Failed attempt to Air layer red maple

[dvsrk563]

I have tried air laying from red maple tree in my yard but my two attempts have failed, below is what I did,

1. Scraped the bark around 2-3 inches
2. Applied rooting hormone
3. Sealed with sphagnum moss using air layering holders.
4. Left for almost 3+months maintaining moisture within sphagnum moss.

Is there anything I could do/don’t for successful air layering?

Any suggestions would be helpful for my future attempts.

I live in 10a/b zones.


Thank you!

 

[leatherback]

Seems like you left some cambium alive in the cut area and the bark regenerated. Making sure you really have no living cambium is key. After making the cut, leaving the site exposed for 15 minutes before packing it up might do the trick

 

[Shibui]

Need to be more specific about what maple you are working with.
Red maple can refer to some of the red leaf forms of Japanese maple but also red maple is also Acer rubrum which is completely different species. Common names are often very misleading.
Looks like some Acer palmatum -Japanese maple leaves in the background so I assume this is a red leaf Japanese maple. Some JM cultivars root more easily than others which can have a bearing on why some layers work and some don't but in this case I agree with @leatherback Looks like there's callus growing across the wound which usually means there was still cambium on the wood. Some easy to root plants will root anyway but for more difficult species, where there's cambium contact the tree usually tries to heal the wound instead of growing roots.
It is usually advised to remove the bark then scrape the wood carefully to remove all cambium before wrapping with sphagnum, etc. Cutting too deep into the wood is not good but a careful scraping to remove all traces of green cambium is good practice.
I have not seen advice to leave it exposed to kill the remaining cambium but that might work too.

 

[leatherback]

I have not seen advice to leave it exposed to kill the remaining cambium but that might work too.

I DO scratch the cambium. If left to the air, whatever is left will brown and become obvious and can be removed, but mostly it will be dead by that time

 

[August44]

Seems like you left some cambium alive in the cut area and the bark regenerated. Making sure you really have no living cambium is key. After making the cut, leaving the site exposed for 15 minutes before packing it up might do the trick

Not doubting you at all but what does "leaving the site exposed for 15 minutes" do if I can ask?

 

[Dabbler]

Looks like a Japanese maple to me? If so they are a bit hard to airlayer that large then a Red maple

 

[zita]

Best to have the length of the cut equal to the diameter, isnt it?

 

[leatherback]

what does "leaving the site exposed for 15 minutes" do

Making sure you really have no living cambium is key. After making the cut, leaving the site exposed for 15 minutes before packing it up might do the trick

 

[Ininaatigoons]

Some are easier some are hard. This year I had a second failed attempt at my Bloodgood. Amongst a few successes and a history of many successes. I recut the cambium and put moss back. This year I waited too long to do that. Next year after the 8 weeks or so is up and I'm harvesting airlayers. Any that aren't full of roots I'm going to go in right away.

 

[Empty Mountain]

I've seen some (Ryan Neil) even advise to leave the cut exposed to the elements for some species for a day or two to dry out before applying rooting hormone and sphagnum moss.

I will sometimes even gouge into the wood at the cut site with knob cutters after scraping the cambium away to prevent bridging, as per a Peter Warren video.

 

[Tieball]

I have only found it best to fully clean the scraped area. Clean to bare smooth inner wood. I scrape it clean by dragging a carving blade repeatedly in an upward motion (upward meaning a direction from the base of the trunk or branch out as growth appears). Then, when finished I make a final smooth cut around the upper area where I expect the new roots to grow. I leave no trace of anything left on the cleaned area. Areas not fully clean will quickly show a patchy discoloration when exposed to the air. When I fully clean it I find that there is no need for exposing the area to dry. I’m sure there are other methods of success….what I describe works for me.

 

[leatherback]

Areas not fully clean will quickly show a patchy discoloration when exposed to the air.

exactly:

I DO scratch the cambium. If left to the air, whatever is left will brown and become obvious and can be removed

 

[misfit11]

Is this a horizontal branch? If so, it may be difficult to layer due to gravitropism. Gravity tells the tree which way is down and, therefore, let's it know which direction it's roots are supposed to be growing. If the branch you're trying to layer is horizontal, this may be "confusing" for the tree and the auxin flow. You may only get root formation on the bottom of the branch, if at all.

I tried doing something similar on a Maple and had no success. When I layered a vertical branch, it was successful.

 

[Ininaatigoons]

One more thing that helps a lot is to make sure your cutting just below some dormant buds.