Air layering

[CrealCritter]

I am going to need nursery pots. these 3 gallon ones, seemed to be a fair price for thick re-usable ones.

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

I bought some of those air layering pods, they arrived yesterday. Going to try those, plus some assorted containers to air layer the lilac, a jasmine, and some of the branches off my avocado.

Does it matter if you use liquid or powder rooting hormone? Should I try both ways to test which one works better?

 

[CrealCritter]

I've read you can use powdered willow bark as a rooting hormone

I've also read, natural unprocessed honey also works as a rooting hormone. But that's just what I read on the internet, so who knows, if it's true or not??? I never tried it, so can't say if it works or not.

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[CrealCritter]

Well, 8 air layering pods applied. I will check them in 2-4 weeks. I couldn't find the rooting powder so it's just the damp moss stuff. I soaked it in a bucket and squeezed the water out then packed into the pods.

2 on the lilac:
View attachment 15939View attachment 15938
2 on the jasmine:
View attachment 15937View attachment 15936
1 on a guava:
View attachment 15942
And 3 on avocados:
View attachment 15940View attachment 15941View attachment 15943
The first avocado I started from seed several years ago, and it has a lot of low branches that need to come off to make it more tree shaped. The second avocado was also from seed but for some reason it grew two trunks up instead of one, so the smaller is hopefully going to be air layered.

I hope they make it! The branches I chose on the guava and avocados have to go, so it they don't succeed air layering I will just cut them off. The lilac is an attempt to save some of the plant before it gets removed. Same with the jasmine. Those two are too close to the house, and where we want to have a future addition to the house.

Looks like you did a good job. How are the going along so far? New growth on the branch tips yet?

 

[CrealCritter]

I'm not sure what's going on with this large diameter branch air layer attempt. I'm guessing the clear sticky goo is sap? It's coming out of the top and of the root ball. The branch is still alive and looks healthy, has new growth on the tips.

Any ideas? I'll also research and see if I can find any clues or an answer.

Edit all I can find is it the result of boring insects or mechanical injury. Well it's most definitely the result of mechanical injury because I'm the one who created the mechanical injury. My only option is to leave it alone for 3 to 5 more weeks (untill I open for inspection) and hope the rooting hormone worked. This air-layer attempt is the only one on the tree with the clear goo so far.

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[Hinotori]

I thought you needed fresh new growth twigs to make rooting hormone. I have lots of swamp willow I've used before. I used tips of new spring growth and the blender before soaking it. Same blender I use when I play at papermaking so it's fairly strong.

 

[CrealCritter]

I thought you needed fresh new growth twigs to make rooting hormone. I have lots of swamp willow I've used before. I used tips of new spring growth and the blender before soaking it. Same blender I use when I play at papermaking so it's fairly strong.

I'll take your advise over an internet article, any day of the week. Expecially if it from a website called "mr brown thumb"😂

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

Well, 8 air layering pods applied. I will check them in 2-4 weeks. I couldn't find the rooting powder so it's just the damp moss stuff. I soaked it in a bucket and squeezed the water out then packed into the pods.

2 on the lilac:
View attachment 15939View attachment 15938
2 on the jasmine:
View attachment 15937View attachment 15936
1 on a guava:
View attachment 15942
And 3 on avocados:
View attachment 15940View attachment 15941View attachment 15943
The first avocado I started from seed several years ago, and it has a lot of low branches that need to come off to make it more tree shaped. The second avocado was also from seed but for some reason it grew two trunks up instead of one, so the smaller is hopefully going to be air layered.

I hope they make it! The branches I chose on the guava and avocados have to go, so it they don't succeed air layering I will just cut them off. The lilac is an attempt to save some of the plant before it gets removed. Same with the jasmine. Those two are too close to the house, and where we want to have a future addition to the house.

I still haven't popped the pods open to check officially, but the ones on the lilac look ok, no wilting. The jasmine pods also look ok, but I think the whole plant is stressed from the heat. The guava appears to have wilted and possibly died, the parent plant is happy and has new leaves, so I think I just failed at doing the air layering. The first avocado (with two pods) looks like both air layers failed, the branches are wilted and black looking; parent plant looks fine. The second avocado has new leaves on both the untouched stalk/trunk and the air layered one, although the air layered one is growing much slower/smaller.

I bought some more nursery pots this weekend so I'm hoping I can get the pods opened and the air layered plants into their own containers this week but I was hoping it would be a little cooler first. This 100 degree week has been brutal.

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

I still haven't popped the pods open to check officially, but the ones on the lilac look ok, no wilting. The jasmine pods also look ok, but I think the whole plant is stressed from the heat. The guava appears to have wilted and possibly died, the parent plant is happy and has new leaves, so I think I just failed at doing the air layering. The first avocado (with two pods) looks like both air layers failed, the branches are wilted and black looking; parent plant looks fine. The second avocado has new leaves on both the untouched stalk/trunk and the air layered one, although the air layered one is growing much slower/smaller.

I bought some more nursery pots this weekend so I'm hoping I can get the pods opened and the air layered plants into their own containers this week but I was hoping it would be a little cooler first. This 100 degree week has been brutal.

One possible reason the three pods failed and the others didn't (besides lack of rooting hormone) is that those pods were either in direct sunlight or only partial shade. The other pods are almost all fully shaded. I bet they got cooked/dried out.

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

I tried to take some pictures last night of the good avocado air layer, I think it was a little too late in the evening so the pictures are crud. But, I think there were some little tiny nubbins of roots thinking about growing. I make sure to water the pod each time I water the plant and I think it's working to keep the pod moist.