Layering

[Jean B.]

Now that Pam has provided such a nice description of layering (thanks, Pam), I am wondering what plants lend themselves particularly well to this approach? Thanks.

[escapee]

I have used this method with great success on Brugnansia spp. I have one very large specimen which I could no longer fit through the greenhouse door, so I had to remove a large portion of the canopy. I did layering, using the following, easy technique:

I bought pipe insulation, sold at most hardware stores. It is made of foam rubber, or some type of foam and it is slit down the length. I simply wrapped a piece of that around the stem I wanted to root, and under it I put some sheet moss. I tied it on with a piece of rope and in about two months I have ample roots to remove the baby.

victoria

Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for yourself or a friend?

[Tyler Hopper]

Brilliant V! The method I used to use was such a PITA I quit trying.

Tyler

[Lee]

I have air layered Dephenbachia (dumb cane) several times and i take an Exacto knife and split the area where i want the roots to grow, stick a tooth pick in the split, wrap it well with well soaked spagnum, seal it with plastic wrap then duct tape and about once every week or so, inject fresh water into the poultice with an epidermic needle and eventually it will root. When a Deph gets too tall and leggy, it is a good way to get the nice top back to a nice size, then you can take the long trunk that no longer has a leafy head and cut it in pieces, cure them, and plant them and get new plants. I had one for over 25 years and when i was in the process of moving neglected it and lost it. lee h

[Pam - gardengal]

I thought the description was a little garbled myself, but if ya got the idea, it must have come across somewhat correctly :-))

A number of shrubs lend themselves to this treatment - deutzia, weigela, barberry, hydrangea, spiraea and philadelphus can all be propagated in this manner and probably a lot more I don't know about. And rhodies and azaleas, too. I'd try it with any woody with a low hanging or drooping branch structure.

pam - gardengal

[Jean B.]

Thanks, Pam, Lee, and Victoria. Maybe I'll do a few experiments around here!

[B & J]

All the above suggestions by Pam also root fairly easily from cuttings, but I find hydrangeas are easier for me to root by layering. I have a hydrangea in my front yard that is spectacular when it blooms because the colors produced are pink, blue, purple and chartreuse, all in pastel shades. Several people saw it on a yard tour last spring and wanted starts. I layered a stem this spring as it was beginning to leaf, and it produced all the above colors on the layered stem although all the flowers were smaller than a single blooms on a single stem. The plant was in the yard when we purchased the house, and the former owner did not know the variety. Is anyone able to identify it?

This is a reprisal of a discussion about rooting Japanese maples that already occurred in this group. Although I tried several times, I had absolutely zero luck trying to root Japanese maples from cuttings. The leading horticultural expert in our state stated that they can be rooted by layering but that it is a two year process. After a bit of a disagreement with my wife who wanted to prune off low lying branches, I now have a half dozen branches pinned to the soil. I'll let you know if it works.

John

[KCnRichmond]

Oh crap....Now everyone will be going to Home Depot and Lowes getting clippings for grafting... Did you know the root graft on roses is a patented root stock? And did you know further that I have successfully layered a bazillion different plants off it? Well almost, but what the hell, its fun...

[Lee]

Since i have a problem tossing trimmings in thecompost, i do a lot of propagating I really don't know how for the most part, but instead of throwing away all the trimmings, i trim them a little and stick a few in the ground and some times they take root and some times they don't. Usually the best are early Spring or mid fall. i had three miniature roses to start with and ended up by the time i sold the property with 9 just from cutings stuck in the ground. but like i said.. some time it works, other times it doesn't. when someone comes over and admires a plant, i can usually give them an extra young one. lee h

[William Wagner]

We place rocks or bricks on low lying branches of plants we like. Sometimes in a year we have a plant that can be cut from the parent plant. Work's with Rodo's and azaleas .

William(Bill)

[Lee]

excellent way to go, but i'm getting to the point that i don't have a lot of time left so layering or slipping seems more plausable for me. I had good sized whips of Althea (which any one can grow and a lot of people consider them weeds, but not me.... i love them.. ) sprouted one year by cutting budding whips and letting stand in a bucket f water with about enough water to cover a cuple iches of the stems. They rooted in about a month or two and i had a new row of them along my north property line.

I don't seem to have any luck with Rodo's ..would give my eye teeth to know what i do wrong. gave up after loosing 3 or 4 of the gallon plants from the nursery.

i want a live oak tree, but can't afford one that would give shade in my life time. oh well, people in hell want ice water, too. we all want something. lee h

[Stephen M. Henning]

Leo, placing a rock or brick on a low lying branch is layering. Layering is the easiest form of propagation for the home gardener. A lower branch is held down on soil (not mulch) with a stone. A slit is cut in an area in contact with the soil and the cut is treated with a rooting hormone. Then the cut area will sprout roots. When the roots are developed enough to support the end of the branch, usually in 2 years, the branch is cut from the parent plant and, if desired, transplanted.

Rooting cuttings is slipping and can be done with hardwood cuttings and softwood cuttings. The process is different.