MWid wrote: Yay, its nice to hear i may be of help to you . What ive also been doing a little is using a very weak fungicide solution when I inject the air layer with water. I only did that for the last few weeks when algae tends to build up.

You do know that fungus is something quite different than algae right? Algae builduip can also be avoided by wrapping things light-proof.

Ive been told that fingicide can me used against algae tho.

helium.com/items/349646-the-differences-between-fungi-and-algae

I know that they different things guys. And i do think its strange that im using fungicide against algae.

Tnx for the link Pinkham, it seems like i shouldn't even be worrying about algae on my air layers. I learnt a few thing or two from reading that article

Pure sphagnum holds a lot of water. While that's good for generating a lot of roots, there is a serious downside to this. Roots that have only been in contact to water will be so called water-roots. These roots are generally white and glassy. They are very fragile. So they can easily get squashed and are more prone to pests and deseases. They are also only be able to retain nutrients that are dissolved in water.

In order for the tree to survive in actual soil on these new roots the tree needs to convert these tree in to real hardened roots. This costs a lot of extra energy, while the tree can use every bit of energy it has to fight of deceases. One can imagine that this tree is very vulnerable during this process.

In my opinion it's better to use a mixture of chopped sphagnum with akadama around the ring or tourniquet. Then put a black plastic basket around it, which has been cut on one side with a large hole in the bottom. Tape it firmly in place and fill it off with pure akadama finishing with a layer of sphagnum. Water it thoroughly with a root revitalizer and cover it with cling film. Don't forget to water it regularly.

This way, the first roots that will form will be water-roots. They will harden off ass soon as they hit the akadama. From this point the tree will root normally. By the time you separate it from the main tree, a well developed hardened rootball is formed and the tree will be able to retain itself.

Thank you for the info, I'm planning a couple of air layers after my trees are established, and I have learned a lot from this thread.

Great help in this post. I have 2 questions. First, an earlier post mentions willow water. Can someone tell me what that is.
Second I wanted to know if layering works for Japanese maple trees? From what I have learned these trees are hard to propagate.

Dhd

Willow water: Water in which you have soaked willow bark for a few days or weeks.
Maples can be layered very easil.

I would like to air layer a few plants in my yard so I need to know what are the best times to do this for each plant.
First the Japanese Maple and I have a Wisteria I would like to layer. There is also a crab apple tree I would like to get as. Bonsai so I figure the best way to start that would be layering.

Thanks for any input on times and for the crab ape the best way.

For the willow water what willow tree would you use and do you need to use old woody type of bark? Sorry about the stupid green questions but I'm glad I found a great place to learn this stuff.

DhD