Yes. The roots are where it’s at when it comes to winter protection for bonsai.
You don’t try to protect the root ball from the cold which doesn’t sound feasible anyway.
I’m not sure I understand your point. In winter the soil protects the root mass of your trees. As it gets colder, the trees go on the ground so that the latent heat in the ground can provide more protection during overnight hours when it gets coldest. As it gets colder still, you may need to go to a cold frame with your trees to provide still more protection to the roots. And at some point for those up north, an unheated garage may be needed. The above-ground part of a tree can stand a great deal of cold, much more than the roots.
I just meant the branch with the rooting media wrapped in plastic, which would be exposed to freezing temps, is supposed to be cut and put in the ground or pot by winter’s advent since it sounds impractical or just not feasible to protect the roots inside the plastic film.
Danny
Yes, that’s it.
Zach,
I’ve not tried air layering until yesterday. I found a part dead American elm branch about 2-3″ wide with a few twiggy sprouts along it (multiple small stems at each ‘node’). Had good leaf out in spring, now not as many leaves on twigs and the leaves are pretty small so it might not be vigorous enough to work. I stripped the bark; coated with rooting powder; and used coconut fiber mulch type stuff instead of sphagnum moss since it seemed ok for good moisture retention and sphagnum moss grows so slowly. I wound plastic and aluminum foil around it, then used 4mm wire and tightened that as much as I could above and below the cut bark; tightly wound to stop moisture loss since the bark is rough on that species. Can you overtighten the wires and stop circulation so the air layering fails, and should I rework it so the wiring is less tight??
Thanks, Danny
Unless you can somehow tighten the wire right through the sapwood, you can’t cut off circulation. The return path is the key, down through the inner bark. When the flow hits the interruption point, you’ll get swelling and ultimately roots if all goes well.
Two years ago I air layered two winged elm, had long skinny trunk but good branching up near top. Both pushed roots well and I cut off and put in pots last spring. Growing quite well over the summer and the coming spring I’ll take them out and examine the roots better, I was afraid to tamper with the roots when they were so tender in their attachment.
Also have layered off some unusual Japanese Maples and had no problem with them at all.
Thanks for the feedback, Mac. Layering, if done right, is an almost foolproof way to make more bonsai material.