yeah, I totally botched that, didn't I. Dingbat me.
always good to double-check before posting: AKA think before you speak.
Thanks, guys.

I know that raffia is "traditional" but I have had the best success using Stretch & Seal from home depot. It's all I have used on the trees I have posted here. I will NEVER use raffia again! Haven't in years.

1) It stretches tighter and more uniform (no lose spots AT ALL).

2) it sticks ONLY to itself (no glue). (hate to use the word "tape" because it has no sticky surface at all).
This is beneficial because you don't have to worry about keeping it equally tight on each wrap as you do with 3 strands of raffia. Every wrap stays connected to itself even if you let go. Make one wrap, let go, move secondary branches/leaves and continue.

3) No tying, again it simply sticks to itself. Need more??? no knots to tie. Simply lay it on the existing tape and continue. Water does not cause it to release.

4) Prevents wire damage by forming an expandable cushion between the wire and tree branch (even if your wire is left on way too long).

5) Doesn't rot like raffia and comes off easy. Does not stick to or hurt the bark.

I have performed some extreme bends with no problems at all. I LOVE IT! Comes in 5 colors. Black, blue, clear, red & white.

Funny thing is, I had just looked this up again when I started the late-collected beech thread as a reminder of the reasons why air-layering is different from cuttings.
Got the cambium & phloem layers backwards. As a friend said, "Sometimes I get my 1's and my 9's confused."
My fault.

Thank you all

brkirkland22 wrote:

yeah, I totally botched that, didn't I. Dingbat me.
always good to double-check before posting: AKA think before you speak.
Thanks, guys.

lol

brkirkland22 wrote:

As a friend said, "Sometimes I get my 1's and my 9's confused."

As long as you dot your teas and cross your eyes you'll be fine. Oh wait. No. Think that it the other way around