Monday, September 22, 2014

Clone Me!

I admit and accept that I am addicted to plants.  No, not smoking them, just buying and growing them.  In order to not go bankrupt, I have resorted to propagation.  It's not a get-rich-quick scheme by any means (it's not even a get-rich-slow scheme) but I did manage to make a nice chunk of change this summer out of just a few plant sales.

There are many ways to propagate plants.  One of the easiest and most rewarding methods is called air-layering.  Air-layering is simply getting a branch to grow roots from some place on the branch.  This is done by scraping off a section of the cambium layer (the green layer under the bark) all the way around the branch, brushing the exposed white sapwood with root tone, surrounding the entire scraped off part with a handful of moist peat moss (or other rooting medium) and then enclosing it in a waterproof barrier such as plastic wrap.  The bad news is it's likely too late in the season to try this outside now.  It will work on just about any woody houseplant any time of the year.

Here is a Lion's Head Maple (Acer palmatum 'Shishigashira') which was successfully rooted using the air-layering method.  I severed it from the mother plant and potted up into a one-gallon pot.  The roots are still young so I'm keeping it in a cool, shady spot until it's more established.




Here is another awesome plant, Crinodendron hookerianum, aka Chilean Lantern Tree, which was more than ready to be potted up.  Now the dilemma is to decide whether to sell it or to keep it and plant it somewhere else!




Finally, here is the first ever Schefflera taiwaniana that I've propagated.


Everything I needed to know about air-layering I learned online.  Here are two videos I'd recommend watching if you're interested in trying this out for yourself:

Dan Hinkley - Air Layering

Mikes Backyard - Air Layering

6 comments:

  1. Another way to prop Schefflera taiwaniana, cool! Will definitely give that a try :)

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    1. Yes one can never have enough Schefflera taiwanianas.

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  2. I've propagated Fatsia japonica, and I'll bet you could propagate the closely related Schefflera the same way, by planting leafless sections of stem, 6-8 inches long and with 3-5 nodes, in potting soil in the spring. Vertical or horizontal, doesn't seem to matter. Cuttings with leaves inevitably wilt and die but cutting off the leaves prevents transpiration loss, and they will grow roots before putting out any other new growth.

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    1. You would think that but for some reason I haven't yet been able to get Scheffleras to root from cuttings. I'm sure there is a magic formula somewhere out there though...

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  3. I am extremely jealous of your ability to propagate (and flower, apparently) the crinodendron.

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  4. When did you start your air-layers? Hoping mine will take!

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