Two years ago, I picked up a field-grown Korean hornbeam salvaged from the fire that struck Telperion Farms in 2020. The tree had a fun trunk but there was room to improve the roots so I started an air-layer. After making the cut I’d just heard about an interesting approach to layering and wanted to […]
Air Layer
Double decker air layer on cryptomeria
I’ve always been curious about whether a double air layer could be used to produce three trees at once. Knowing that cryptomeria bonsai layer well, I thought I’d give it a try. Double decker air layer started May, 2017 One challenge I had was that there was little foliage between the two layers. It’s better […]
Removing air-layers from an old juniper
What do you do with a San Jose juniper that has too many branches? Create some air-layers! At least, that’s what Kenji Miyata did. I acquired a half-dozen junipers from Miyata last year, five of which came with layers in progress. Now that the weather has cooled down, I thought it could be a good […]
Removing an air layer
About a year and a half ago, I started an air layer on a Japanese maple (see “Air layering a Japanese maple“). I checked on the layer’s progress the following winter and found that the wound had produced callus but no roots. I reopened the wound to stimulate root growth and by spring a few […]
Hinoki air-layer follow-up 1
This past spring I layered two large hinoki cypress (see “Hinoki Air Layer”). I was unsure of the project’s success when I started and I remain uncertain today. The results so far are mixed. Tree #1 Tree #2 Tree #2 layer What accounts for the difference? The layers were done at about the same time […]